The latest Market Talks covering Equities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
1023 ET - Dell just turned in one of the most impressive quarters that Morgan Stanley analysts say they've ever seen in the hardware sector. The analysts have put their prior underweight rating on the stock, as well as their $170 price target, under review. "We got this one wrong," the analysts say in a research note. It's clear now that Dell is seeing unprecedented demand across all of its segments despite broad component cost inflation, speaking both to the strength of the market as well as Dell's own execution and share gains, the analysts say. Shares jump 31% to $414.15, an all-time high. (dean.seal@wsj.com)
1021 ET - Best Buy had a good first quarter, notching broad-based improvements across the business as it capitalized on strength in demand for emerging products like collectibles, wearables and AI glasses, UBS analysts say in a research note. However, Wall Street's sharp reaction, which sent shares 16% higher on Thursday, has now balanced the upside/downside skew, they add. "Our thesis remains that this specialty retailer should see outsized earnings growth" as it continues to grow its top line, the analysts say. "But, this is now more reflected in the stock." If you don't already own shares, now may not be the time to buy them, UBS says, cutting its rating to neutral. (connor.hart@wsj.com)
1009 ET - Dell is forecasting that sales will be $10 billion lower in the second half of the year compared with the first due to constrained supply visibility rather than demand, JPMorgan analysts say in a research note. They see a world where supply visibility improves, which Dell has shown is possible given its strong track record of leveraging its scale to deliver ahead of competitors. The demand side of things doesn't look debatable at this point, the analysts say. The company has a robust pipeline and backlog across the board, which gives confidence that the pull-forward of demand won't be a major issue this year, they say. Shares rise 32% to $419.27. (dean.seal@wsj.com)
0909 ET - Bombardier's enjoying a wave of strong demand across all three of its segments, says BMO's Fadi Chamoun. The analyst says that business aviation remains resilient, with little meaningful impact from geopolitical or fuel-price volatility. Meanwhile, the defense business is emerging as a major long-term growth engine, with recent orders adding visibility and the company already surpassing $1 billion in annual revenue ahead of targets. Chamoun notes that the scale of the Saab GlobalEye opportunity, built on Bombardier's Global 6500 platform is a meaningful upside lever. Then there's the aftermarket services segment which continues to benefit from a growing fleet and rising utilization, where "there is a runway for sustained high-single to low-double-digit growth for the foreseeable future." (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
0833 ET - Costco's margins were pressured during the latest quarter, as the warehouse retailer made investments to lower prices on some everyday items, including eggs and beef. Core-on-core gross margin declined, breaking a four-quarter streak of increases, Morgan Stanley analysts say in a research note. However, they're not too worried about it, as many other large-cap peers are taking the same margin hit in order to increase their value proposition. "We believe Costco is one of the best positioned operators to translate price investments into market share gains, particularly as macro headwinds build and consumers seek value," the analysts write. (connor.hart@wsj.com)
0826 ET - Costco's membership fee income is coming primarily from members upgrading to higher tiers, not from new membership growth. Paid membership growth slowed sequentially during the recent quarter, now significantly below the company's recent-years and long-term averages, Morgan Stanley analysts say in a research note. They attribute the slowdown to a higher mix of in-fill openings and fewer new-market openings, particularly in China and Japan. "As membership fee income represents 50% of Costco's operating income, paid membership growth needs to reaccelerate in coming quarters in order to support the stock's premium valuation," they write. (connor.hart@wsj.com)
0821 ET - Shopify's agentic AI is helping it gain traction among mid-sized businesses. Morgan Stanley analysts say recent survey results "continue to highlight Shopify's myriad share gain and broader monetization tailwinds, further bolstered by strong AI positioning." According to the report, Shopify is pushing deeper in mid-sized businesses compared with small merchants, "reinforcing the up-market and unified commerce narrative." The breadth of its product suite are also helping, with Shopify Payments users now averaging four Shopify services, up from about three last year. The survey shows Shopify gaining traction beyond its core retail base, and merchants view it as a clear AI beneficiary, with strong intent to adopt AI-enabled workflows over the next 2-3 years. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
0724 ET - Student-accommodation developer Unite Group is trading at a discount to its peers, with the market mispricing a slowdown in demand, UBS analysts write. "Our analysis shows demand is not declining structurally, but becoming increasingly concentrated in higher-tariff universities," they say. UBS starts coverage on the company's stock with a buy rating and 585 pence target price. Shares are up 1.6% at 519 pence, but down 7.2% over the year to date. (ian.walker@wsj.com)
0718 ET - China's supply and demand balances suggest Beijing is drawing down oil inventories, delaying a broader oil market crunch into the third quarter. "Month-to-date estimates of China's crude imports and refinery runs suggest that refiners in China have been much more reliant on tapping inventories in May compared to April," Hamad Hussain from Capital Economics says. Despite weaker crude imports and lower refinery runs, underlying oil demand in China has remained relatively resilient, suggesting commercial inventories are being used to bridge the gap between supply and consumption. "If China's demand for crude in May were to be repeated in June, the 'tipping point' in the global oil market could be pushed back from June and into July," the economist says. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
0703 ET - Iran is unlikely to give up control over the Strait of Hormuz, as the waterway remains a key source of strategic leverage in any future nuclear negotiations with Washington, says Bjarne Schieldrop from SEB Research. "The likely path out of this war has for quite some time now been a deal which is essentially not a deal, but rather an agreement to talk further and to resolve contentious issues later," the chief commodity analyst says. "Basically kicking the can down the road." (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
0659 ET - Oil prices extend losses on optimism over a U.S.-Iran agreement that would gradually reopen the Strait of Hormuz, though market watchers say it will take months to fully normalize crude production and flows. "While significant hurdles remain, the market is reacting to the prospect of a supply surge once hundreds of tankers loaded with crude oil and refined fuels are released from the Persian Gulf," analysts at Saxo Bank say. "In the months ahead, however, demand to replenish depleted global inventories is likely to provide support, potentially lifting the price floor compared with pre-war levels." Brent is down 1.7% to $92.09 a barrel, while WTI futures fall 2% to $87.16 a barrel. Both benchmarks are on track for a weekly loss of more than 10%. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
0658 ET - The upcoming auction round for U.K. electricity generation contracts offers a near-term catalyst for SSE, RBC Capital Markets analyst Alexander Wheeler writes. Contracts for Difference are the government's main way of supporting low-carbon electricity generation and are used to encourage renewable energy investment by guaranteeing a fixed price for electricity generation. The upcoming round, AR8, provides a route for SSE to bid for two further phases of Berwick Bank, he says. Its bid should be competitive, and an award strike price similar to the prior round would be positive for the company's investment case, he adds. Success in additional phases would support a double-digit EPS compound annual growth rate for SSE beyond the current plan period, he adds. Shares fall 1.25% to 2,375 pence.(adam.whittaker@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 29, 2026 10:23 ET (14:23 GMT)
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