The latest Market Talks covering Equities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
Advanced Micro Devices posted its fifth consecutive quarter of record server CPU revenue amid rising demand for agentic AI. AMD expects increasing demand for CPUs to continue, projecting the server CPU market will grow more than 50% annually to about $220 billion by 2030, Chief Executive Lisa Su says during a call with analysts. "For AMD, this larger opportunity, combined with the strength of our portfolio and growing customer visibility, is creating a steeper growth trajectory for our data center business," Su says. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)
1859 ET [Dow Jones]--Jewelry retailer Michael Hill International's sales momentum is improving, but its earnings recovery remains unproven, according to Macquarie. Same-store sales rose by 5.2% in FY26 when currency swings are stripped out. "The issue is conversion," Macquarie says. Annual comparable Ebit guidance of A$22 million-A$24 million is below Macquarie's A$28 million forecast. It also implies a 2H loss that's broadly similar to the A$8.7 million loss achieved in 2H of FY25. Macquarie retains an outperform call. "But the thesis now depends on FY27 operating leverage from higher sales density, stable gross margin, cost discipline and dividend reinstatement," it says. Macquarie cuts its price target by 6.7% to A$0.70/share. Michael Hill ended Tuesday at A$0.36. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
1852 ET - Advanced Micro Devices posted better quarterly results than Wall Street expected, with both profit and sales coming in above consensus estimates. But investors were focused elsewhere: on SpaceX's disclosure that it would no longer buy AMD's chips, and instead build exclusively on chips from its rival Nvidia. "We think the Blackwell architecture is the best architecture," SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says during an earnings call. AMD shares slid 8.9%, to $472.70 in late trading. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)
1848 ET [Dow Jones]--New Zealand retailer Briscoe delivered a solid quarter in a challenging operating environment, says Forsyth Barr. Briscoe's 2Q sales rose by 0.8%, led by Rebel Sport, which benefited from the FIFA World Cup and other sporting events. This offset weakness in the Homewares business. Still, Briscoe signaled new pressure on profitability. Gross margins fell 57 basis points in 1H to 40.9%. It means the company has lost all margin gains from the Covid-19 pandemic, analyst Paul Laxton Koraua says. "We acknowledge that Briscoe has done an admirable job of navigating the current operating environment," Forsyth Barr says. "However, this is already reflected in the price." Briscoe's stock trades on a price-to-earnings multiple of 16.5x. That compares to its long-run average of 13x. Forsyth Barr retains an underperform call. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
1850 ET - Australian stocks look set to rise after U.S. stocks jumped on hope that the Strait of Hormuz could reopen this week. Local stock futures are up by almost 0.5% ahead of Wednesday's open, suggesting that the S&P/ASX 200 will add to Tuesday's 1.4% gain, The benchmark index has risen in nine of its past 11 sessions amid economic data seen as undermining the case for more near-term interest-rate rises. Ahead of the open, liquor retailer Endeavour said its annual results would include A$372 of writedowns and one-off costs. U.S. stocks surged and oil fell after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said a U.S.-Iran deal on the strait could be near. The DJIA rose 1.7% and the S&P 500 gained 1.8%, both closing at a record. The Nasdaq Composite lifted 2.6%. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)
1849 ET - For Jefferies, there was good news and less-positive news in Maas Group's latest update. Analyst John Campbell is upbeat about A$855 million of new electrical work secured by the Firmus business. That suggests Maas can earn some A$1.2 billion from Firmus out to FY31 and beyond, when combined with earlier contract wins. Jefferies says this forecast now appears conservative. "Less positive, in our view, is the new A$300 million Firmus equity investment will take Maas's stake to A$500 million," says Jefferies. "This is a big gambit in a space that's seen a material correction in the past two months." Jefferies has a "buy" call on Maas, which ended Tuesday at A$5.36. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
1839 ET [Dow Jones]--The question was when, not if, Centuria Office REIT cut its dividend. That is Jefferies's view after Centuria Office REIT signaled its FY27 dividend would fall by 11% compared to a year earlier and its payout ratio would be rebased to 80% of funds from operations. Analyst Andrew Dodds says a forecast dividend of 9.0 Australian cents per unit suggests a payout ratio of 108% of adjusted funds from operations, assuming maintenance levels and leasing capex stay consistent in FY27. "In our view, this still doesn't appear sustainable against a backdrop of portfolio vacancy nearing 10%, metro office leasing incentives still in the high 30% range, and asset values continuing to fall," Jefferies says. It has a hold call on Centuria Office REIT. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
1839 ET - SpaceX CEO Elon Musk offers ambitious revenue targets for the newly public company, telling investors on a Tuesday call that he expects an annualized revenue run rate of at least $100 billion by year's end. "That's what we would achieve if we basically did nothing," Musk says. "It probably will be higher than that." Musk also pulls forward SpaceX's $1 trillion revenue target to 2030 from 2031, and says it isn't unthinkable that the target could be hit in 2029. The company is planning for dramatic revenue increases from next-generation Starlink satellites, as well as strong growth in both the space and artificial-intelligence businesses. Shares of SpaceX fall 6.8% after-hours. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1806 ET - SpaceX has big plans for its move toward mobile connectivity, COO Gwynne Shotwell says on a call. The "Big Three" telecommunications providers -- Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile -- together do around $600 billion in business each year, Shotwell says. "I anticipate us to be able to acquire quite a few of their customers because I think our service will be better," she says. Starlink mobile satellites should begin flying next year, she says, and the company has access to 65 megahertz of spectrum through a deals with EchoStar. Shares of the Big Three fall in after-hours trading, and SpaceX stock is down 7.6%. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1749 ET - SpaceX's first earnings release as a public company fails to impress traders, with shares down 7.6% after-hours after rallying 9.4% during the regular session. This is despite a 92% increase in second-quarter revenue to $7.8 billion, along with Starlink subscribers doubling and revenue from SpaceX's artificial-intelligence business tripling year-over-year. The company posted $18.4 billion in capital expenditures during the quarter, with executives projecting similar capital spending through the rest of the year. Both the space and AI segments continued operating at a loss during the quarter. In recent weeks, Wall Street has punished companies who spend heavily on AI without showing clear returns. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1709 ET - Fewer users are willing to pay for Match Group's dating apps, adding pressure to the company's latest quarterly results. Match's paying users declined 6% to 13.3 million overall, with the metric declining 5% at Tinder, the company's biggest dating app, and 21% in its E&E segment, which includes brands like OkCupid and Plenty Of Fish. Hinge, meanwhile, saw paying users climb 17%. However, revenue per paying user increased 4% at both Tinder and Hinge. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)
1707 ET - Advanced Micro Devices expects data center sales will grow at a faster clip in the second half of this year. "AI is driving a significant expansion in demand for compute across all of our markets," Chief Executive Lisa Su says, adding the company has growing customer visibility. AMD's sales gained 50% in the latest quarter on continued strength in its data center business, which made up 58% of its top line in the period. Still, shares fell 8.1% in late trading.
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