The latest Market Talks covering Technology, Media and Telecom. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.
0744 GMT - Advanced Info Service's recent share sell-off and dividend yield create an attractive entry point for investors, says Maybank Securities (Thailand)'s Wasu Mattanapotchanart in a note. Shares of the Thai mobile network service provider have declined around 8% since its 2Q results, underperforming the benchmark SET Index's roughly 2% drop, the analyst notes. Its above-average 2027 dividend yield of 5.6% and estimated 2026 and 2027 core profit growth of 18% and 7%, respectively, turn the analyst bullish on the stock. Maybank Securities (Thailand) upgrades its rating to buy from hold and raises its target price to 387.00 baht from 369.00 baht. Shares are up 2.9% at 356.00 baht. (megan.cheah@wsj.com)
0724 GMT - Memory makers are poised for another quarter of gains, though growth is expected to cool as customers push back against further price increases, according to TrendForce. Global DRAM revenue surged 59.5% quarter-on-quarter to $154.7 billion in 2Q, the research firm says, as booming AI server demand and tight supply drove prices higher. TrendForce expects DRAM prices to rise another 13% to 18% this quarter, albeit at a slower pace. Samsung retained the top spot, while SK Hynix and Micron benefited from strong demand for AI-related products. Smaller suppliers also posted sharp revenue growth as shortages persisted in older-generation memory chips, it adds. (jie.yang@wsj.com)
0721 GMT - European indexes are mixed in quiet early trade. Healthcare and consumer-facing stocks struggle, though AI-related stocks gain as the release of OpenAI's latest model boosts sentiment. The Stoxx 600 loses 0.15%. London's FTSE 100 slips 0.2% as miners fall, while drinks group Diageo falls 1.75%. The German Dax is flat. Chip maker Infineon jumps 2.6%, but pharmaceutical technology group Qiagen loses 2%. In Paris, the CAC 40 also trades flat, as gains for AI-related stocks counter further falls for luxuries. LVMH loses 0.9%. Italy's FTSE MIB adds 0.4%, while the Spanish IBEX 35 trades flat. The semiconductor-heavy AEX is flat. ASML gains 1.7%, but sliding software stocks weigh on the index. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)
0609 GMT - China Ruyi earnings should improve from 2H, supported by the August release of "Once Upon A Time in the Middle East," Deutsche Bank analyst Leo Chiang says in a note. Earnings are also likely to get a lift in 2027 due to several new game launches, partnerships with streaming platforms and wider overseas distribution, the analyst says. The bank, however, cuts its target price to HK$2.50 from HK$2.90 while lowering its 2026 revenue forecast by 13% and adjusted net profit forecast by 4% after 1H results came in below expectations. Deutsche Bank maintains its buy rating. Shares are up 12% at HK$1.53. (venkat.pr@wsj.com)
0551 GMT - True Corp. stands to benefit from likely lower expenses, Maybank Securities (Thailand)'s Wasu Mattanapotchanart says in a research report. The telecom operator's network operating expenditure fell 6% on-quarter in 2Q, thanks to price discounts achieved via through vendor negotiations, prompting the brokerage to cut its 2026-2028 network operating-expenditure forecasts for True by 5%-8%. The brokerage also lowers its 2027-2028 interest-expense forecasts for the Thai company by 6%-11% after trimming its effective interest-rate assumption to around 3.4% from 3.65%. The brokerage raises the stock's target price to 16.60 baht from 16.00 baht with an unchanged buy rating. Shares are 0.8% higher at 13.10 baht. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)
0520 GMT - Shanghai Sunmi Technology's overseas expansion remains solid despite the company suffering a 1H loss mainly driven by FX losses from a weaker U.S. dollar, Deutsche Bank analyst Johnny Xie says in a note. The analyst notes that overseas revenue contribution increased to 82% in 1H from 75% in 2025, with margins showing steady improvement despite ongoing cost pressures. However, Deutsche Bank cuts the stock's target price to 72.80 Hong Kong dollars from HK$78.30 to factor in a lower-than-expected improvement in gross margin. Deutsche Bank maintains a buy rating on the stock, which is down 6.7% at HK$55.60. (venkat.pr@wsj.com)
0507 GMT - Luxshare Precision Industry's leading exposure to iPhone maker Apple likely makes its core business more resilient than other generic Android phone original design manufacturers, say DBS Group Research analysts in a note. The electronic-components maker is facing lower build volumes and weaker factory utilization amid a memory shortage and slower recovery in low- and mid-tier Android smart phones and tablets, they say. However, the company's premium customers, including Apple, should support its electronic-components business, with new product wins, customer-share gains and growing participation in artificial-intelligence-enabled wearables likely to offset some drag, they add. DBS retains its hold rating and 64.0 yuan target price. Shares rise 2.6% to 55.73 yuan. (megan.cheah@wsj.com)
0503 GMT - U.S. export restrictions for chip-making equipments are restraining the growth of Chinese memory makers, Nomura analysts say in a research note. While Chinese memory players may increase production and market share with China-made equipment, sales channels are likely to remain within China, with capacity expected to be allocated toward supplying memory to domestic manufacturers of AI chip and electronics, they say. The market addressable by Chinese memory makers stands at around 15%, Nomura cites its own calculation, as the rest of the global memory market supplies the U.S. hyperscaler demand as well as mobile devices of Apple and Samsung Electronics. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)
0402 GMT - Delta Electronics (Thailand)'s recent share price correction after its weaker-than-expected 2Q results, likely presents an attractive opportunity to accumulate, DBS Group Research analyst Chanpen Sirithanarattanakul says in a report. The company's earnings miss was driven mainly by softer gross margin instead of weaker demand, the analyst notes. However, Delta remains a key beneficiary of the multi-year artificial intelligence infrastructure investment cycle. Delta's 3Q earnings should mark a recovery, with revenue being supported by strong demand for data center-related products, the analyst says. DBS upgrades the stock's rating to buy from hold, while maintaining its target price of 298.00 baht. Shares are 7.0% higher at 274.00 baht.(amanda.lee@wsj.com)
0340 GMT - SK Hynix's earnings trajectory appears solid despite its potentially below-consensus 3Q operating profit due to unfavorable foreign-exchange rates, says DB Financial Investment's Seungyeon Seo. The analyst expects the South Korean memory-chip maker's operating profit to reach KRW76.535 trillion for the July-September quarter, below the consensus estimate of KRW79.948 trillion, as the won's strength could weigh on dollar-denominated earnings. Still, Seo expects the company to sustain solid earnings growth in 2026 and 2027, driven by brisk shipments of high-bandwidth memory 4 products for artificial intelligence data servers. She expects HBM4 prices to jump 70% on year in 2027 amid tight global AI-chip supply conditions. (kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com)
0304 GMT - China's AI models don't "represent a fundamental threat to broader U.S.-led AI ecosystem," Lombard Odier says in a research note. While China offers cheaper models, a low price per token doesn't necessarily mean a lower cost per result once the AI model is actually used, the Swiss private bank adds. A less capable model may need more tokens to finish a same task, it adds. Competition between the U.S. and China is likely to continue. "The U.S. retains the lead in frontier AI capabilities, while China is well placed to accelerate adoption through lower-cost models and deployment at scale," Lombard Odier says. (tracy.qu@wsj.com)
0225 GMT - China Mobile's earnings in 2026-2028 could continue to be weighed by value-added tax and moderating growth in its traditional business, say DBS Group Research's Andy Yu and Vanessa Lee in a note. This leads the analysts to cut their earnings estimates for the period by 4.0%-9.8%, implying profit contracting in 2026 before returning to growth in 2027-2028. Still, the Chinese mobile services provider's dividend commitment remains firm, they say, noting the management guides for its 2026 dividend payout ratio to be "stable to rising." DBS trims its target price to 96.00 Hong Kong dollars from HK$98.00 and retains a buy rating. Shares fall 0.7% to HK$79.10.
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