Tech, Media & Telecom Roundup: Market Talk

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.

1444 ET - While Canadian population growth numbers appear to be better than originally feared, Vince Valentini of TD Cowen says that this won't likely translate to better carrier subscriptions. In the past, immigrants were a free source of growth for the carriers, but since Canada turned the spigots off, the trickle hasn't been enough to pump up Canadian telecom numbers. In a report, he says that revised data shows that Canadian population growth "has not been as negative as it appeared in earlier reports." However, 3Q points "to another down Y/Y quarter for sub adds in Q3/26." Any near-term growth in mobile users, he says, "will continue to be tied mostly to penetration gains (1.5% to 2% per year), with little help from immigration and population." (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)

1428 ET - The sour market sentiment toward cable and telecommunications stocks following the release of Meta's Muse AI agent is likely overblown, Morgan Stanley analysts write in a note, writing that investors have "not been discerning enough in assessing the risks posed by the rise of agents." Yes, the ease with which consumers can use AI agents to manage their bills and subscriptions is notable, but the pricing pressure on cable and telecom names may be less than the market is expecting. "Agents should lower search and switching costs, improve consumers' ability to identify better offers and potentially increase pressure on acquisition costs, retention spending and ARPU," the analysts write. "But the magnitude and source of that pressure could vary considerably by provider and product." They see cable names as more exposed than wireless stocks. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)

1243 ET - Higher U.S. Treasury yields are raising the bar for U.S. stocks to maintain investors' attention, The Revacy Fund's Zaheer Anwari says in a note. That's particularly true for growth and technology stocks, where valuations depend more heavily on earnings that are set out further in the future, Anwari says. Investors have now been handed an opportunity to get increasingly competitive returns from Treasurys and avoid equity risk, he says. That doesn't automatically mean that equities are on the out, but it does make market leadership more selective, Anwari says. He is focusing on the strongest stocks in the strongest sectors. "We allow price to tell us when that trend has changed rather than reducing exposure simply because yields are elevated," Anwari says. (dean.seal@wsj.com)

1226 ET - Bitcoin ETFs are showing net inflows for six consecutive days totaling over $2.8 billion, according to data from Coinglass, however the inflows have slowed over the past three sessions the crypto analytics provider says. The trend leaves the cryptocurrency "exposed to downside risk if the macro backdrop deteriorates," says Joseph Dahrieh of Tickmill in a note. Bitcoin is down 0.4% to $83,977. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1026 ET - Comcast looks set to post worse-than-expected results on every key metric for 3Q, KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Brandon Nispel says in a note. In particular, Comcast's broadband net adds likely won't improve year-over-year as compelling offers from competitors ramp up competition, Nispel says, citing recent commentary. "CMCSA views these offers as 'irrational,' which we think shows CMCSA unwillingness to match competitors' offers," Nispel says. "While there is always some ebb and flow in promos, we don't expect competitors to back off." Nispel downgrades Comcast to underweight from sector weight and establishes an $18 price target. Comcast is off 2.2% to $21.65.(kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)

0959 ET - After coming out of private equity more than a decade ago, GoDaddy looks like it could be a viable acquisition candidate again, according to Wedbush Securities in a note, pointing to its depressed FCF multiple, strong cash generation and low leverage. The commentary comes after the FT reported that Gen Digital made a takeover offer for GoDaddy. Gen Digital could benefit from cross-selling to GoDaddy's broad base of customers, but there are likely more limited product synergies outside of a rollup of their tools for small- and medium-sized businesses, analysts Ygal Arounian and Chase Tohanczyn say. GoDaddy could be a fit for other software providers targeting smaller businesses, like HubSpot or Inuit, the analysts say. "And while a stretch, in some scenarios we can see a vibe coder interested in its customer base, domain strength, and back end commerce functionality," they say.(kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)

0856 ET - Akamai Technologies' $11.6 billion multiyear agreement with Anthropic is in addition to the $1.8 billion multiyear deal the companies inked earlier this year, bringing the total commitment from Anthropic to date to $13.4 billion over seven years, according to D.A. Davidson in a research note. The latest agreement also includes an option for Anthropic to expand the commitment by up to an additional $9 billion over the same period, analysts Rudy Kessinger and Benjamin Smith add. They haven't yet updated their estimates for Akamai, saying they need a bit more time to digest the numbers. But they know which way the estimates will move: "In short, future growth & EPS estimates will move substantially higher," they say. Akamai jumps 13% premarket. (connor.hart@wsj.com)

0826 ET - BlackBerry's embedded software was a standout in F2Q and has several catalysts on the horizon, says TD Cowen's John Shao. In a report, he notes that the headline beat was largely driven by high-margin, non-recurring license revenue, but "even excluding this benefit, the core QNX business still delivered a decent beat relative to expectations." He says that QNX's growth trajectory "appears increasingly independent of a broader vehicle production recovery." Looking ahead, the analyst sees multiple near- and long-term catalysts, including expanding its total addressable market for QNX, as well as new design wins for Alloy Kore, greater robotaxi and physical AI adoption, and potential capital deployment opportunities. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)

0641 ET - Dutch semiconductor-equipment maker ASML Holding and smaller rival ASM International could benefit from a recovery in demand from China in the second half, Bank of America's Didier Scemama writes in a research note. He says an analysis of Chinese import data of lithography equipment points to a material recovery in demand. Scemama estimates ASML's China sales between 2.5 billion euros and 3 billion euros in the third quarter and between about 4 billion euros and 4.5 billion euros in the fourth quarter, up from 919 million euros in the second quarter. He also says the odds that ASM International raises its second-half China revenue guidance have increased. ASML shares trade 2.4% higher at 1,539.60 euros, while ASM International shares are up 1% at 841.60 euros. (mauro.orru@wsj.com)

0623 ET - The initial public offering frenzy gripping China's humanoid-robot industry might face some changes, Daniel Zhang, former Alibaba Group chairman, says at the FutureChina Global Forum in Singapore. A number of humanoid-robot companies are lining up to go public, but it is hard for anyone to accept share prices halving after listing, he says, pointing to the recent listing of Unitree. The company's Shanghai-listed stock is down more than 50% from the high reached in its debut. "I think Unitree is a great company...with great vision," says Zhang, who is now managing partner at FirstLight Capital. "But no matter how good [one] is, it's hard to handle that level of expectation." (tracy.qu@wsj.com)

0603 ET - EssilorLuxottica can expect fresh momentum from a new range of smartglasses, Citi analysts say. The Franco-Italian eyewear titan this week unveiled new products alongside tech partner Meta, including an audio-focused model of smart-eyewear and updates to existing lines, as well as the introduction of Meta's AI agent Muse across the portfolio. The launch was widely expected, but should, nonetheless, drive further acceleration in smartglasses for EssilorLuxottica, Citi says. In the short term, however, tough comparison bases should keep growth limited for the group, the analysts caution. (joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby)

0536 ET - European stocks linked to the buildout in artificial intelligence rally as investors' enthusiasm around AI picks up. Frontier AI company Anthropic signed a computing deal worth at least $11.6 billion, offering a fresh tailwind for AI-linked companies as the buildout in infrastructure linked to the technology continues apace. ASML shares rise 2.3%, while Dutch peers BE Semiconductor and ASM International rise 1.6% and 1.4%, respectively. Chip makers Infineon and STMicroelectronics rise 1.7% and 2.4%, respectively. The upturn includes companies linked to the buildout in data centers, with Siemens Energy and electrification group Prysmian both up around 3%. A basket of European tech stocks adds 1.3%.