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.

1411 ET - A prerequisite for Peloton to further scaling internationally is cost effectively translating programming, CEO Peter Stern says during the company's analyst call. "A typical season of a TV show has somewhere, let's say between 8 to 12 episodes. Last quarter, Peloton produced 3,300 classes, so, a traditional approach to translation just isn't going to cut it," Stern says. Peloton launched AI-powered subtitles starting with its existing languages in English, Spanish, and German in March and is now translating roughly 100 classes per day, he says. The company currently operates in the US, UK, Canada, Germany, Austria, and Australia, he says. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)

1130 ET - New homes are offering an affordability edge in the current challenging housing market, according to Realtor.com. In 1Q, the median list price for newly built homes fell slightly year-over-year to $448,393, reducing the price gap with existing homes to its lowest 1Q level in five years. This, combined with builders building smaller homes, and lower mortgage rates for new home buyers, is making newly built homes a more accessible pathway to homeownership. The U.S. is short about four million homes, and new construction is filling the affordability gap left by a tight existing market, Realtor.com says. Builders are delivering smaller homes at lower prices and often offering financial incentives that make monthly payments more manageable. But tariffs could limit this progress and create new cost pressures in the months ahead. (chris.wack@wsj.com)

0958 ET - Bitcoin is drawing nearer to the $100,000/coin threshold it first breached late last year, fueled by excitement over the trade deal President Trump is expected to announce between the U.S. and UK this morning. But traders should prepare for the rally to fizzle, says Nic Puckrin of the Coin Bureau. "It's quite likely the announcement will be lacking any concrete details, setting out a general framework for a deal that will take months to materialize, which could be anticlimactic," says Puckrin in a note. He also warns that BTC volume is light, making it more exposed to sharp moves in trading. Bitcoin is trading at $99,189.62 a coin, up 2.3% in the past 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

0944 ET - Shopify's global reach and diversity means that the tariff risk for merchant sourcing is minimal when looking at the larger picture. On an analyst call, executives say that since its merchants are spread across the globe, where they source their products will have different tariff rates and different end-markets where they sell their products. "Net-net we're not seeing meaningful impact on GMV," they say. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)

0900 ET - Bitcoin could soon reach all-time highs as investment flows into the cryptocurrency rise, Standard Chartered's Geoff Kendrick says in a note. Spot bitcoin exchange traded funds have seen $5.3 billion of inflows over the past three weeks, he says. Strategy, formerly known as Microstrategy, has also increased purchases and planned buying. Notably, the Swiss National Bank recently started buying Strategy shares. Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund is likely to have increased its bitcoin holdings while other long-term type buyers to have also joined in. StanChart expects bitcoin to rise to $120,000 by the second quarter. Bitcoin rises 2.7% to $99,379, having earlier reached a three-month high of $99,874, according to LSEG. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)

0558 ET - Infineon Technologies cut its fiscal 2025 guidance to account for the potential effect of tariffs on revenue, but its new outlook seems conservative, Jefferies's Janardan Menon and Om Bakhda say in a research note. The German chip maker's expectations for the quarter to June is below Jefferies's and consensus estimates, the analysts say. The company flagged full-year guidance would have been the same without factoring in its estimate for tariff headwinds, which suggests underlying demand improved, Jefferies says. In the second quarter, the German chip company's revenue were slightly below expectations, but its profitability was well ahead, the analysts say. Shares rise 3.4% to 31.27 euros. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)

0448 ET - Telecom Italia's free cash flow after leases raises some concerns, ING analyst Jan Frederik Slijkerman writes in a note. The first-quarter results of the Italian telecommunications company--also known as TIM--look solid, Slijkerman says. However, the company's equity free cash flow after leases figure is relatively low compared with its debt, he notes. Nonetheless, this concern is mitigated by Poste Italiane's recent shareholding, he adds. The Italian postal-service provider became TIM's largest shareholder after it acquired 15% of the company's ordinary shares from Vivendi last March. Shares are down 1.9% at 0.35 euros. (najat.kantouar@wsj.com)

0337 ET - NetEase could unveil details about its next big game title at its coming annual product event, HSBC analysts say in a research note. "Ananta" is a cross-platform self-developed title that could have a high profit margin, the analysts say, adding that it could be released in early 2026 to capture users ahead of competitors. HSBC expects NetEase's 1Q revenue to grow 6% on year, with game revenue up 10%. While PC game revenue likely jumped 78% in 1Q on year, NetEase's mobile-game revenue likely dropped 9%, the analysts say. Yet, they think NetEase's momentum in the sector is improving as the company is tweaking its strategies for "Marvel Rivals" and "Naraka: Bladepoint" to improve performance. HSBC maintains a buy call on NetEase with its target price at HK$120.00. Shares are last at HK$165.40. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)

0322 ET - Infineon Technologies' cut to its fiscal 2025 guidance reduces risk for the stock given that it includes an expected hit from tariffs, but the full extent of the impact remains unclear, JPMorgan analysts say. The German chip maker's forecast that tariffs could wipe out 10% of its expected fourth-quarter revenue amounts to a 400 million-euro hit, while its new foreign-exchange assumptions represent a further reduction of 375 million euros, JPM estimates. "The reduction in tariffs unlike peers does de-risk the stock somewhat, but in reality the impact of tariffs is unknown and there could be customer effects and beyond that second-order impacts," the analysts say in a research note. Shares rise 1.1%. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)

0224 ET - Chinese tech companies listed in Hong Kong are likely to be beneficiaries of Beijing's monetary easing measures aimed at tech innovation and service consumption, BNP Paribas analysts write in a note. The People's Bank of China on Wednesday lowered its structural monetary facility rate by 25 bps to 1.5% and expanded the quota for tech innovation budget to CNY800 billion from CNY500 billion. The targeted measures could help offset pressure on employment due to U.S. tariffs hikes, they say. The brokerage prefers constituents of the Hang Seng Tech Index for the offshore market and expects a catch-up rally in the coming months, fueled by the potential start of U.S.-China trade negotiations, they add. (jiahui.huang@wsj.com; @ivy_jiahuihuang)

2313 ET - PDD Holdings' Temu is likely to face challenges in the coming months amid tariff tensions, according to Citi analysts in a research note. Citi has observed a notable decline in sales on Temu's site, the analysts note. "Together with Temu's decision to also halt all goods that shipped directly from China...we believe Temu will gradually lose price competitiveness it used to enjoy and suffer further revenue decline from the U.S.," they say. Noting that this move wasn't unexpected, the analysts say that this is still a major setback to the company's global expansion ambition. "With more countries likely to scrutinize the imported goods of small parcels, Temu could face more sales headwinds in coming months," the analysts say. The analysts maintain a neutral/high risk on PDD Holdings, with a target price of its ADRs of US$127.00. Its ADRs were last traded at US$109.39. (tracy.qu@wsj.com)

2219 ET - Malaysia's tech sector could see a boost in sentiment if the U.S. eases AI chip export curbs, Kenanga IB analyst Cheow Ming Liang says in a note. The Trump administration plans to rescind and revise Biden-era restrictions, potentially easing curbs on advanced chip sales. Cheow sees this as a near-term catalyst for NationGate amid recovering demand and potential clarity in policies. Kenanga maintains a neutral rating on Malaysia's tech sector, urging a trading-focused strategy, citing persistent volatility, and names Kelington Group as its top pick. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 08, 2025 16:50 ET (20:50 GMT)

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