The latest Market Talks covering the Auto and Transport sector. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.

1447 GMT - Instacart's singular focus on groceries means it could struggle to compete with its competitors like Uber, DoorDash and Amazon that have wider offerings, say Wedbush analysts Scott Devitt and Matthew Weiss. "Instacart is at risk of losing incremental market share to other leading intermediaries that can leverage their scale and success in adjacent categories to capture demand for online grocery and convenience," the analysts say. Meanwhile, Instacart's subscription program, priced in line with its competitors' subscriptions, offers far fewer benefits. Uber One for example offers exclusive discounts, cashback incentives and mobility offerings, while Instacart+ mostly just offers reduced delivery fees, the analysts say. (nicholas.miller@wsj.com)

1432 GMT - Amazon's recent expansion of same-day grocery delivery makes a bad competitive environment even worse for Instacart, say Wedbush analysts Scott Devitt and Matthew Weiss, who lower their rating of the stock of Instacart parent company Maplebear to underperform. Instacart's grocery delivery market share has already fallen to 58% in 2024 from 70% in 2022 due to competition from Uber and Doordash. Now, "Amazon can meet logistical challenges faced by many grocery retailers, which have typically been addressed by third parties, such as Instacart," the analysts say. Amazon's grocery expansion makes Prime "a more compelling subscription for grocery shoppers, diminishing the appeal of Instacart." (nicholas.miller@wsj.com)

1313 GMT - German defense companies Renk Group and Hensoldt no longer seem overvalued after recent pullbacks sent their share prices to more reasonable levels, Citi's Charles Armitage writes in a research note. Consensus estimates anticipate both companies' earnings growth in the next decade to outpace expected increases in defense budgets of the countries where they operate, according to Citi. However, Hensoldt generates 60% of its sales in Germany, which has room to boost defense spending regardless of the status of Ukraine peace talks, the analyst says. Renk is mainly focused on land equipment and European defense budgets are likely to place a greater emphasis on land over naval systems, the analyst says. Citi raises its recommendations on Renk and Hensoldt to neutral from sell. Hensoldt jumps 3.5%, while Renk rises 1.7%. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)

1244 GMT - Amazon Autos is unlikely to pose much of a threat to used-vehicle platforms like CarMax and Carvana, says Benchmark analyst Michael Albanese in a note. Amazon Autos is for now focused on car listing services in order to drive ad revenue and could potentially move into "asset-light, higher margin services" like financing and insurance. But it's unlikely to take on "capital-intensive aspects," including inventory and logistics, areas in which CarMax and Carvana have an edge. Amazon Autos could actually give these platforms a boost by fueling broader adoption of online car buying, Albanese says. (nicholas.miller@wsj.com)

1236 GMT - Dealerships could have a symbiotic relationship with Amazon Autos in the near-term, says Benchmark analyst Michael Albanese. Local dealerships are still critical to the car sales supply chain, housing inventory and managing logistics. Meanwhile, Amazon, though its reach and lead generation, could help dealers accelerate turnover and reduce marketing costs. Amazon could pose a long-term risk to dealerships, creating more competition and leading customers to have expectations for lower prices, which could hurt dealerships' margins. "However, if Amazon is an existential threat to any of these businesses… it's likely still many years away," Albanese says. (nicholas.miller@wsj.com)

1228 GMT - Amazon moving into the vehicle sales game with Amazon Autos will likely spook listing platforms like Cars.com, True Car and CarGurus. "But it remains too early to assume AMZN is going to take meaningful share," say Davidson analysts Tom White and Wyatt Swanson. Amazon will likely require dealers to pay around $3,000 a month for listings and to use certain financing partners. That could turn off local dealers, who are often distrustful of third-party platforms, especially when they impact their financing revenue. But if Amazon incorporates its auto sales into Prime, shoppers and web traffic could meaningfully shift to Amazon Autos, the analysts say. (nicholas.miller@wsj.com)

1143 GMT - Amazon moving into the vehicle sales game with Amazon Autos will likely spook listing platforms like Cars.com, TrueCar and CarGurus. "But it remains too early to assume AMZN is going to take meaningful share," say Davidson analysts Tom White and Wyatt Swanson. Amazon will likely require dealers to pay around $3,000 a month for listings and to use certain financing partners. That could turn off local dealers, who are often distrustful of third-party platforms, especially when they impact their financing revenue. But if Amazon incorporates its auto sales into Prime, shoppers and web traffic could meaningfully shift to Amazon Autos, the analysts say. (nicholas.miller@wsj.com)

0904 GMT - Humanoid robots are likely the biggest opportunity in the embodied AI field, Morgan Stanley analysts say in a research note. Humanoid robots could be a $5 trillion market opportunity by 2050 and start to show significant momentum starting in 2035, they say. However, near-term opportunities are mostly in non-humanoid forms of robots and autos, they say. Morgan Stanley sees an inflection point for the auto industry, essentially driven by advances in AI driven autonomy, falling technology costs, as well as improved regulatory support. It expects around 1 in 4 cars to be equipped with smart driving by 2030 and Tesla to have 7.5 million robotaxis in service by 2040. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)

2236 GMT - Ord Minnett's big takeaway from Peter Warren Automotive's FY 2025 result: business is on the way up. It points to robust sales of new cars toward the end of 2H. Analyst Phillip Chippindale highlights that Australian new car volumes were a tailwind that has continued into FY 2026, and also views Peter Warren's inventory management as impressive. Inventory has declined 7% in the past six months, building on a 3% fall in 1H. Meanwhile, further reductions in operating expenses helped 2H pretax profit margins to double on 1H levels. "We now expect pretax profit to increase from A$22.3 million in FY 2025 to A$30.0 million in FY 2026," Ord Minnett says. It retains a hold call on Peter Warren and raises its price target by 18% to A$2.00/share. Peter Warren ended Thursday at A$2.00. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 22, 2025 12:20 ET (16:20 GMT)

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