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.

0816 GMT - ASML Holding's comments that sales next year shouldn't be below the 2025 figure show the Dutch supplier of chip-making equipment isn't expecting a deterioration in its top line, Jefferies analysts say. "However, there does not seem to be confidence in growth either, as otherwise management would have said so," the analysts write in a note to investors. They estimate a 2% decline in sales next year. ASML expects to provide clearer 2026 guidance in January. ASML shares trade 3.2% higher at 874.00 euros. (mauro.orru@wsj.com)

0756 GMT - ASML Holding's forecasts for the current quarter are better than the market had anticipated, JPMorgan analysts write in a research note. The Dutch supplier of chip-making equipment expects sales between 9.2 billion euros and 9.8 billion euros, with a gross margin between 51% and 53%. Analysts note the midpoint of sales guidance, 9.5 billion euros, is 3% above consensus. The midpoint of gross margin guidance, 52%, is also above consensus of 50.7%, they say. ASML's implied operating profit of 3.42 billion euros in the quarter is 11.2% above consensus, the analysts point out. ASML shares trade 3.1% higher at 873.10 euros. (mauro.orru@wsj.com)

0632 GMT - ASML Holding's healthy order intake for the third quarter shows that momentum around artificial intelligence is growing, Citi analysts write in a note to clients. Orders of ASML's chip-making equipment came in at 5.40 billion euros, above Visible Alpha consensus of nearly 5.36 billion euros. Extreme ultraviolet lithography machines, or EUVs, contributed 3.6 billion euros to orders, the highest level in nearly two years, the analysts note. ASML orders will increasingly benefit from various AI chip deals in the coming quarters, they say. (mauro.orru@wsj.com)

0603 GMT - A potential recession in the U.S. will be good for Malaysia, according to Capital Dynamics managing director Tan Teng Boo. President Trump's policies could cause the U.S. economy to slow and enter a recession, leading to lower Fed rates, a weaker dollar and gains for nondollar assets, he says in a briefing. All that will benefit Malaysia. Thanks to Trump's tariffs, Malaysia is working to diversify its trade, and the government seems to be on the right track with a national plan to boost the local semiconductor industry, he says. That is the "only industry" that can lift Malaysia out of the middle-income trap, he adds. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

0527 GMT - Persistent Systems' deal wins appear healthy, Nomura analysts say. They note the Indian company's total contract value and annual contract value climbed by roughly 15% and 29%, respectively, in 2Q FY 2026. Management says the deal wins and pipeline are broad-based and not restricted to a few customers, and reiterates the company's revenue targets of US$2 billion by FY 2027 and US$5 billion over the next three to four years. The technology-services provider remains confident of 200-300 bps improvement in EBIT margin in the next two years, the analysts say in a research report. Nomura raises the stock's target price to INR5,200.00 from INR5,000.00, while keeping an unchanged neutral rating. Shares are 6.5% higher at INR5,670.30. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

0327 GMT - Baidu's near-term outlook has several tailwinds, according to Daiwa analysts John Choi and Candis Chan in a research note. The Chinese tech giant plans to disclose more financial metrics of the new businesses, such as revenues and profitability of its AI-related products, and this is likely to let investors better assess Baidu's AI monetisation progress, they say. Investors also expect positive news from the company's Baidu World event next month, the analysts say. Daiwa upgrades the stock to buy from outperform and raises its target price to HK$158.00 from HK$92.00. Shares last traded at HK$116.70. (tracy.qu@wsj.com)

0322 GMT - China's robotaxi sector is likely to see a major expansion wave in 2H this year and into 2026, say UOB Kay Hian's Julia Pan and Soong Ming San in a note. They expect improving technological maturity, stronger policy support and better fleet economics to boost the country's robotaxi fleet tenfold during this period. Commercialization is likely to accelerate as scale gains and costs reduce, they say. In particular, robotaxi players Baidu and Pony AI have been able to optimize their costs, bringing expenses down to just 33%-50% of overseas peers'. DiDi Global is also likely a beneficiary of the emerging autonomous driving trend, given it can leverage its ride-hailing user base for rapid robotaxi adoption once scaled deployment begins, the analysts say.(megan.cheah@wsj.com)

0129 GMT - Malaysian tech companies may post decent 3Q earnings, driven by seasonality and the absence of chip tariffs, Hong Leong IB analysts Toh Woo Kim and Sam Jun Kit say in a note. The sector's valuations have surged 63% since April, leaving little room for disappointment, they say. The coming U.S. Section 232 tariff review remains a key risk that could reset sector sentiment into 2026, they reckon. Hong Leong maintains a neutral rating on the Malaysian tech sector, and pegs Itmax System and SMRT as its top picks given their resilient recurring revenue bases. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

2326 GMT - Aussie Broadband's bulls at Citi are encouraged by the telecommunications provider's surge in connections so far this month. They aren't worried by September's slowdown and point out that the October run rate of 9,900 net additions is well ahead of their forecast for 7,500 a month across the December half. They tell clients in a note that it is reasonable to assume that solid momentum should continue through the remainder of the fiscal first half. They forecast the Australian company to reach 833,200 broadband connections by Dec. 31. Citi keeps a "buy" rating and A$6.15 target price on the stock, which is up 2.5%, at A$2.45. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

1752 GMT - Sandisk is falling back a bit after rallying 15% Monday following a target price hike by Citigroup. Analysts Asiya Merchant and Michael Cadiz raised their target to $150 from $125. They believe Sandisk could benefit from better sentiment about storage demand and solid supply-demand dynamics. The improved sentiment comes on the heels of constructive discussions at Citi's recent conference, the analysts said in a note. Cloud demand is rapidly expanding, as is demand for data retention and video generation, driving hard disk drive price increases, they said. Sandisk has more than doubled since the start of September, as shortages and demand have raised expectations for positive estimate revisions. Sandisk is off 3.6% to $129.78. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)

1716 GMT - Fossil fuels will remain a significant part of the world's energy mix and are likely to account for as much as 55% of consumption in 2050, according to McKinsey in its latest energy outlook. McKinsey says its thinking has changed over the past decade from expecting oil demand to peak in the mid-2020s to now seeing it plateau through the early 2030s, "while long-term it remains material to 2050." McKinsey sees natural gas as a destination fuel--no longer as a transition fuel--with a 25% share of the 2050 energy mix. To meet demand, "we absolutely need greenfield development," partner Luciano Di Fiori says in a webcast presentation. Industry and buildings are seen as the main drivers of electricity demand growth, except in North America where it's data centers, McKinsey says, with renewables potentially providing 60%-70% of power in 2050. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1529 GMT -- Walmart is the latest retailer to team up with OpenAI, adding to the startup's growing list of partnerships as it furthers its agentic commerce strategy. Users will soon be able to shop for and buy products from Walmart directly on the ChatGPT platform, in addition to those from Etsy sellers in the U.S. Over a million Shopify merchants like Glossier, Skims, Spanx and Vuori are also coming soon, OpenAI said in a blog post last month. Walmart says the nature of e-commerce shopping experiences is about to change. "There is a native AI experience coming that is multi-media, personalized and contextual," CEO Doug McMillon says. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 15, 2025 04:20 ET (08:20 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.