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.

0615 GMT - Profitability for Meituan's food-delivery segment could remain resilient despite near-term seasonal pressure, says UOB Kay Hian's Julia Pan in a note. The Chinese food-delivery platform expects the segment's profitability to weaken in 3Q from 2Q, but to stay sufficient to cover any losses from the instant-shopping division, she says. Pressure on the company's food-delivery unit economics likely reflects summer-season competition and strategic investment, the analyst says. Meanwhile, in-store, hotel and travel segment margins are likely to normalize in 3Q amid softer travel demand and higher marketing expenses, she adds. UOB Kay Hian maintains its hold rating and 76.00 Hong Kong dollar target price. Shares decline 0.7% to HK$78.20. (megan.cheah@wsj.com)

0534 GMT - Cloud remains the primary channel for AI monetization, Moody's Ratings analysts say in a note. U.S. hyperscalers are likely to benefit from larger, more mature cloud businesses, as well as broad enterprise and consumer bases, the analysts say. This provides a "clearer path" to monetizing AI, which supports their capacity to fund elevated capital spending. Meanwhile, China's lower-cost open-source models and growing domestic AI ecosystem are driving rapid growth in AI-related cloud demand and adoption, Moody's says. However, monetization in China's AI sector remains at an earlier stage and on a smaller scale, it adds. (tracy.qu@wsj.com)

0524 GMT - Deutsche Telekom's cheap stock price could explain why an activist investor might be tempted to take an interest at the company, J.P. Morgan analysts write in a note. According to media reports, activist investor Elliott might have built up a significant stake in the German telecommunications company and wants it to abandon any potential future merger plans with T-Mobile US. "The speculated DT-TMUS merger represents a highly complex transaction" that most investors opposed, they say. Activism could pressure DT to take a stance on this matter, either by announcing their merger interest and explaining the reasons behind it, or by formally ruling out any such transaction. The analysts note that it is not the first time DT has faced investors's activism. Shares closed at 28.45 euros on Wednesday. (najat.kantouar@wsj.com)

0330 GMT - Large U.S. technology companies are expected to maintain advantages in artificial intelligence despite rising competition from China, Moody's Ratings says. Helped by lower infrastructure costs, policy support and open-source models, Chinese tech companies are accelerating AI investment and narrowing the gap with U.S. rivals. However, Moody's says substantially higher U.S. spending, stronger cloud businesses and continued access to advanced chips should preserve U.S. leadership in compute capacity and AI monetization. Moody's says heavy AI capital expenditure will likely pressure free cash flow and increase leverage for both U.S. and Chinese tech companies over the next 12 to 24 months. Still, strong earnings, substantial cash reserves and access to funding should help cushion the financial impact, it says. (jie.yang@wsj.com)

0315 GMT - BYD Electronic could see an earnings inflection in 2027 thanks to areas such as liquid cooling and high-voltage power, says DBS Group Research's Jim Hin Kwong Au in a note. Artificial-intelligence infrastructure is likely to remain the main growth driver for the Chinese electric-component maker, he says. Its cold-plate project has ramped up mass production, the analyst says, noting the company is a core supplier of liquid cooling components for Nvidia. Power products are also likely to boost earnings, with BYDE using high-voltage technologies developed from its automotive business to target certain power architecture, he adds. DBS raises its target price to 40.00 Hong Kong dollars from HK$30.00 and maintains a buy rating. Shares decline 0.85% to HK$25.58. (megan.cheah@wsj.com)

0226 GMT - Tencent launching an open platform for its workplace AI assistant WorkBuddy signals its shift from a standalone office agent toward a potential operating layer for the AI agent era, Morgan Stanley analysts say in a research note. Tencent's launch of the open platform allows integration of consumer hardware, applications, and developers. The analysts say the move is consistent with the management's comments positioning WorkBuddy as "a new platform" which orchestrates multiple models, tools and developer-built skills. There could also be further synergies between WorkBuddy and Tencent's Hy model for future model iterations, they add. The stock is up 0.7% at 441.60 Hong Kong dollars. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)

0203 GMT - Malaysia's equity market is likely to face a confluence of external and domestic hurdles through most of 2H, Hong Leong IB analyst Jeremy Goh says in a note. Headwinds include renewed Iran war risks, hawkish Fed expectations, the KLCI expansion overhang and potential general election jitters, he says. However, these headwinds are expected to be temporary and mostly subside by the year-end, allowing the market to recover, he reckons. Hong Leong cuts its end-2026 KLCI target to 1760 from 1770. Tenaga Nasional, Sunway and CelcomDigi are among its top picks. The KLCI is 0.3% higher at 1714.02. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

0007 GMT - Telstra gains a bull in Citi, which thinks its Ebitda--or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization--could top market expectations because of stronger cost control. Citi also views Australia's largest telco as being well placed to deliver 5% year-over-year growth in mobile services in FY27, "with potential upside from stronger ARPU [average revenue per user] growth." While an inquiry into regional mobile coverage across Australia and a potential medium-term headwind to ARPU from proposed legislative changes are risks to consider, "we see Telstra as defensive in a soft macro environment," Citi says. It upgrades the stock to buy from neutral. It keeps a target price of 5.25 Australian dollars a share. The stock is up 0.2% at A$4.73. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

2359 GMT - As China accelerates its semiconductor self-reliance, automakers with greater control over their chip supply could gain an edge in intelligent vehicles and emerging physical AI markets, according to a report by research firm Digitimes. Chinese automaker BYD's decades-long investment in chip design and manufacturing illustrates how control of key semiconductor technologies can boost competitiveness as export controls spur adoption of domestic alternatives, it says. Digitimes expects China's localization drive to expand from traditional automotive chips to smart-driving processors, while the convergence of the EV and robotics industries gathers pace. Expertise in AI chips, sensors, motors and control systems could create new opportunities as humanoid robots and other physical AI applications move toward broader adoption, it says. (jie.yang@wsj.com)

2238 GMT - Nine Entertainment has overhauled its operations in such a way that profits have become more resilient to macroeconomic headwinds, suggests Jefferies. Analyst Roger Samuel says Nine's earnings are now more skewed toward its growth assets. More than 60% of Nine's Ebitda is derived from QMS and Stan. "The growth in both businesses is more than offsetting the structural headwinds in TV and Publishing," Jefferies says. Nine is trading a price-to-earnings multiple of 10x, with a dividend yield of more than 7%, says Jefferies. It rates Nine a "buy" with A$1.40/share price target. Nine ended Wednesday at A$0.96. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

2151 GMT - Broadcom's newest tensor processing unit, or TPU, is "comparable, if not surpasses, the Vera Rubin GPU," Chief Executive Hock Tan tells analysts on a call, referring to the long-awaited next-generation Nvidia chip. Production shipments of the Broadcom's newest TPUs for Google have begun, Tan says. Broadcom also shipped Jalapeño chips developed in partnership with OpenAI, which Tan says outperform Nvidia's Grace Blackwell GPUs for inference workloads. The comments come as investors debate whether Nvidia will lose market share to custom chip makers such as Broadcom and Marvell. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)

2035 GMT - The publicly traded Securitize is set up for a big win with the SEC's proposal this week to overhaul transfer agent rules, StoneX analyst Mark Palmer says in a note. The proposal, which would be the first substantive rewrite of the rule since the early 1980s, embraces blockchain technology and calls for reporting that would distinguish issuer-sponsored tokenized issues from those sponsored by third parties, the analyst says. It also considers tying wallet addresses to a master securityholder file, he says. Securitize is a registered transfer agent that has spent years building that kind of infrastructure while other firms followed rules for paper certificates, the analyst says. The SEC's proposed rule would strengthen the company's strategic moat, Palmer says. Shares closed up 4.2% at $6.51.