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.

1214 ET -- With yesterday's raised guidance, Snowflake joins an array of other software companies expecting higher sales after seeing continued strong demand for their products at the start of the year. Palantir and Monday.com both bumped up their full-year outlooks this month after logging 39% and 30% higher sales last quarter, respectively. ServiceNow also upped its guidance slightly last month after posting 19% revenue growth in its latest period. The boosted expectations ease investor fears that such companies could face a drag on sales as tariffs hit corporate profits and government efficiency aims slash federal clients' budgets. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)

1208 ET - AT&T's deal to buy Lumen's mass markets fiber business for $5.75 billion is a move that, while small, boosts its convergence strategy, Oppenheimer analyst Timothy Horan says in a note. "It reinforces T's position as the largest and fastest fiber builder and adds wireless convergence upside." AT&T does not anticipate a material financial impact in the one to two years after the deal closes, and backed all of its fiscal year 2025 targets, he says. The acquisition adds about 1 million Lumen fiber subscribers across about 4 million fiber locations in 11 states. AT&T said it now expects its fiber network to reach 60 million locations by the end of 2030, up from a previous goal of 50 million by the end of 2029. The deal accelerates the company's access outside of its traditional wireline footprint into areas including Seattle, Denver and Las Vegas. (roshan.fernandez@wsj.com)

1145 ET - KeyBanc analysts say AT&T's acquisition of Lumen Technologies' Mass Markets fiber business will likely have a negative impact on cable companies, including Comcast, Charter and Cable One, given the incremental competition. The move--which AT&T says will accelerate high-speed fiber-internet access for millions of Americans--allows the Dallas company to push a converged bundle offering where its fiber assets are underpenetrated, the analysts wrote. The analysts say the acquisition also appears to be a negative for T-Mobile, which is meaningfully under-scaled in fiber, relative to competitors. That could limit T-Mobile's converged bundle offerings, the analysts say. (roshan.fernandez@wsj.com)

0937 ET -- Lightspeed Commerce is scaling up its sales team to pick up on more outbound opportunities. In the earnings call, CEO Dax Dasilva says the company is moving quickly to fill all of its outbound positions, about 150 of them. He noted that outbound sales reps require some time to fully ramp up, usually around six months of lag between hiring and results, but says they bring in higher-quality customers given their expertise in the field. "Thus far the results are very encouraging," he says, noting that "March was our best month yet for outbound revenue, which was driven by faster go-live times, higher average gross transaction volume per location and higher productivity per rep." (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)

0831 ET - BT Group CEO's initiatives to streamline the business appear to be gaining some traction, AJ Bell's Russ Mould writes in a note. However, "there may be some nervousness about a lower-than-anticipated cash flow in the current year as the company invests in a rollout of fiber broadband, even if it is still sticking with its longer-term cash flow targets," he says. Moreover, competitive pressures in the U.K. remain a concern, weighing on the company's forecast for flat profits for the current year. Shares are up 0.9% at 170.75 pence. ( najat.kantouar@wsj.com)

0657 ET - Freenet is likely to face sustained competitive pressure in the German mobile market, Oddo BHF analyst Stephane Beyazian writes in a note. "German mobile competition has intensified since the third quarter of 2024 and should remain intense," Beyazian says. Elevated market competition should also weigh on the German telecommunication company's shares, he adds. The French-German brokerage expects slower TV growth and lower average mobile revenue per user due to cheaper plans from the company and increased mobile pricing pressure in the market. Oddo BHF cuts its recommendation on the stock to underperform from neutral. Shares are down 16% at 29.62 euros. (najat.kantouar@wsj.com)

0604 ET - Meituan's latest job posting suggests possible expansion to new markets, according to Citi analysts in a research note. Through Citi's preliminary assessment of recent job postings on LinkedIn for Keeta, Meituan's overseas brand for its food-delivery business, they noted a number of job openings in U.A.E., Qatar, Kuwait and Brazil, covering major business functions including user acquisition, courier management. While Brazil could be the next focus, Keeta could also expand to other Gulf Cooperation Council countries given high user penetration, frequency and average order value, the analysts say. Citi keeps a buy rating with a target price of HK$204.00. Shares closed at HK$136.00. (tracy.qu@wsj.com)

0542 ET - Inari Amertron may experience sequentially flat fiscal 4Q sales amid weaker capacity utilization for its radio frequency segment and limited growth from new smartphone launches, CIMB Securities' Mohd Shanaz Noor Azam says in a note. Management didn't guide for any front-loading activity that could boost near-term utilization, as its key RF customer is maintaining a steady volume loading forecast for the coming quarters, the analyst notes. However, he says Inari Amertron is banking on contributions from memory modules, power management and automotive microcontrollers testing program, which are projected to make up 6% of FY 2026 revenue. A turnaround at its China unit, Yiwu Semiconductor International, and an expansion into advanced packaging could further support a recovery, he adds. CIMB maintains a buy rating and a target price of MYR2.20 on the stock, which last closed 1.6% higher at MYR1.90. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

0454 ET - BT Group's restructuring is progressing but at a slow pace, ING analyst Jan Frederik Slijkerman writes in a note. The U.K. telecom group is currently working through changes in operations, including a shift to focus on domestic business. The company reported lower revenue for its fiscal 2025 results along with a weak adjusted Ebitda performance in its business segment, the analyst says. "It seems difficult for BT to get away from its past, as growth remains a challenge," Slijkerman adds. Shares are down 3.7% at 162.95 pence. (najat.kantouar@wsj.com)

2329 ET - Baidu's advertising business may weigh on the company's overall performance in the next few quarters, according to Citi analysts in a research note. The analysts expect a 10% year-on-year decline in core advertising revenues in 2Q and 3Q. Share prices are unlikely to see a re-rating before core advertising revenue regains positive growth, the analysts say. They expect cloud margin to remain stable at low double-digits, while investment in AI and a negative impact on search advertising revenue disruption will weigh on Baidu's core operating margin in the coming quarters. The analysts maintain a buy rating, citing an attractive valuation. Citi slightly cuts its target price for ADRs to US$138.00 from US$139.00. Its ADRs were last traded at US$85.48. (tracy.qu@wsj.com)

2328 ET - Baidu's advertisement business will face continued pressure as the tech giant accelerates its AI search penetration, Daiwa analyst John Choi says in a research note. Baidu's AI search penetration could go beyond 50% by the end of 2Q, but with very prudent monetization progress, he says. Therefore, Daiwa lowers Baidu's 2025 ads revenue forecast to an on-year decline of 7% due to the temporary trade-off for AI search transformation in the next two quarters. "We think it will be critical for Baidu to demonstrate that it could monetize the new product efficiently," the analyst says. Monetization of its AI product remains a key factor for the re-rating of Baidu's shares, he adds. Daiwa maintains an outperform rating on Baidu with its target price unchanged at HK$93.00. Shares are last at HK$83.55. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)

2126 ET - LG Display is set to report weak 2Q results on decreased shipments after clients' preemptive 1Q restocking in response to higher tariffs, Hyundai Motor Securities analyst J.B. Kim writes in a note. The South Korean maker of organic light-emitting diode panels is also likely to suffer from weak seasonal demand in 2Q ahead of clients' releases of new models, Kim says. Still, he forecasts the company to post an annual profit turnaround on solid 2H earnings. He expects LG's shipments of plastic-OLED and white-OLED products to rise 7% and 8%, respectively this year. Hyundai Motor Securities trims the stock's target price to KRW12,000 from KRW12,500 but keeps a buy rating. Shares are 0.2% lower at KRW8,280. (kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

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

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