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.

0414 ET - LG Energy Solution's share-price gains of around 35% over the past three months may be overdone, LS Securities analyst K.H. Chung says in a note. The battery maker's recent rally seems to have been driven by abundant liquidity in the local stock market and rising lithium prices since late June, Chung notes. The analyst flags a possible mid- and near-term slowdown in EV battery demand in the wake of the $7,500 U.S. electric-vehicle tax credit due to end on Sept. 30, but she's positive about the company starting its mass productions of lithium iron phosphate batteries amid growing demand for energy storage systems. (kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com)

0413 ET - Xiaomi's valuation will likely be revised higher, driven by sustainable gains in market share across all segments, DBS analysts write in a note. The company's Internet-of-Things led margin expansion and solid EV growth are likely to more-than offset the drag from sluggish global smartphone growth over the long run, they say. IoT has emerged as a structural earnings driver with broad-based growth, they add. Xiaomi's smart large appliances such as air conditioners, refrigerators and washing machines continue to gain market share, they say. The company's in-house manufacturing and automation will likely continue to deliver cost savings, supporting structural gross margin growth, thanks to economies of scale, DBS says. The bank maintains its buy rating on the stock. (jiahui.huang@wsj.com; @ivy_jiahuihuang)

0352 ET - Nvidia still faces uncertainties in the Chinese market, HSBC analysts say in a research note. Nvidia's AI graphic processing unit market has become more constructive after it resumed selling H20 chips in China, they note. However, China market's contribution to Nvidia revenue remains uncertain given lower average selling prices after the revenue sharing deal with the U.S. government and Beijing's push back against the use of U.S. chips, they say. Meanwhile, it's still unclear whether Nvidia will continue to produce H20 chips or launch a lower end Blackwell GPU for the Chinese market. The uncertainty has made China AI data center customers ambivalent over which AI GPU to focus on going forward, they note. Nomura expects no H20 shipments in 3Q and 390,000 units to be shipped in 4Q.(sherry.qin@wsj.com)

0312 ET - AEM Holdings may have to wait for a meaningful earnings recovery after reporting a loss in 2Q, says CGS International's William Tng in a note. He expects the semiconductor solutions company's earnings outlook to improve over 2026-2027, thanks to rising demand from new customers. However, their earnings contribution could be slow, leading Tng to reduce his 2026 net profit estimate by 30.8%. He also lowers his 2025 net profit forecast by 56.6% to reflect the company's guidance. "In our view, investors need to see earnings delivery from the new customers to further re-rate the stock," he says. CGS International resumes coverage on AEM, raising its rating to hold from reduce. The brokerage lifts its target price to S$1.44 from S$1.27. Shares gain 2.1% to S$1.44. (megan.cheah@wsj.com)

0258 ET - The AI cycle is shifting from spending on capacity to delivering productivity and revenue impact, says Charu Chanana, Saxo Markets chief investment strategist, in a note. Tech giants need to prove their lofty valuations by generating returns after heavy spending on AI in recent years, she says. The strategist thinks companies that show real customer uptake, pricing power, or operational expenditure savings from AI will stand out. While competition between AI models remains fierce, the bottlenecks are shifting to infrastructure such as memory chips, advanced packaging and data-center space, she notes. As China continues to catch up on the AI race, it benefits from robust energy infrastructure including hydropower and nuclear, creating a structural advantage for AI expansion, she adds. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)

0025 ET - Baidu's revenue is likely to be dragged lower by its advertising business for the rest of the year, say Citi analysts in a research note. Looking into 2H, with AI-generated content further increasing to 64% in July, Citi projects Baidu's core advertising revenue to decline 23% year-over-year in 3Q. Citi keeps a buy rating given the positive development of cloud and robotaxis gaining traction. It raises the target price of Baidu's ADRs to US$143.00 from US$140.00. The ADRs last closed at US$86.76. (tracy.qu@wsj.com)

0011 ET - Baidu's ad business revenue could further decline in 3Q as AI search monetization remains prudent, Daiwan analysts say in a note. While its AI cloud and robotaxi commercialization remain on track, Baidu's ad business faces "mounting pressure." The scaled monetization of AI search is expected to be achieved by end-2025, they note. Daiwa estimates Baidu's core marketing revenue to see a widened on-year decline of 24% in 3Q from 15% in 2Q, driving its core operating profit to 2.1 billion yuan, the lowest in six years. Daiwa maintains a buy call on Baidu but trims its target price to HK$92.00 from HK$93.00. Shares are last at 2.5% lower at HK$85.10. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)

2202 ET - Spark NZ's dividend guidance was sensible but less clear than expected, Forsyth Barr says. The midpoint of implied guidance is 16.5 New Zealand cents a share. That's down from 25.0 cents in FY 2025, and comes with no clear commitment to grow it from this lower base, analyst Aaron Ibbotson says. Still, Forsyth Barr points to lower interest costs, the potential for more cost cuts, a modest economic recovery in New Zealand, and scope for more growth in average revenue per mobile user. These "should be sufficient to offset growing lease payments and declining legacy private cloud and voice to grow free cash flow," Forsyth Barr says. It downgrades Spark NZ to neutral, from outperform.(david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 21, 2025 12:20 ET (16:20 GMT)

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