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.

1216 ET - Corporate bonds are generally pricey, but the lower end of investment-grade and the upper tier of high yield still hold value, SanJac Alpha's Andrew Wells tells WSJ. In the high-yield space, BB and B-rated bonds are "actually in real good shape because anything that looks risky has kind of been pushed out into private credit," he says. Debt accumulation to fund AI also raises concerns, so he is avoiding tech exposure. "It's the ones that have taken on just massive amounts of debt like Oracle," he says. "It certainly shows signs of an overbuild or an oversupply [of bonds] coming." (paulo.trevisani@wsj.com; @ptrevisani)

1045 ET - UBS says in a note that the risk of AI disruption for IBM is likely already priced into the stock. IBM slid 13% on Monday after Anthropic said in a blog post that its AI tools can help with modernizing Cobol, a dated programming language mainly run on IBM computers. While the analysts still expect flattish growth in IBM's infrastructure segment, they say they "do not expect mainframe disintermediation over the next several years given strong customer stickiness, customer data sovereignty and complex vertically integrated stack that provides quantum-safe encryption." UBS lifts IBM to a neutral rating. IBM is up 3% and off 20% year-to-date. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)

1039 ET - Shares in European semiconductor-related companies rise as excitement builds ahead of Nvidia's earnings release after New York market close. Nvidia--up 1.3%--and other U.S. tech stocks jump at market open, as European peers moved in tandem. Semiconductor-supplier ASML rises 2.8%, while Dutch peer ASM International gains 2.4%. Semiconductor packaging company BE Semiconductor rises 2.4%. The three Dutch companies are suppliers of firms including chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and memory maker SK Hynix, which in turn supply Nvidia. Investors await detail on the demand outlook for Nvidia-designed chips "amid an increasingly competitive landscape versus rivals such as AMD and in-house chips," Interactive Investor's Victoria Scholar writes. (Josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)

0900 ET - Operating profits across corporate Canada rose solidly in the final quarter of 2025, driven by non-financial industries. Statistics Canada's latest data show a collective operating profit of about C$205.6 billion, up C$14.1 billion or 7.4% on a year earlier. The quarter-on-quarter advance was more modest, up C$2 billion or 1%. The mining industry saw the strongest growth, with operating profit jumping 29% on-quarter thanks to a jump in precious metals prices and stronger gold exports. The telecom industry notched a 14% rise in quarterly profit, benefiting from their sports and media segments. The auto and auto parts manufacturers, however, struggled, with 4Q operating profit sinking 89% on-quarter as companies were squeezed by semiconductor chip shortages. (robb.stewart@wsj.com; @RobbMStewart)

0652 ET - Netflix shares rise 1.5% after Warner Bros. Discovery said it would consider a new offer from Paramount. Warner previously agreed to sell Netflix its studios and streaming businesses. However, the company said Tuesday that Paramount's new $31 a share offer "could reasonably be expected to lead" to an offer superior to Netflix's signed agreement. Investors haven't responded favorably to Netflix's designs on Warner Bros. Netflix shares were down over 28% from Dec. 2 through Tuesday's close, when The Wall Street Journal reported the streamer had moved to outbid Paramount. Paramount Skydance shares rise 2.5% premarket following the Warner statement, while Warner Bros. Discovery trades flat.(josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)

0618 ET - Nvidia shares rise 0.5% premarket ahead of the chip maker's hotly anticipated earnings release due after Wednesday's New York close. Consensus estimates see Nvidia earnings at $1.52 a share and revenue jumping by 67% on-year. "A monster set of results are expected, as the chip maker continues to benefit from massive capex spend by the hyperscalers," XTB's Kathleen Brooks writes. Nvidia stock has moved by an average of 4% following its last eight quarterly releases, Brooks notes. A strong earnings print won't be enough to encourage investors, Swissquote's Ipek Ozkardeskaya writes. "The devil will be in the details - cash flow, receivables, margins and forward guidance." (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)

0557 ET - Deliveroo's exit from Singapore's market is likely to benefit Grab, Alicia Yap of Citi Research writes. That is despite DoorDash's delivery service in the city-state likely accounting for only a single-digit share of Singapore's delivery market, versus 65%-70% for Grab and 20%-25% for Foodpanda, the analyst says. The exit of a longtime competitor could still mean possible market-share gains for Grab, Yap adds in a note. Meanwhile, Deliveroo's exit from Qatar will likely be a positive development for Meituan's Keeta service, she says. Citi reiterates a buy rating on Grab with a target price of $7.20. Shares closed at $4.15 overnight. (kimberley.kao@wsj.com)

0517 ET - Wolters Kluwer's 2025 organic revenue growth was in line with expectations, though slightly soft, ING analyst Thymen Rundberg writes in a note. The Dutch information-services company's guidance for the year ahead appears positive and suggests a small acceleration, he says. However, growth will be weighted toward the second half in a few divisions, including the tax and accounting unit, he says. "The key positive of the update is that the company expects 2026 organic revenue growth to be solid, with room for further operating margin expansion, while investing more in AI product development." Shares are up 0.4% at 62.48 euros. (najat.kantouar@wsj.com)

0408 ET - Risk-sensitive currencies, including the Norwegian krone, Australian dollar and New Zealand dollar, could fall if Nvidia's earnings later miss expectations, ING's Francesco Pesole says in a note. "With some investor unease around AI stocks still lingering, Nvidia will probably need to beat consensus and offer strong guidance to provide meaningful reassurance." Disappointing earnings could have a larger impact on risky assets, including currencies, than above-forecast earnings, he says. The Australian dollar looks particularly vulnerable to any stock market turmoil given its stretched overbought position, he says. The Australian dollar rises 0.7% to $0.7104 after reaching a two-week high of $0.7116 earlier, LSEG data show. The New Zealand dollar rises 0.3% to $0.5981. The euro rises 0.1% to 11.2689 Norwegian krone.(renae.dyer@wsj.com)

0141 ET - Samsung Electronics could generate cumulative free cash flow of about 100 trillion won, equivalent to $70 billion, this year, Macquarie Equity Research's Daniel Kim and Jacob Kim write in a note. The world's largest memory-chip maker is best positioned to gain from a multiyear industry boom, the analysts say. They raise their EPS forecast for Samsung by 73% for 2026, citing higher DRAM and NAND prices. Samsung's "cash available for catch-up payment" could reach 103.8 trillion won by end-2026, with its net cash position expected to triple this year. "Thus, we believe that the company can return cash to shareholders more than promised," they say. (kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com)

2033 ET - Megaport's bull at Morgans sees potential for the stock to further rerate as it proves the value added through its recently acquired compute-as-a-service platform. Maintaining a buy rating on the stock, analyst Nick Harris tells clients in a note that he sees margin improvement as another potential catalyst for shares of the Australia-listed connectivity services provider. He raises his Ebitda targets by 22% for fiscal 2027 and by 15% for fiscal 2028, citing lower operating-cost expectations on the fiscal 2026 exit margin implied by guidance. Morgans raises its target price 3.2% to A$16.00. Shares are up 7.2% at A$7.91. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

1903 ET - Weak Australian advertising markets keep UBS analysts cautious on Nine Entertainment despite what they see as strong cost control at the media conglomerate. The UBS analysts tell clients in a note that 1H Ebitda was about 5% higher than they had anticipated thanks to lower-than-expected costs. However, they think a low valuation multiple of four times Ebitda is justifiable given ad markets remain short and near-term visibility is low. They add that the overall macro backdrop also looks likely to be a headwind as interest rates move higher amid already subdued consumer confidence. UBS keeps a neutral rating on the stock and cuts its target price 7.4% to A$1.13. Shares are down 0.5% at A$1.06. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 25, 2026 12:20 ET (17:20 GMT)

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