The latest Market Talks covering Equities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.

1157 ET - RTX sees a growing commitment to increase defense budgets globally, particularly within Europe, Chief Executive Christopher Calio said during the company's earnings call. He points to the European Union's recent push for additional defense spending over the next four years, focused on munitions and integrated air and missile defense products -- all products that align with RTX's core capabilities, he says. RTX's strong and long-standing co-production and co-sustainment agreements with European companies like MBDA position it well to help meet the region's rising demand. "We don't go it alone in Europe on some of our key programs, and we think that's a competitive advantage," Calio says. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)

1145 ET - If all U.S. tariffs go through, Aritzia is looking at up to a 550-basis point hit to margins according to Raymond James' Michael Glen. The analyst figures that with 145% tariff on China-made products, made up of 120% reciprocal and 20% fentanyl-related, as well as a 10% reciprocal tariffs for other regions--like Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh--the clothing retailer is looking at gross margin headwinds of 500bps-550bps from all proposed tariffs as things currently stand. A quarter of Aritzia's of apparel is sourced from China, 45% from Vietnam and the rest from elsewhere. Meanwhile, the company's largest market is the U.S., with 57.5% of its sales, while the rest is in Canada. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)

1142 ET - RTX maintained its 2025 outlook but foresees a roughly $850 million hit to profit if current tariff policies remain in effect throughout the year, the company said. That estimate doesn't include secondary tariff-related impacts like changes in customer demand, Chief Executive Christopher Calio said during the earnings call. "Like many companies in the industry, our supply chain and customer base are global, and we import raw materials, parts and modules from around the world," Calio said. He said around 65% of RTX's product spend is currently with U.S. suppliers and the company plans to continue to expand its U.S. manufacturing capacity with a $2 billion investment this year. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)

1129 ET - Sportradar gets a double upgrade at Bank of America, which ups its rating on the sports-betting company's shares to buy from underperform. In a note. BofA cites higher confidence in Sportradar's ability to participate in continued global strong online sports betting growth, as well as increasing cost visibility and margin leverage as the company has lapped a number of major rights renewals. The analysts also cite potential upside from the recently announced IMG Arena transaction, along with AI opportunities for both costs and revenues. BofA lifts its Sportradar price objective to $28 from $12. Sportradar up 9.3% to $25.14. (colin.kellaher@wsj.com)

1123 ET - PulteGroup remains confident in the housing market's long-term prospects. The Atlanta home builder is seeing high interest in homeownership but is up against an environment marked by high mortgage rates and home prices, ongoing inflation and concerns that tariffs will challenge affordability further. "People still want to buy a home. They're still buying homes, and we expect to sell a lot of homes between now and the end of the year," says CEO Ryan Marshall in an interview. The sentiment echoes a point builders at large like to make, particularly given the housing shortage in the US. Shares rise 7.5% to $100.05 as 1Q results top expectations. (denny.jacob@wsj.com; @pennedbyden)

1119 ET - Inflation risks are likely lower in the U.K. following the implementation of U.S. tariffs, Bank of America analysts say in a note. The tariffs could push inflation lower due to trade diversions from the U.S., which could mean cheap imports, BofA says. Tariffs are also expected to lead to slower growth, the analysts say. Although U.K. inflation is projected to rise in the second quarter due to the increase in National Insurance contributions, the extent of the rise is likely to be limited, BofA says. "We reduce the inflation peak from 3.5% in 3Q to 3.2% in 2Q/3Q with the peak now in June versus September before." (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)

1054 ET - Kimberly-Clark is walking back its profitability guidance for 2025 in light of an incremental $300 million in costs it expects to incur from President Trump's tariff war. The maker of Kleenex tissues and Huggies diapers says that costs excluding the tariffs are largely in line with what was expected at the end of 2024, CFO Nelson Urdaneta says on a call with analysts. But Trump's 145% levy on Chinese imports is now expected to have a gross impact of about $200 million on Kimberly-Clark's bottom line, he says. Trump's 10% duties on imports from other countries are expected to create a $30 million impact, and reciprocal tariffs against the U.S. should make for another $75 million dent, the CFO says. Shares slide 2.2% to $136.93. (dean.seal@wsj.com)

1033 ET - Kimberly-Clark, the maker of Kleenex tissues and Huggies diapers, says it has been fine-tuning its pack sizes and prices to better meet demand as consumers of all income levels tighten their budgets and downshift their spending habits. Customers from lower-income households have been seeking out more affordable opening price points, typically on small pack sizes, while most affluent consumers are seeking out larger pack sizes that offer them a lower per-unit price, CEO Michael Hsu says on a call with analysts. "Budgets are going to be tight, and so affordability is core to our strategy here," he says. (dean.seal@wsj.com)

1019 ET - BE Semiconductor Industries is expected to report roughly unchanged revenue and a lower gross margin for the first quarter compared with the year-earlier period, according to consensus estimates provided by Visible Alpha. The Dutch supplier of equipment to the semiconductor industry--also known as Besi--is due to report first-quarter earnings on Wednesday and analysts forecast its revenue at 146.5 million euros, according to the Visible Alpha consensus, based on estimates by 13 analysts. This compares with the 146.3 million euros the company reported for the first quarter of 2024. Analysts expect Besi's gross margin at 64%, which compares with the 67.2% margin it reported a year ago, according to the same consensus. Shares fall 0.5%. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)

0948 ET - Market fluctuations quickly affect the earnings per share of Italian asset managers due to their lower assets under management balances, Jefferies says in a research note cutting its estimates for companies in its coverage after the market selloff triggered by the announcement of U.S. tariffs. The sector is relatively insulated from potential asset-quality deterioration thanks to their moderate levels of lending and the nature of its customers, analysts Marco Nicolai and Joseph Dickerson write. "We now favor Fineco in this group due to underappreciated brokerage revenue growth, more moderate sensitivity to equity markets, and the absence of performance fees," they note. They also like Poste Italiane for diversified business model but cut Banco Mediolanum to hold--joining Mediobanca and Banca Generali--due to its downside risks to consensus earnings. (elena.vardon@wsj.com)

0947 ET - Credit Agricole isn't currently expected to provide more clarity on how consolidation in the Italian banking sector will impact it, Jefferies says in a research note. Europe's financial sector is swept by a wave of takeover bids, most notably in Italy, which is Credit Agricole's second-largest market. Jefferies doesn't expect a major announcement before the start of Credit Agricole's new CEO in mid-May and says a new strategic plan is unlikely until at least the end of the year. However, the French lender is ideally positioned in a environment of falling interest rates and able to defend its interests and partnerships, analyst Joseph Dickerson and associate Theo Massing write. Shares trade 0.6% higher at 16.4 euros and have gained 23% year to date. (elena.vardon@wsj.com)

0913 ET - Deals on the private market will stall for some time given the market uncertainty unleashed by the announcement of U.S. tariffs, Vontobel says in a research note. Investment and divestments will be impacted as transaction activity comes to a standstill with executives delaying decision due to the risk-off environment, analyst Andreas Venditti writes. Switzerland's Partners Group has said that tariffs have a limited direct impact on its private-equity portfolio and no impact on its infrastructure business. The company will be primarily hit by lower performance fees this year, which could fall by more than a fifth on year, he estimates. But Partners is well-placed to benefit from the next private markets cycle which features democratization and consolidation, Venditti adds. (elena.vardon@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 22, 2025 11:58 ET (15:58 GMT)

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