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Investing.com – Japan stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Paper & Pulp, Transport and Communication sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 lost 1.03%.

The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were SoftBank Group Corp. (TYO:9984), which rose 5.96% or 1,085.00 points to trade at 19,285.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Japan Steel Works Ltd (TYO:5631) added 3.44% or 303.00 points to end at 9,115.00 and Sharp Corp (TYO:6753) was up 3.38% or 26.00 points to 795.60 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Trend Micro Inc. (TYO:4704), which fell 8.92% or 702.00 points to trade at 7,167.00 at the close. Bridgestone Corp. (TYO:5108) declined 4.68% or 344.00 points to end at 7,000.00 and GS Yuasa Corp. (TYO:6674) was down 4.56% or 182.00 points to 3,806.00.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2510 to 1053 and 269 ended unchanged.

Shares in Trend Micro Inc. (TYO:4704) fell to 52-week lows; down 8.92% or 702.00 to 7,167.00.

The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was up 1.52% to 28.12.

Crude oil for January delivery was down 0.12% or 0.07 to $59.60 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in February fell 0.02% or 0.01 to hit $63.25 a barrel, while the February Gold Futures contract rose 0.30% or 12.55 to trade at $4,255.55 a troy ounce.

USD/JPY was down 0.30% to 154.64, while EUR/JPY fell 0.17% to 180.30.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.07% at 98.88.

Investing.com -- J.P. Morgan downgraded fast-food chain Wendy’s to “neutral” from “overweight” and cut its December 2026 price target to $9 from $12, pointing to weakening U.S. system economics, elevated capital requirements and limited visibility on a defined turnaround plan.

The brokerage said its reassessment follows a scenario analysis showing that the company’s path to restoring domestic development remains constrained as U.S. franchise average unit volumes of $1.9 million fall short of the roughly $2.3 million to $2.5 million needed to make new builds feasible.

The brokerage said Wendy’s U.S. franchise base faces pressure from a 4% year-over-year decline in fiscal 2025 AUVs, which are estimated to reduce average franchise profitability to about $100,000 to $150,000 before overhead and debt service. 

After those costs, J.P. Morgan said operators could retain as little as $50,000 to $80,000, limiting their ability to fund remodels or technology upgrades. The company is therefore expected to contribute materially to franchise capital needs.

J.P. Morgan projected more than $700 million in capital intensity from fiscal 2026 through fiscal 2028. 

The total includes more than $400 million for store refresh and remodel spending across the roughly 5,700-unit U.S. footprint, about $125 million in digital and technology investment such as digital menu boards, around $75 million in cloud computing costs and roughly $75 million in capital lease principal payments. 

Annual capital intensity is forecast at about $260 million in fiscal 2026, $240 million in 2027 and $230 million in 2028.

The brokerage noted that the chain has installed digital menu boards in only about 700 of its roughly 5,700 U.S. restaurants, leaving close to 5,000 units requiring installation. 

J.P. Morgan estimated the remaining rollout at about $100 million and said current franchise economics suggest the company will need to fund the effort. 

The FreshAI package, including digital boards, was said to cost about $50,000 per store, with limited adoption so far across franchise locations.

The analysts said Wendy’s U.S. EBITDA profile under its base-case scenario remains roughly flat year over year, adding that leverage remains elevated and restricts additional borrowing. 

Including about $600 million of capital leases, Wendy’s gross and net debt-to-EBITDA stood at roughly 6.1x and 5.5x exiting the third quarter of fiscal 2025, with projections showing exit fiscal-2026 leverage at about 5.9x and fiscal-2028 at 5.1x. J.P. Morgan said these levels sit above the company’s long-term target ranges.

The brokerage based its $9 price target on its realistic scenario, which values fiscal 2028 free cash flow of about $130 million at a 6.25% yield and discounts it at 8%. 

The scenario implies roughly $1.8 billion in equity value exiting fiscal 2027 and about $1.7 billion in enterprise value after roughly $120 million in cash investments. 

The analysis includes the international business, estimated to generate more than $50 million in EBITDA, and a real estate portfolio valued at about $1 billion that contributes roughly $110 million in EBITDA.

Investing.com – Australia stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Gold, Metals & Mining and Materials sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.19%.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were IGO Ltd (ASX:IGO), which rose 7.88% or 0.51 points to trade at 6.98 at the close. Meanwhile, Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX:WHC) added 6.11% or 0.45 points to end at 7.81 and Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX:MIN) was up 4.74% or 2.27 points to 50.21 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Premier Investments Ltd (ASX:PMV), which fell 16.14% or 2.92 points to trade at 15.17 at the close. Objective Corp Ltd (ASX:OCL) declined 3.82% or 0.69 points to end at 17.35 and Nick Scali Ltd (ASX:NCK) was down 3.73% or 0.90 points to 23.24.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 571 to 551 and 373 ended unchanged.

Shares in IGO Ltd (ASX:IGO) rose to 52-week highs; up 7.88% or 0.51 to 6.98. Shares in Premier Investments Ltd (ASX:PMV) fell to 52-week lows; falling 16.14% or 2.92 to 15.17. Shares in Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX:WHC) rose to 52-week highs; up 6.11% or 0.45 to 7.81.

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was down 3.64% to 10.21 a new 6-months low.

Gold Futures for February delivery was up 0.15% or 6.40 to $4,249.40 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in January fell 0.27% or 0.16 to hit $59.51 a barrel, while the February Brent oil contract fell 0.16% or 0.10 to trade at $63.16 a barrel.

AUD/USD was unchanged 0.14% to 0.66, while AUD/JPY fell 0.10% to 102.43.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.04% at 98.92.