Friday, March 4, 2022
 

The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including Intel Corp. (INTC), Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) and International Business Machines Corp. (IBM). These research reports have been hand-picked from the roughly 70 reports published by our analyst team today.
 

You can see all of today’s research reports here >>>
 

Intel shares have declined -21.1% over the past year against the Zacks Semiconductor - General industry’s gain of +31.9%. However, Intel reported fourth-quarter 2021 non-GAAP earnings of $1.09 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 21.1%.

The Zacks analyst believes that the company is riding on strong prospects of the Internet of Things and Mobileye businesses. Recovery in the enterprise business of the data center segment is a positive. Intel is likely to benefit from higher demand for its 10 nanometer (nm) SuperFin process-based 11th Gen core processors.
 

Intel announced partnerships with ZEEKR and Sixt SE, and plans to unveil Mobileye’s robotaxi equipped with the Mobileye Drive system. However, the Client Computing Group is expected to suffer due to component shortage. Production delays pertaining to 7 nm ramp up remain a concern.
 

(You can read the full research report on Intel here >>>)
 

Shares of Lockheed Martin have outperformed the Zacks Aerospace - Defense industry over the past year (+31.5% vs. -28.2%). It is the largest U.S. defense contractor that has a steady inflow of orders from its leveraged presence in the Army, Air Force, Navy and IT programs. The Zacks analyst believes that expansionary U.S. budgets will also boost its business. The F-35 program continues to be a key growth program for its Aeronautics business unit. In the past year, the stock has outperformed its industry.
 

However, America and Turkey's tiff on the latter accepting Russian products may hurt its component supply from Turkey. The company is facing performance issues concerning some of its products, which, in turn, may hurt its results. Also, an uncertainty revolving around the possible Chinese sanction on Lockheed might impact the latter.
 

(You can read the full research report on Lockheed Martin here >>>)
 

Shares of IBM have outperformed the Zacks Computer - Integrated Systems industry over the past year (+2.5% vs. +0.1%). IBM reported relatively healthy fourth-quarter 2021 results with solid hybrid cloud adoption backed by a resilient business model and robust cash flow position driven by a diligent execution of operational plans. Despite year-over-year growth, both adjusted earnings and revenues missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
 

The Zacks analyst believes that synergies from the Red Hat buyout are boosting the company’s competitive position in the hybrid cloud market. IBM is poised to gain from the spin-off of the legacy infrastructure services business as it focuses on its hybrid cloud strategy. However, stiff competition in the cloud computing market from the likes of Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure remains an overhang. Higher debt levels amid extensive restructuring activities pose a concern.
 

(You can read the full research report on IBM here >>>)
 

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B), Stryker Corp. (SYK) and Infosys Ltd. (INFY).
 

Mark Vickery
Senior Editor

Note: Sheraz Mian heads the Zacks Equity Research department and is a well-regarded expert of aggregate earnings. He is frequently quoted in the print and electronic media and publishes the weekly Earnings Trends and Earnings Preview reports. If you want an email notification each time Sheraz publishes a new article, please click here>>>