Monday, October 22, 2018

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 PayPal (PYPL), Schlumberger (SLB) and Blackstone (BX). 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 >>>

PayPal’s shares have outperformed the Zacks Internet Software industry year to date (+15.2% vs. +3.9%). PayPal reported strong third quarter results wherein both earnings and revenues have reflected year-over-year growth on the back of its portfolio strength which continued to improve the customer engagement on its platform.

Moreover, Venmo’s strengthening monetization efforts and increasing number of merchants using One Touch drove the payments volume of the company. This aided the top-line growth of PayPal. Further, growing availability of Choice remained positive throughout the quarter.

The Zacks analyst thinks the company’s growing strategic partnerships will continue to boost its total payment volume and market share in the long run. However, continuous exposure to foreign exchange and interest rate risks are major concerns. Also, intensifying competition from major players in the finance and payment industry poses serious risks.

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

Shares of Schlumberger have outperformed the Zacks Oil and Gas - Field Services industry over the past year, losing -5.6% vs. -9.7%. Schlumberger is the largest oilfield services player in the world with presence in every energy market.

The firm's third quarter results showed that its international business, which constitutes a major portion of revenues, is finally starting to turn around. The Zacks analyst likes the fact that the company is a leading provider of technology for complex oilfield projects outside North America, enabling it to take up new offshore projects.

The company is expecting more drilling activities to ramp up in the offshore resources. Moreover, the firm has been persistently rewarding shareholders with higher dividend yield than the industry over the past 15 years.

However, the pipeline bottleneck problem in the Permian Basin has been hurting the firm’s operations in U.S. shale plays. Schlumberger’s rising project startup costs, stemmed from new developments outside North America, are major concerns. Therefore, the stock warrants a cautious stance.

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

Blackstone’s shares have outperformed the Zacks Investment Management industry over the past six months, (+7.1% vs. -13.5%). Also, the company has an impressive earnings surprise history, having surpassed expectations in each of the trailing four quarters. Its third quarter 2018 results reflect a rise in revenues and assets under management growth.

The Zacks analyst thinks the company remains well positioned to capitalize on its fund-raising ability and will likely continue benefiting from revenue mix and persistent asset inflows. Further, the company's inorganic growth efforts remain impressive and will likely support the financials. However, mounting expenses mainly due to higher compensation and benefits costs will likely hurt bottom-line growth. Also, sustainability of the company’s capital deployment activities remains a concern.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Prologis (PLD), V.F. Corp (VFC) and Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP).

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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>>>