Thursday, March 26, 2020

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 The Walt Disney (DIS), General Electric (GE) and Fiserv (FISV). 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 >>>

Disney’s shares have outperformed the Zacks Media Conglomerates industry over the past six months (-10.6% vs. -17.3). The Zacks analyst believes that the coronavirus outbreak and the precautionary measures taken to prevent its spread including quarantines and lockdowns are expected to hurt its financial and operational results.

Following the coronavirus outbreak, the company postponed its May movie releases including the Marvel superhero film Black Widow. Closure of Disney's theme parks in California and Florida is also expected to hurt.

Moreover, the company anticipates higher operating losses in the DTC & International segment due to the ongoing investments in Disney+ and the consolidation of Hulu. However, growing popularity of Disney+ makes it a key catalyst for the company’s prospects owing to a strong content portfolio and a cheaper bundle offering.

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

Shares of General Electric have lost 24.1% over the past year against the Zacks Diversified Operations industry’s fall of 21.5%. The Zacks analyst believes that General Electric is poised to gain from its portfolio-restructuring program, digital business, efforts to reduce leverage and international commercial presence in the quarters ahead.

It expects adjusted earnings per share of 50-60 cents for 2020 and low single-digit organic sales growth for Industrial. For 2020, the company envisions adjusted free cash flow of $2-$4 billion for Industrial.

Tariffs, issues with 737 MAX and forex woes might continue to affect it in the quarters ahead. Also, the persistence of internal and external challenges within the Power segment might hurt. For first-quarter 2020, it expects the coronavirus outbreak to have an adverse impact of $300-$500 million on its Industrial free cash flow and $200-$300 million on operating profit.

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

Fiserv’s shares have lost 22.1% over the past three months against the Zacks Financial Transaction Services industry’s fall of 17.2%. The Zacks analyst believes that high debt may limit the company’s future expansion and worsen its risk profile.

However, the company enjoys a dominant position in the financial and payments solutions business on the back of broad and diverse customer base, and continued technology upgrades. The company's diversified product portfolio helps attract a steady flow of customers. Acquisitions help boost its market share and customer base.

The company has been consistently rewarding shareholders through share buybacks. On the flip side, maintaining strong and long-term client relationships is a difficult task amid stiff competition.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Booking Holdings (BKNG), S&P Global (SPGI) and TJX Companies (TJX).

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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>>>