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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights Meta Platforms, S&P Global, AT&T, CME and FedEx

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – March 28, 2024 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Meta Platforms, Inc. (META - Free Report) , S&P Global Inc. (SPGI - Free Report) , AT&T Inc. (T - Free Report) , CME Group Inc. (CME - Free Report) and FedEx Corp. (FDX - Free Report)

Here are highlights from Wedensday’s Analyst Blog:

Top Analyst Reports for Meta Platforms, S&P Global and AT&T

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 Meta Platforms, Inc., S&P Global Inc. and AT&T Inc.. 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 >>>

Shares of Meta Platforms have outperformed the Zacks Internet - Software industry over the past six months (+63.3% vs. +39.4%). The company is benefiting from steady user growth across all regions, particularly Asia Pacific. Increased engagement for its offerings like Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and Facebook has been a major growth driver.

Meta Platforms' is leveraging AI to recommend Reels content, which is driving traffic on Instagram and Facebook. Its innovative portfolio, which includes Threads, Reels, Llama 2, Ray-Ban Meta smart glass, and mixed reality device Quest 3 is likely to aid prospects. Reels continued to do very well across both Instagram and Facebook driven by growing adoption. People reshared Reels 3.5 billion times every day during the fourth-quarter.

However, challenging macroeconomic conditions remain a headwind for Meta's advertising revenues. Slow monetization of Reels, along with mounting operating losses at Reality Labs, are concerns.

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

S&P Global's shares have outperformed the Zacks Business - Information Services industry over the past year (+26.7% vs. +23.9%). The company remains well-poised to gain from the growing demand for business information services. Buyouts help innovate, increase differentiated content and develop new products.

New service launches have been aiding the company's growth. Dividend payments and share buybacks boost investors' confidence and positively impact earnings per share.

However, S&P Global remains vulnerable to proceedings, investigations and inquiries concerning the ratings provided, leading to legal charges, damages or fines. Growth initiatives, higher compensations and incentives raise the company's expenses. Decreasing current ratio does not bode well for the company.

(You can read the full research report on S&P Global here >>>)

Shares of AT&T have gained +18.5% over the past six months against the Zacks Wireless National industry's gain of +19.9%. The company has offered a muted outlook for 2024 owing to a challenging macroeconomic environment. Dwindling contribution from DirecTV business is a concern.

AT&T is facing a steady decline in linear TV subscribers and legacy services. As it tries to woo customers with discounts, freebies and cash credits, margin pressures tend to escalate. However, AT&T is witnessing healthy momentum in postpaid wireless business with a lower churn rate and increased adoption of higher-tier unlimited plans driven by a customer-centric business model.

The deployment of Open RAN architecture, which offers more flexibility, lowers costs and helps to monetize the network, is likely to reap long-term benefits. An integrated fiber expansion strategy is expected to improve broadband connectivity, while steady 5G deployments are likely to boost end-user experience.

(You can read the full research report on AT&T here >>>)

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include CME Group Inc. and FedEx Corp..

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

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