Tuesday, October 5, 2021

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 Apple Inc. (AAPL), Mastercard Incorporated (MA), and Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ). 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 Apple have modestly underperformed the S&P 500 over the past year (+23.7% vs. +31.8%), however, its Services and Wearables businesses are expected to drive top-line growth in fiscal 2021 and beyond. The Zacks analyst believes that Apple has been benefiting from momentum in the Services business, strong adoption of Apple Pay and growing Apple Music subscriber base.

The company’s ability to attract small developers remains a key catalyst for growth. Apple devices also continue to gain traction among enterprises. The management, however, expects revenues in the September quarter to be lower than in June. Stiff competition from players in the tablet market such as Amazon, HTC, Microsoft, and Hewlett-Packard has been negatively impacting iPad’s growth.

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

Mastercard shares have lost -6.6% in the last six months against the Zacks Financial Transaction Services industry’s loss of -16.1%. Higher expenses, high rebates and incentives have been weighing on the company's margins.

The Zacks analyst, however, believes that Mastercard’s strategic acquisitions, product-diversification and geographic-expansion initiatives augur well for long-term growth. A strong capital position enables the company to pursue acquisitions and prudently deploy capital through share buybacks and dividend hikes.

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

Shares of Verizon have lost -2.3% over the past three months against the Zacks Wireless National industry’s loss of -6.6%. Heavy spending on promotion and lucrative discounts have been weighing on margins. The Zacks analyst, however, believes that it is well-poised to benefit from a disciplined network strategy and a customer-centric business model.

The company has witnessed a healthy demand curve across core businesses backed by a focused roadmap for technology leadership. This momentum is expected to continue on the back of diligent execution of operational plans along with dedicated 5G endeavors.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Target Corporation (TGT), Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD) and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (SNP).

Sheraz Mian

Director of Research

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>>>