Monday, August 1, 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 Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN), Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B) and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (TMO). 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 >>>

Amazon shares have declined -19.0% over the past year against the Zacks Internet - Commerce industry’s decline of -33.4%. The company’s growing expenses due to supply-chain constraints and inflationary pressure remain concerns. Nevertheless, second quarter results were driven by Prime and AWS momentum. Strengthening AWS services portfolio and its growing adoption rate contributed well.

Ultrafast delivery services and expanding content portfolio were beneficial. Strong momentum across Amazon Music was a tailwind. Strengthening relationship with third-party sellers was a positive. Robust advertising business contributed well. Improving Alexa skills along with robust smart home products offerings were tailwinds.

Amazon’s strong global presence and solid momentum among the small and medium businesses remain positives. Growing capabilities in grocery, pharmacy, Amazon Care, Kuiper and Zoox are other positives.

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

Berkshire Hathaway shares have outperformed the Zacks Insurance - Property and Casualty industry over the past year (+8.1% vs. -0.4%). The company is one of the largest property and casualty insurance companies measured by premium volume. Berkshire's inorganic growth story remains impressive with strategic acquisitions.

A strong cash position supports earnings-accretive bolt-on buyouts and indicates the company's financial flexibility. Continued insurance business growth fuels increase in float, drive earnings and generates maximum return on equity. The non-insurance businesses are delivering improved results with increased revenues over the past few years. A sturdy capital level provides further impetus.

However, exposure to catastrophe loss induces earnings volatility and also affects the property and casualty underwriting results of Berkshire. Huge capital expenditure remains a headwind for the company.

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

Thermo Fisher shares have outperformed the Zacks Medical - Instruments industry over the past year (+12.3% vs. -21.9%). The company’s robust year-over-year revenue growth in the Analytical Instruments and the Laboratory Products and Biopharma Services segments appears promising.

Thermo Fisher’s strategic acquisitions of PPD, Inc. and PeproTech raise investors’ confidence. Thermo Fisher’s accelerated investments to expand bioproduction capacity also buoy optimism. The upbeat guidance for 2022 is indicative that this growth momentum will continue.

However, the year-over-year decline in revenues in the Specialty Diagnostics segment is disappointing. The contraction of both margins does not bode well either.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ), Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD), and Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (BUD).

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>>>