Thursday, April 27, 2023

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 Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. (FMX), NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE) and Charter Communications, Inc. (CHTR). 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 Fomento Economico Mexicano have outperformed the Zacks Beverages - Soft drinks industry over the past year (+28.7% vs. +10.7%). The company’s top line surpassed consensus and grew year over year, driven by growth across all business units. Continued strength at OXXO Mexico led to a double-digit same-store sales increase. Also, OXXO Gas performed well, owing to increased volume recovery and strong operating leverage.

Fomento Economico Mexicano’s digital initiatives and business expansion endeavors have also been aiding results. Its efforts to expand in the U.S. specialized distribution segment bodes well. The company displays strong financial flexibility.

However, FEMSA continued to witness gross margin decline due to inflationary pressures. Also, the fourth-quarter bottom line lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

(You can read the full research report on Fomento Economico Mexicano here >>>)

NextEra Energy’s shares have outperformed the Zacks Utility - Electric Power industry over the past year (+3.0% vs. -8.7%). The company continues to expand its operations through organic projects and strategic acquisitions. NEE has many renewable projects in its backlog and their completion will reduce emissions.

The merger of Gulf Power and FPL strengthens NextEra’s position in Florida. FPL’s customer base is expanding as Florida’s economy improves and continues to boost demand for its services. NextEra has ample liquidity to meet its near-term debt obligations and efficient debt management acts as a tailwind.

However, due to the nature of its business, it is subject to complex regulations. Risk in operating nuclear units, unfavorable weather conditions and an increase in supply costs adversely impact earnings.

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

Shares of Charter Communications have underperformed the Zacks Cable Television industry over the year-to-date period (-5.4% vs. +0.8%). The company is suffering from video-subscriber attrition, primarily due to cord-cutting and stiff competition from streamers like Netflix and Disney+. Internet user base expansion has started to slow down with the reversal of pandemic trends. The leveraged balance sheet is a concern.

However, Charter Communications’ prospects are riding on strong growth in residential, mobile and commercial revenues. The company continues to expand Internet subscriber base as well as witnessed strong mobile line growth. Charter’s expanding mobile-subscriber base has been a key catalyst.

The momentum is likely to continue in the near term. Charter’s broadband service has gained traction among small and medium businesses. The company is working to improve speed and latency of its network.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include General Electric Co. (GE), Phillips 66 (PSX) and Incyte Corp. (INCY).

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>>>