Monday, July 3, 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 Apple Inc. (AAPL), Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) and Amgen Inc. (AMGN). 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 >>>

Apple shares have been standout perfomers this year, outperforming the Zacks Tech sector ((+47.9% vs. +37.3%) and the S&P 500 index (+47.9% vs. +16.9). The company is benefiting from steady demand for iPhone 14 and 14 Plus as well as expanding footprint in emerging markets. Growing services subscriber base and improving customer engagement are tailwinds for the services business.

Apple is expanding service offerings with the new features and enhancements in its upcoming iOS 17, iPadOS 17, macOS Sonoma, watchOS 10, and tvOS 17. Expanding content on Apple TV+ bodes well for Apple. Growing footprint in enterprise market is encouraging.

However, services’ revenue growth in the fiscal third quarter is expected to be similar to the fiscal second quarter. Apple expects services to be negatively impacted by challenging macroeconomic conditions, as well as continued weakness in digital advertising and mobile gaming.

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

Shares of Verizon have declined -6.6% over the past six months against the Zacks Wireless National industry’s decline of -7.2%. The company has reiterated its soft guidance for 2023 due to a challenging macroeconomic environment. Continued retail prepaid and postpaid net losses are hindering the top line of the company. Stiff competition from other major players and saturation in the U.S. wireless market is hurting profits.

Heavy spending on promotional activities to attract customers is also weighing on margins. Nevertheless, Verizon is witnessing significant 5G adoption and fixed wireless broadband momentum. It is offering various mix and match pricing in both wireless and home broadband plans that has led to solid customer additions.

Strong demand for Fios and fixed wireless products are tailwinds. Verizon’s mmWave footprint delivers game-changing experience for the densest parts of the network and offers reliable signal waves with enhanced efficiency and less interference.

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

Amgen shares have declined -6.5% over the past year against the Zacks Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry’s decline of -7.1%. While the company’s key drugs like Prolia, Repatha and Evenity are driving sales, increasing competition for its legacy products is hurting the same.

Amgen is rapidly advancing its robust oncology and immunology pipeline. Several data readouts are expected in the second half of 2023. Amgen boasts a strong biosimilars portfolio with potential new products expected to drive long-term growth.

However, increased pricing headwinds and competitive pressure are hurting sales of many of Amgen’s products, including some biosimilars. Increasing biosimilar competition for some legacy products and weakness in key brands like Otezla and Lumakras create potential revenue headwinds.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include The Charles Schwab Corporation (SCHW), Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (MMC) and The Cigna Group (CI).

Director of Research

Sheraz Mian

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>>>