Thursday, August 24, 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 The Procter & Gamble Company (PG), AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) and The Walt Disney Company (DIS). 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 >>>

Procter & Gamble shares have outperformed the Zacks Soap and Cleaning Materials industry over the past six months (+11.6% vs. +8.0%). The company continued its robust top and bottom-line surprise trend for the fourth consecutive quarter in the last quarterly release. Also, sales and earnings grew year over year.

Procter & Gamble’s organic sales grew, driven by robust pricing and a favorable mix, along with strength across segments. It has been focused on productivity and cost-saving plans to boost margins. Consequently, management has provided an optimistic view for fiscal 2024.

However, the company has been witnessing supply-chain issues, higher SG&A costs, higher transportation costs, geopolitical challenges, currency headwinds and rising inflation. Procter & Gamble’s significant international presence exposes it to foreign currency risks, which have been weighing on the company’s performance.

(You can read the full research report on Procter & Gamble here >>>)

Shares of AbbVie have gained +9.8% over the past year against the Zacks Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry’s gain of +23.7%. The company has several new drugs in its portfolio with the potential to drive the top line and make up for lost Humira revenues.

Newer products, Skyrizi and Rinvoq, are performing extremely well, bolstered by approval in new indications, which should support top-line growth in the next few years. The company has several early/mid-stage candidates that have blockbuster potential. AbbVie expects several key data readouts in 2023.

However, the company faces several near-term headwinds like Humira loss of exclusivity, increasing competitive pressure on Imbruvica and economic pressure on Juvederm sales. Nonetheless, though revenues are expected to decline in 2023, AbbVie expects to return to robust sales growth in 2025.

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

Shares of Walt Disney have declined -1.2% over the year-to-date period against the Zacks Media Conglomerates industry’s decline of -1.4%, reflecting concerns about the profitability of the company's streaming business and the long-term outlookf for its media business in the cord-cutting backdrop. Nevertheless, Walt Disney is benefiting from rebounding Parks, Experiences and Products businesses as reflected by the fiscal third quarter results.

Both domestic and international theme parks reported impressive top-line growth. Upcoming attractions like the Frozen theme land at Hong Kong Disneyland and Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris, as well as the Zootopia theme land at Shanghai Disney Resort, are expected to boost the prospects of the theme parks business.

A strong line-up of movies that includes Haunted Mansion, Poor Things and The Creator bodes well for the Media and Entertainment Distribution segment. The company has been nominated for several Emmy awards, which suggests a strong content portfolio.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include HSBC Holdings plc (HSBC), Boston Scientific Corporation (BSX) and Duke Energy Corporation (DUK).

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>>>