Wednesday, January 3, 2024

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 Eli Lilly and Company (LLY). 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.com shares were up +75.7% over the past year, which compares to the Zacks Tech sector's +50.4% gain and the +26.1% gain for the Zacks Retail sector (Amazon's own sector). The company is gaining on solid Prime momentum owing to ultrafast delivery services and strong content portfolio. Strengthening relationship with third-party sellers is a positive.

Additionally, strong adoption rate of AWS is aiding the company’s cloud dominance. Expanding AWS services portfolio is continuously helping Amazon in gaining further momentum among the customers. Robust Alexa skills and expanding smart home products portfolio are positives.

The company’s strong global presence and solid momentum among the small and medium businesses remain tailwinds. However, inflationary pressure, geopolitical tensions and foreign currency headwinds remain concerns.

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

Shares of Berkshire Hathaway have outperformed the Zacks Insurance - Property and Casualty industry over the past year (+17.0% vs. +13.4%). The company is one of the largest property and casualty insurance companies with numerous diverse business activities. A strong cash position supports earnings-accretive bolt-on buyouts and is indicative of its financial flexibility.

Continued insurance business growth fuels increase in float, drive earnings and generates maximum return on equity. The non-insurance businesses have also been doing well in the last few years. The addition of Pilot Travel Centers (PTC) has strengthened its energy business.  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 >>>)

Eli Lilly shares have handily outperformed the Zacks Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry over the past year (+63.8% vs. +11.3%), reflecting the company's impressive offerings in areas like obesity, diabetes and Alzheimer’s. Lilly's Q4 results are coming out on February 6th, but they beat top- and bottom-line estimates in the Q3 report on November 2nd. 

At the back of Lilly's revenue growth is higher demand for drugs like Verzenio, Trulicity, Taltz and others. Sales of its new drug, Mounjaro, are already benefiting from strong demand trends.

Lilly is also making rapid pipeline progress in areas like obesity, diabetes and Alzheimer’s. Mounjaro was recently approved for the obesity indication by the name of Zepbound. Mounjaro and Zepbound are expected to be key top-line drivers for Lilly. It has also gained approvals for some other new drugs in 2023.

However, generic competition for some drugs, rising pricing pressure and challenges in meeting strong demand for incretin products are some top-line headwinds.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) and T-Mobile US, Inc. (TMUS).

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>>>