Wednesday, February 21, 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 Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL), Bank of America Corporation (BAC) and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD). 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 Alphabet have gained +9.3% over the past six months against the Zacks Internet - Services industry’s gain of +12.4%. The company’s strong cloud division is aiding substantial revenue growth. Moreover, expanding data centers will continue to bolster its presence in the cloud space.

Further, major updates in its search segment are enhancing the search results. Also, strong focus on innovation of AI techniques and the home automation space should aid business growth in the long term. Further, its deepening focus on wearables category remains a tailwind.

Alphabet’s expanding presence in the autonomous driving space is contributing well. Its growing efforts to gain foothold in the healthcare industry are other positives. However, sluggishness in the company’s Network advertisement businessremains a headwind. Additionally, its growing litigation issues and increasing expenses are concerns.

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

Bank of America’s shares have gained +21.4% over the past six months against the Zacks Banks - Major Regional industry’s gain of +24.6%. Higher interest rates and decent loan demand will keep supporting the company’s net interest income (NII) growth in the upcoming quarters. The opening of financial centers and improving digital capabilities is expected to further support the top line.

Yet, the current tough macroeconomic environment will continue to weigh on the company’s investment banking (IB) business. This, along with the volatile nature of the capital markets, will likely hurt fee income. Due to inflationary pressure, overall costs are expected to remain elevated.

(You can read the full research report on Bank of America here >>>)

Shares of AMD have outperformed the Zacks Electronics - Semiconductors industry over the past six months (+56.8% vs. +49.5%). The company is benefiting from portfolio strength and an expanding partner base. Strong demand for EPYC processors has been a growth driver.

The launch of the Ryzen 8040 series processor with Ryzen AI and Instinct MI300 Series data center AI accelerators bodes well for top-line growth. AMD continues to benefit from acquisitions, including Xilinx and Pensando, which has diversified its business. For fourth-quarter 2023, AMD expects to witness year-over-year growth in the Data Center and Client segments by double-digit percentage.

Sequentially, the Data Center segment’s revenues are expected to grow on a double-digit percentage, while Client is expected to increase. However, weakness in the Gaming and Embedded segment revenues are expected to hurt top-line growth.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today Danaher Corporation (DHR), Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) and The TJX Companies, Inc. (TJX).

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>>>