Wednesday, September 17, 2025

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 Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) and Caterpillar Inc. (CAT), as well as two micro-cap stocks Ohio Valley Banc Corp. (OVBC) and Where Food Comes From, Inc. (WFCF). The Zacks microcap research is unique as our research content on these small and under-the-radar companies is the only research of its type in the country.

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 >>>

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You can read today's AWS here >>> Housing Numbers Down Ahead of Fed Rate Cut Today

Today's Featured Research Reports

Shares of Exxon Mobil have gained +9.9% over the year-to-date period against the Zacks Oil and Gas - Integrated - International industry’s gain of +10.8%. The company is advancing key oil projects in the Permian Basin and offshore Guyana, boosting production and efficiency. Its recent merger with Pioneer enhances its U.S. operations, while Guyana remains a major growth driver. 

Exxon Mobil is also expanding into cleaner energy, with a major low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia plant in Texas and progress in advanced plastic recycling plants that turn old plastic into new raw materials. The company’s low debt exposure positions it to navigate different commodity cycles with ease. 

However, the Chemicals Division remains a weak spot, with global oversupply leading to margin compression. Moreover, its upstream business is highly vulnerable to commodity price volatility. Ongoing tariff uncertainty is further weighing on the energy giant’s chemicals business. As such the stock warrants a cautious stance. 

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

AMD’s shares have gained +33.3% over the year-to-date period against the Zacks Computer - Integrated Systems industry’s gain of +39.2%. The company’s prospects are benefiting from strong demand for EPYC processors that power cloud and enterprise workloads. Emerging AI use cases and rapid adoption of agentic AI are generating demand for general-purpose compute infrastructure, benefiting EPYC demand. 

Adoption of EPYC by the largest cloud hyperscalers is increasing significantly. Apart from EPYC, AMD’s prospects are driven by strong demand for Instinct accelerators. The launch of the Instinct MI350 series that supports deployments powered by AMD CPUs, GPUs and NICs has strengthened AMD’s system-level capabilities. 

However, stiff competition from NVIDIA and Intel doesn’t bode well for AMD. The weakness in the Embedded business remains a headwind for AMD. Low Data Center gross margin is expected to hurt consolidated gross margin expansion in the near term.

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

Shares of Caterpillar have outperformed the Zacks Manufacturing - Construction and Mining industry over the year-to-date period (+24.9% vs. +22.2%). The company’s Energy and Transportation segment has shown improved volume and margin performance in the past few quarters, helping offset weaker results in the Resource Industries and Construction Industries segments. This will continue through 2025, which, along with a second quarter 2025-end backlog of $37.5 billion, should support its top line. 

However, higher labor costs and the impact of tariffs on its margins are concerning. Going forward, the Construction Industries segment will gain from increased construction activities in the United States and globally. Resource Industries will be supported by commodity demand. 

The Energy & Transportation segment will gain on strong demand across all applications. Caterpillar’s focus on aftermarket parts and service-related revenues (which generate high margins) will aid growth.

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

Ohio Valley Banc’s shares have outperformed the Zacks Banks - Midwest industry over the year-to-date period (+65.4% vs. +7.3%). This microcap company with a market capitalization of $174.31 million continues to expand margins and earnings through strategic asset reallocation and disciplined cost control. 

NIM rose to 4.17% in second-quarter 2025 year over year, driven by growth in higher-yielding commercial and residential real estate loans. Deposits reached $1.276 billion, benefiting from low-cost funding sources like Ohio Homebuyer Plus. Loans grew 3.7% year to date, with focus shifting away from consumer to commercial and industrial, enhancing credit quality but raising concentration risk. Efficiency ratio improved to 63.09%, aided by structural cost savings. 

Net income rose 49.5% in the first half of 2025, boosting return on average assets to 1.16% and return on equity to 11.3%, with solid dividend coverage and a $5 million buyback extension. Risks include reliance on public funds, rising provisions and limited loan diversification.

(You can read the full research report on Ohio Valley Banc here >>>)

Shares of Where Food Comes From have outperformed the Zacks Consumer Services - Miscellaneous industry over the year-to-date period (+2.3% vs. -5.7%). This microcap company with a market capitalization of $67.70 million is scaling high-margin CARE Certified licensing, expanding from 20 to over 100 retail locations by year-end 2025, driving recurring fees and consumer exposure. 

Where Food Comes From’s Upcycled Certified program, with exclusive rights in a $46-$75 billion market, and a broad portfolio of 50+ certifications, enhances resilience and customer stickiness. AI-driven audits and digital tools boost efficiency, scalability, and margins, while premium hardware solutions support compliance and traceability. 

However, prolonged cattle cycle contraction, margin pressures from labor and input costs, reliance on volatile Bitcoin gains, and limited diversification constrain earnings visibility. Operating leverage erosion and the non-renewal of a credit line further weaken financial flexibility. WFCF’s growth hinges on sustainability-linked certifications, but structural cost and industry risks remain.

(You can read the full research report on Where Food Comes From here >>>)

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY), Equinix, Inc. (EQIX) and Hologic, Inc. (HOLX).

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>>>