Monday, August 22, 2022
 

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 Mastercard Inc. (MA), Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) and PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL). 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 >>>
 

Mastercard shares have outperformed the Zacks Financial Transaction Services industry over the past three-month period (+1.7% vs. +0.9%). The Zacks analyst believes that the company’s profit levels are rising thanks to increasing consumer spending. Numerous acquisitions are helping it to grow addressable markets and drive new revenue streams.

The COVID-19 crisis accelerated the use of electronic payments with much greater adoption of digital and contactless solutions. The situation provides an opportunity for Mastercard's business to expedite its shift to digital mode.
 

The company is well-poised to gain from steady cash-generating abilities. A strong capital position allows the firm to pursue acquisitions and deploy capital. However, steep operating expenses might stress margins. High rebates and incentives may weigh on net revenues.
 

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

Cisco shares have declined -23.0% over the year-to-date period against the Zacks Computer - Networking industry’s decline of -23.2%. The Zacks analyst believes that Cisco is suffering from the disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine and COVID related lockdowns in China. The lockdowns resulted in severe shortage of components that hurt Cisco’s ability to ship products to customers.

Management cautioned that component shortages and ongoing supply chain issues are expected to persist in the rest of fiscal 2022 and bump up costs. This is likely to dent revenues and margin expansion.
 

Nevertheless, Cisco’s performance is expected to benefit from strength in its product portfolio, customer segments and momentum in product order growth. It is benefiting from healthy uptake of identity and access, advanced threat and unified threat management security solutions amid high growth in Internet traffic. The buyout of Acacia Communications bodes well for the long haul.
 

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

PayPal shares have underperformed the Zacks Internet - Software industry over the year-to-date period (-48.8% vs. -46.7%). The Zacks analyst believes that intensifying competition in the digital payment market poses a serious risk to the company’s market position. Further, sluggishness in international market is a concern. Foreign exchange headwinds remain risks.
 

Nonetheless, the company’s second quarter results were driven by strong growth in total payments volume owing to increasing net new active accounts. Strengthening customer engagement was a positive. Also, strong performance by Venmo contributed well to the TPV growth. We believe growing transaction revenues are likely to continue driving the top-line growth.
 

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include EOG Resources, Inc. (EOG), Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) and ICICI Bank Ltd. (IBN).
 

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>>>