Tuesday, November 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 AbbVie Inc. (ABBV), PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP) 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 >>>

AbbVie’s shares have handily outperformed the Zacks Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry over the past year (+35.9% vs. +13.4%) on the back of favorable outlook for its cancer drugs and pipeline of drugs. The company has successfully expanded the labels of its cancer drugs, Imbruvica and Venclexta. It has several new drugs in its portfolio, which have the potential to drive revenues once Humira loses U.S. exclusivity in 2023.

Skyrizi and Rinvoq have established outstanding launch trajectories bolstered by the approval in new indications. It has several early/mid-stage candidates that have blockbuster potential.

However, there are concerns about long-term sales growth once Humira generics enter the U.S. market. Increasing competition from newer therapies is hurting Imbruvica’s sales. Slowing consumer demand due to economic pressures is affecting sales of the aesthetics franchise.

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

Shares of PepsiCo have modestly outperformed the Zacks Beverages - Soft drinks industry over the past year (+12.6% vs. +11.1%). The company’s revenues and earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate and improved year over year in the third quarter. This marked the 17th straight quarter of sales beat.

PepsiCo benefits from the resilience and strength of global beverage and convenient food businesses. It expects to benefit by delivering convenience, variety and value proposition to customers through its brands. It raised its revenue view for 2022.

However, PepsiCo witnessed margin pressures in the third quarter driven by impacts of supply-chain disruptions and inflationary labor, transportation and commodity costs. PEP anticipates incremental input cost inflation for the balance of 2022. Adverse currency rates also remain headwinds.

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

Walt Disney shares have reacted favorably to the leadership change announcement, but the stock has otherwise been laggard (down -38.6% vs. -18.3% for the S&P 500 index). The company’s profitability was negatively impacted by higher programming and production costs across Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu. Disney’s leveraged balance sheet remains a concern.

However, the company’s fourth-quarter fiscal 2022 results reflected strength in Disney+ and revival in Parks, Experiences and Products businesses. The company benefits from the growing popularity of Disney+, owing to a strong content portfolio and a cheaper bundle offering.

Availability in the Nordics, Latin America and other Asian territories is helping it expand its user base. Theme Park business is likely to gain from strong demand across both the domestic and international parks. Per capita spending increased 6% year over year, while occupancy at domestic hotels was 90% in the fiscal fourth quarter.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Caterpillar Inc. (CAT), Harley-Davidson, Inc. (HOG), and PBF Energy Inc. (PBF).

Sheraz Mian

Director of Research

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>>>