Wednesday, March 27, 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 Meta Platforms, Inc. (META), S&P Global Inc. (SPGI) and AT&T Inc. (T). 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 Meta Platforms have outperformed the Zacks Internet - Software industry over the past six months (+63.3% vs. +39.4%). The company is benefiting from steady user growth across all regions, particularly Asia Pacific. Increased engagement for its offerings like Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and Facebook has been a major growth driver.

Meta Platforms’ is leveraging AI to recommend Reels content, which is driving traffic on Instagram and Facebook. Its innovative portfolio, which includes Threads, Reels, Llama 2, Ray-Ban Meta smart glass, and mixed reality device Quest 3 is likely to aid prospects. Reels continued to do very well across both Instagram and Facebook driven by growing adoption. People reshared Reels 3.5 billion times every day during the fourth-quarter.

However, challenging macroeconomic conditions remain a headwind for Meta’s advertising revenues. Slow monetization of Reels, along with mounting operating losses at Reality Labs, are concerns.

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

S&P Global’s shares have outperformed the Zacks Business - Information Services industry over the past year (+26.7% vs. +23.9%). The company remains well-poised to gain from the growing demand for business information services. Buyouts help innovate, increase differentiated content and develop new products.

New service launches have been aiding the company's growth. Dividend payments and share buybacks boost investors' confidence and positively impact earnings per share.

However, S&P Global remains vulnerable to proceedings, investigations and inquiries concerning the ratings provided, leading to legal charges, damages or fines. Growth initiatives, higher compensations and incentives raise the company's expenses. Decreasing current ratio does not bode well for the company.

(You can read the full research report on S&P Global here >>>)

Shares of AT&T have gained +18.5% over the past six months against the Zacks Wireless National industry’s gain of +19.9%. The company has offered a muted outlook for 2024 owing to a challenging macroeconomic environment. Dwindling contribution from DirecTV business is a concern.

AT&T is facing a steady decline in linear TV subscribers and legacy services. As it tries to woo customers with discounts, freebies and cash credits, margin pressures tend to escalate. However, AT&T is witnessing healthy momentum in postpaid wireless business with a lower churn rate and increased adoption of higher-tier unlimited plans driven by a customer-centric business model.

The deployment of Open RAN architecture, which offers more flexibility, lowers costs and helps to monetize the network, is likely to reap long-term benefits. An integrated fiber expansion strategy is expected to improve broadband connectivity, while steady 5G deployments are likely to boost end-user experience.

(You can read the full research report on AT&T here >>>)

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include RTX Corp. (RTX), CME Group Inc. (CME) and FedEx Corp. (FDX).

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>>>