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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights AbbVie, Qualcomm, Linde, CVS Health Corp, and Booking Holdings

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – May 11, 2022 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: AbbVie Inc. (ABBV - Free Report) , Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM - Free Report) , Linde plc (LIN - Free Report) , CVS Health Corp. (CVS - Free Report) , and Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG - Free Report) .

Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:

Q1 Earnings Scorecard & Analyst Reports for AbbVie, Qualcomm & Linde

The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features update on the 2022 Q1 earnings season and new research reports on 16 major stocks, including AbbVie Inc., Qualcomm Inc., and Linde plc. 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 >>>

Q1 Earnings Season Scorecard

We now have Q1 results from 450 S&P 500 members or 90% of the index's total membership. Total earnings for these companies are up +9.2% on +14.5% higher revenues, with 79.1% beating EPS estimates and 75.3% beating revenue estimates.

Excluding the drag from the Finance sector, whose Q1 earnings are down -15.6% from the same period last year, earnings for the remainder of the index would be up +18% (vs. +9.2% with Finance).

On the other hand, the Energy sector is boosting the aggregte growth picture in a major way through the sector's +215.1% earnings growth. Excluding the Energy sector's contribution, earnings growth for the remainder of the index drops to +3.2%.

Today's Featured Reports

Shares of AbbVie have outperformed the Zacks Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry over the past year (+37.0% vs. +20.5%) on the back of the company's successful label expansion 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 are going strong, bolstered by approval in new indications. It has several early/mid-stage candidates that have blockbuster potential.
 

Allergan's acquisition has diversified AbbVie's revenue base into new therapeutic areas, enhancing its long-term growth 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.
 

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

Shares of Qualcomm have outperformed the Zacks Wireless Equipment industry over the past year (+7.0% vs. -6.1%). The Zacks analyst believes that the buyout of Arriver will bolster its ability to deliver fully integrated Advanced Driver Assistance System solutions to automakers.

The company is focused on retaining its leadership in 5G and the chipset market, delivering low-power resilient multi-gigabit connectivity with best-in-class security. It is witnessing healthy traction in EDGE networking solutions across diverse sectors.
 

However, Qualcomm faces intense competition from low-cost chip manufacturers. High research and development costs are expected to dent margins, while global chip shortage due to supply-chain disruptions is a headwind. It is susceptible to risks arising from lower handset shipments, especially in China.
 

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

Linde shares have gained +2.0% over the past year against the Zacks Oil and Gas - Field Services industry's gain of +6.4%. The Zacks analyst believes that the company is making the world more productive by the day and there is a wide range of applications for its industrial gases. Its primary products in industrial gases include oxygen, which is used as life support in hospitals. Linde's process gas, like hydrogen, is being utilized for clean fuels, while its high-purity and specialty gases are employed to manufacture electronics.
 

Linde has long-term contracts with on-site customers backed by minimum purchase requirements, thereby securing stable cashflows. However, the cost of sales continues to increase, hurting the firm's bottom line. Also, the company has been paying a lower dividend yield than the industry's composite stocks over the past two years.
 

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include CVS Health Corp., and Booking Holdings Inc..    
 

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

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