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What's in Store for These Top 5 Skyrocketing U.S. Giants?
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Wall Street has continued its dream run in 2024 after an astonishing performance in 2023. Year to date, the three major stock indexes — the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite — have advanced 3.7%, 7.3% and 8.3%.
The primary reasons for this year’s northward journey so far, are expectations of interest rate cut by the Fed to a good extent, better-than-expected fourth-quarter 2023 earnings results and massive growth of generative artificial intelligence (AI) worldwide.
Consequently, several stocks have rallied year to date even after skyrocketing in 2023. A handful of these stocks are U.S. corporate behemoths (market capital > $100 billion). Needless to say, these companies have a very strong business model, globally acclaimed brand recognition and a solid financial position.
Most importantly, a handful of these stocks currently sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Their current Zacks Rank indicates robust upside potential in the near future after a blockbuster performance in the past year.
Our Top Picks
We have selected five such U.S. super giants with a Zacks Rank #1. These stocks have strong earnings growth potential for 2024 and have seen positive earnings estimate revisions in the last 30 days.
The chart below shows the price performance of our five picks in the past year.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA - Free Report) reported blockbuster fourth-quarter fiscal 2024 earnings. The strong results of NVIDIA in the recently reported quarter confirm this trend. Quarterly adjusted earnings of $5.16 per share, surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.55 and exceeded the year-ago period earnings of $0.88.
NVIDIA posted revenues of $22.1 billion for the quarter, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3%. This compares favorably with the year-ago revenues of $6.1 billion. NVIDIA reported these robust financial numbers despite a stiff decline in its business in the key market of China. The U.S. government has banned exports of high-end AI-based NVIDIA chips in China for security reasons.
What is most important is the guidance issued by management. Even after executing this tremendous success, management provided a rosy revenue guidance of $24 billion for the current quarter, an appreciation of 233.8% year over year.
The stock price of NVIDIA has soared 235.4% in the past year and 59.2% year to date. It has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 61.9% and 63.4%, respectively, for the current year (ending January 2025). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 4.1% over the last seven days.
Meta Platforms Inc. (META - Free Report) 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 is leveraging AI to recommend Reels content, which is driving traffic on Instagram and Facebook.
META’s innovative portfolio, which includes Threads, Reels, Llama 2, Ray-Ban Meta smart glass, and mixed reality device Quest 3 is likely to aid its growth. 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.
Meta Platforms reported fourth-quarter 2023 earnings of $5.33 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 10.35%. The company reported earnings of $1.76 per share in the year-ago quarter. Revenues of $40.11 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.87% and jumped 24.7% year over year. META expects total revenues between $34.5 billion and $37 billion for the first quarter of 2024.
The stock price of Meta Platforms has jumped 185.5% in the past year and 36.8% year to date. It has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 17.7% and 33%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.6% over the last seven days.
Netflix Inc. (NFLX - Free Report) added 13.12 million paid subscribers globally in fourth-quarter 2023, with a rise of 1% in average revenue per subscription. NFLX attributed the robust top-line growth to its paid subscription-sharing offering (part of its password-sharing crackdown), recent price changes and the strength of its business in general.
NFLX is expected to continue dominating the streaming space, courtesy of its diversified content portfolio, which is attributable to heavy investments in the production and distribution of localized and foreign-language content.
For the first quarter of 2024, Netflix forecasts revenues of $9.24 billion, reflecting growth of 13.2% year over year or 12% on a foreign-exchange neutral basis. The company has projected earnings of $4.49 per share, suggesting growth of 55.9% year over year or 12% on a foreign-exchange neutral basis.
The stock price of Netflix has surged 80.6% in the past year and 19.9% year to date. It has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 14.3% and 40.7%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.1% over the last 30 days.
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN - Free Report) has benefited from Prime and AWS momentum. The strengthening AWS services portfolio and its growing adoption rate contributed well to AWS performance. Ultrafast delivery services and an expanding content portfolio have been beneficial. Strengthening relationships with third-party sellers also favored the company. Moreover, AMZN’s robust advertising business contributed well.
Notably, improving Alexa skills along with robust smart home product offerings continues to act as a tailwind. AMZN’s strong global presence and solid momentum among small and medium businesses remain positive. Growing capabilities in grocery, pharmacy, healthcare and autonomous driving are the other catalysts. Also, deepening focus on generative AI is a major plus.
Amazon.com delivered fourth-quarter 2023 adjusted earnings of $1.01 per share, topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 24.7%. Net sales of $169.96 billion rose 14% year over year. The figure exceeded management’s guided range of $160-$167 billion and surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $166.26 billion. For first-quarter 2024, AMZN expects net sales between $138 billion and $143.5 billion. Net sales are expected to grow 8-13% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.
The stock price of Amazon.com has climbed 86.6% in the past year and 15.2% year to date. It has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 11.5% and 40%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.7% over the last seven days.
The Progressive Corp. (PGR - Free Report) continues to gain on higher premiums, given its compelling product portfolio, leadership position and strength in both Vehicle and Property businesses. Focus on becoming a one-stop insurance destination, catering to customers opting for a combination of home and auto insurance, augurs well for PGR’s growth.
Policies in force and retention ratio should remain healthy. Competitive pricing to retain current customers and address customer needs with new offerings should continue to drive policy life expectancy.
PGR’s fourth-quarter 2023 earnings per share of $2.96 beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.38. The bottom line improved 97.3% year over year. Operating revenues of $16.6 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3% and increased 23.2% year over year.
The stock price of The Progressive has rallied 35% in the past year and 20.1% year to date. It has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 15.5% and 45.3%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 4.3% over the last 30 days.
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What's in Store for These Top 5 Skyrocketing U.S. Giants?
Wall Street has continued its dream run in 2024 after an astonishing performance in 2023. Year to date, the three major stock indexes — the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite — have advanced 3.7%, 7.3% and 8.3%.
The primary reasons for this year’s northward journey so far, are expectations of interest rate cut by the Fed to a good extent, better-than-expected fourth-quarter 2023 earnings results and massive growth of generative artificial intelligence (AI) worldwide.
Consequently, several stocks have rallied year to date even after skyrocketing in 2023. A handful of these stocks are U.S. corporate behemoths (market capital > $100 billion). Needless to say, these companies have a very strong business model, globally acclaimed brand recognition and a solid financial position.
Most importantly, a handful of these stocks currently sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Their current Zacks Rank indicates robust upside potential in the near future after a blockbuster performance in the past year.
Our Top Picks
We have selected five such U.S. super giants with a Zacks Rank #1. These stocks have strong earnings growth potential for 2024 and have seen positive earnings estimate revisions in the last 30 days.
The chart below shows the price performance of our five picks in the past year.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA - Free Report) reported blockbuster fourth-quarter fiscal 2024 earnings. The strong results of NVIDIA in the recently reported quarter confirm this trend. Quarterly adjusted earnings of $5.16 per share, surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.55 and exceeded the year-ago period earnings of $0.88.
NVIDIA posted revenues of $22.1 billion for the quarter, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3%. This compares favorably with the year-ago revenues of $6.1 billion. NVIDIA reported these robust financial numbers despite a stiff decline in its business in the key market of China. The U.S. government has banned exports of high-end AI-based NVIDIA chips in China for security reasons.
What is most important is the guidance issued by management. Even after executing this tremendous success, management provided a rosy revenue guidance of $24 billion for the current quarter, an appreciation of 233.8% year over year.
The stock price of NVIDIA has soared 235.4% in the past year and 59.2% year to date. It has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 61.9% and 63.4%, respectively, for the current year (ending January 2025). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 4.1% over the last seven days.
Meta Platforms Inc. (META - Free Report) 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 is leveraging AI to recommend Reels content, which is driving traffic on Instagram and Facebook.
META’s innovative portfolio, which includes Threads, Reels, Llama 2, Ray-Ban Meta smart glass, and mixed reality device Quest 3 is likely to aid its growth. 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.
Meta Platforms reported fourth-quarter 2023 earnings of $5.33 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 10.35%. The company reported earnings of $1.76 per share in the year-ago quarter. Revenues of $40.11 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.87% and jumped 24.7% year over year. META expects total revenues between $34.5 billion and $37 billion for the first quarter of 2024.
The stock price of Meta Platforms has jumped 185.5% in the past year and 36.8% year to date. It has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 17.7% and 33%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.6% over the last seven days.
Netflix Inc. (NFLX - Free Report) added 13.12 million paid subscribers globally in fourth-quarter 2023, with a rise of 1% in average revenue per subscription. NFLX attributed the robust top-line growth to its paid subscription-sharing offering (part of its password-sharing crackdown), recent price changes and the strength of its business in general.
NFLX is expected to continue dominating the streaming space, courtesy of its diversified content portfolio, which is attributable to heavy investments in the production and distribution of localized and foreign-language content.
For the first quarter of 2024, Netflix forecasts revenues of $9.24 billion, reflecting growth of 13.2% year over year or 12% on a foreign-exchange neutral basis. The company has projected earnings of $4.49 per share, suggesting growth of 55.9% year over year or 12% on a foreign-exchange neutral basis.
The stock price of Netflix has surged 80.6% in the past year and 19.9% year to date. It has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 14.3% and 40.7%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.1% over the last 30 days.
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN - Free Report) has benefited from Prime and AWS momentum. The strengthening AWS services portfolio and its growing adoption rate contributed well to AWS performance. Ultrafast delivery services and an expanding content portfolio have been beneficial. Strengthening relationships with third-party sellers also favored the company. Moreover, AMZN’s robust advertising business contributed well.
Notably, improving Alexa skills along with robust smart home product offerings continues to act as a tailwind. AMZN’s strong global presence and solid momentum among small and medium businesses remain positive. Growing capabilities in grocery, pharmacy, healthcare and autonomous driving are the other catalysts. Also, deepening focus on generative AI is a major plus.
Amazon.com delivered fourth-quarter 2023 adjusted earnings of $1.01 per share, topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 24.7%. Net sales of $169.96 billion rose 14% year over year. The figure exceeded management’s guided range of $160-$167 billion and surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $166.26 billion. For first-quarter 2024, AMZN expects net sales between $138 billion and $143.5 billion. Net sales are expected to grow 8-13% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.
The stock price of Amazon.com has climbed 86.6% in the past year and 15.2% year to date. It has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 11.5% and 40%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.7% over the last seven days.
The Progressive Corp. (PGR - Free Report) continues to gain on higher premiums, given its compelling product portfolio, leadership position and strength in both Vehicle and Property businesses. Focus on becoming a one-stop insurance destination, catering to customers opting for a combination of home and auto insurance, augurs well for PGR’s growth.
Policies in force and retention ratio should remain healthy. Competitive pricing to retain current customers and address customer needs with new offerings should continue to drive policy life expectancy.
PGR’s fourth-quarter 2023 earnings per share of $2.96 beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.38. The bottom line improved 97.3% year over year. Operating revenues of $16.6 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3% and increased 23.2% year over year.
The stock price of The Progressive has rallied 35% in the past year and 20.1% year to date. It has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 15.5% and 45.3%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 4.3% over the last 30 days.