Back to top

Image: Bigstock

The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights Alphabet, IShares Global Comm Services ETF, Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund, Vanguard Communication Services ETF and Fidelity MSCI Communication Services Index ETF

Read MoreHide Full Article

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – April 29, 2024 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks and ETFs 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 and ETFs recently featured in the blog include: Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) , IShares Global Comm Services ETF (IXP - Free Report) , Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLC - Free Report) , Vanguard Communication Services ETF (VOX - Free Report) and Fidelity MSCI Communication Services Index ETF (FCOM - Free Report) .

Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:

Google-Heavy ETFs Surge Following Q1 Earnings Beat

Alphabet came up with better-than-expected first-quarter earnings on Apr 25 after market close. Earnings of $1.89 per share, surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.49 by 26.85%. This marks an improvement from earnings of $1.17 per share recorded in the same period last year.

GOOGL, which belongs to the Zacks Internet - Services industry, surged 11.5% in after-market hours on Apr 25. According to CNBC, after releasing results that surpassed analysts’ expectations, the surge in its shares propelled Alphabet's market capitalization beyond the $2 trillion mark.

Alphabet shares have added about 13% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 5.84%.

Snapshot of Q1 Earnings

The tech giant posted revenues of $67.59 billion for the quarter ended March 2024, marking a substantial increase of 16.4% from the year-ago quarter. The top line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $66.04 billion by 2.35%.

Alphabet’s net income saw a significant increase of 57.21% from the year-ago quarter to $23.66 billion. The company’s operating income for first-quarter 2024 was $27.89 billion, which marked an increase of 28.34% from the year-ago quarter.

Segment Snapshots

First-quarter revenues from Google advertising reached $61.66 billion, rising 13.04% from the year-ago quarter. The company’s revenues from YouTube ads increased 20.87% from the same quarter last year, hitting $8.09 billion.

Alphabet’s Google Cloud business witnessed a significant surge, with operating income skyrocketing to $900 million, more than quadrupling from the prior-year figure. Revenues from the segment also witnessed a rise of 28.44% year over year to $9.57 billion.

Dividend Increase Signals Investor Reward

Alphabet announced that its board has sanctioned a cash dividend of $0.20 per share, payable on Jun 17, 2024, to shareholders recorded as of Jun 10. Moving forward, Alphabet plans to uphold a quarterly cash dividend distribution policy.

Explore ETFs

The earnings results might have a huge impact on ETFs heavily invested in this Internet giant. Here, we have highlighted ETFs with double-digit exposure to Alphabet.

IShares Global Comm Services ETF

IShares Global Comm Services ETF seeks to track the performance of the S&P Global 1200Communication Services 4.5/22.5/45 Capped Index with a basket of 65 securities. The fund has gathered an asset base of $273.1 million and charges an annual fee of 0.42%.

IShares Global Comm Services ETF has an exposure of 14.14% in GOOGL. The fund has gained 12.83% over the past three months and 33.04% over the past year.

Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund

Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund seeks to track the performance of the Communication Services Select Sector Index with a basket of 22 securities. The fund has amassed an asset base of $17.76 billion and charges an annual fee of 0.09%.

Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund has an exposure of 13.31% in GOOGL. The fund has gained 12.71% over the past three months and 42.15% over the past year.

Vanguard Communication Services ETF

Vanguard Communication Services ETF seeks to track the performance of the MSCI US Investable Market Communication Services 25/50 Index with a basket of 116 securities. The fund has amassed an asset base of $3.94 billion and charges an annual fee of 0.10%.

Vanguard Communication Services ETF has an exposure of 13.02% in GOOGL. The fund has gained 11.66% over the past three months and 37.12% over the past year.

Fidelity MSCI Communication Services Index ETF

Fidelity MSCI Communication Services Index ETF seeks to track the performance of the MSCI USA IMI Communication Services 25/50 Index with a basket of 110 securities. The fund has amassed an asset base of $1.06 billion and charges an annual fee of 0.08%.

Fidelity MSCI Communication Services Index ETF has an exposure of 11.14% in GOOGL. The fund has gained 11.59% over the past three months and 36.55% over the past year.

Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox?

Zacks’ free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, each week.

Get it free >>

Media Contact

Zacks Investment Research

800-767-3771 ext. 9339

support@zacks.com

https://www.zacks.com

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.

Published in