Tuesday, April 12, 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 Apple Inc. (AAPL), Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B), and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM). 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 >>>
 

Apple shares have gained +24% over the past year against the +8.2% gain for the S&P 500 index on the back of continued momentum in services and robust performance from iPhone, Mac, Wearables, and an expanding App Store ecosystem. Availability of new Mac Studio, new iPad Air and the most affordable iPhone SE. Apple TV+ is gaining recognition with shows like Ted Lasso winning Emmy and CODA wining Academy Award for Best Picture.
 

However, Apple did not provide revenue guidance for the second quarter of fiscal 2022, given the uncertainty around the impact of the pandemic. Nevertheless, Apple expects to achieve solid year-over-year revenue growth and set a second quarter revenue record despite significant supply constraints, which it estimates to be less than the fiscal first quarter.

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

Shares of Berkshire Hathaway have outperformed the Zacks Insurance - Property and Casualty industry over the past year (+31.8% vs. +19%). The Zacks analyst sees this performance continuing for this property and casualty insurance leader that is effectively financial conglomerate and Warren Buffett's investment vehicle. A strong cash position supports earnings-accretive bolt-on buyouts and indicates the company's financial flexibility. Continued insurance business growth fuels an increase in float, drives earnings, and generates maximum return on equity.

The non-insurance businesses are delivering improved results with increased revenues over the past few years. A sturdy capital level provides further impetus. However, exposure to catastrophe loss induces earnings volatility and also affects the property and casualty underwriting results of Berkshire. Huge capital expenditure remains a headwind for the company.

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

Shares of JPMorgan have underperformed the Zacks Banks - Major Regional industry over the past year (-11.4% vs. -1.7%) on growing uncertainty about the economic outlook in the wake of recent yield-curve developments. We will get a better sense of the operating environment after this week's Q1 earnings report, but estimates have been coming down lately given weak investment banking and trading business and rising expenses.

The ongoing Fed tightening cycle is a net positive for JPMorgan and the peer group as it will help boost margins. The outlook for loan demand also appears favorable, though sustainability of the trend is far from certain.

Zacks analyst believes that the normalization of the trading business is expected to hurt the company's fee income growth, going forward. Further, relatively lower interest rates in the near term are expected to keep weighing on the company’s margins and interest income. Steadily rising operating expenses remain a major near-term headwind.
 
However, opening new branches, strategic acquisitions/investments, global expansion and digitization initiatives, and decent investment banking (IB) pipeline are expected to keep supporting the company's financials. Additionally, its steady capital deployments look sustainable and will enhance shareholder value.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA), Mastercard Incorporated (MA), and Bank of America Corporation (BAC).
 

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>>>