Thursday, May 18, 2023

The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 14 major stocks, including PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP), Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD). 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 >>>

PepsiCo shares have lagged the S&P 500 index this yeara (+5.4% vs. +9.4%), but have handily outperformed rival Coke (down -1.7% year-to-date). The company’s Q1 results on April 25th reflected gains from strength and resilience in its diversified portfolio, modernized supply chain, improved digital capabilities, flexible go-to-market distribution systems and robust consumer demand trends.

It also gained from the resilience and strength in the global beverage and convenient food businesses. However, PepsiCo witnessed margin pressures in the first quarter driven by impacts of supply-chain disruptions and inflationary labor, transportation and commodity costs. Adverse currency rates also remain headwinds.

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

Shares of Salesforce have outperformed the Zacks Computer - Software industry over the past year (+34.5% vs. +24.5%). The company is benefiting from a robust demand environment as customers are undergoing a major digital transformation. The rapid adoption of its cloud-based solutions is driving demand for its products. Its sustained focus on introducing more aligned products as per customer needs is driving its top-line.

Continued deal wins in the international market is another growth driver. The acquisition of Slack would position the company to be a leader in enterprise team collaboration solution space and better compete with Microsoft’s Teams product.

However, stiff competition and unfavorable currency fluctuations are concerns. Besides, challenging macroeconomic environment might hurt its growth prospects in the near-term.

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

AMD shares have outperformed the Zacks Electronics - Semiconductors industry over the past six months (+43.2% vs. +24.2%). The company is benefiting from strong demand for its products in industrial, vision and health care, test and emulation, communications, aerospace and defense, and automotive end-markets. Embedded segment reported strong growth.

For second quarter of 2023, AMD expects to witness growth in Embedded segment, partially offset by a decline in the Client, Gaming and Data Center segments on a year-over-year basis. AMD is benefiting from strong product portfolio and acquisitions including Xilinx and Pensando, which has diversified its business.

Robust adoption of EPYC processors by North American hyperscalers has been a tailwind. Alliances with Amazon, Microsoft, Baidu and JD.com augment business prospects. However, stiff competition from NVIDIA and Intel is a concern.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include ConocoPhillips (COP), Centene Corporation (CNC) and Gartner, Inc. (IT).

Director of Research

Sheraz Mian

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>>>