Thursday, December 28, 2023

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 Visa Inc. (V), Adobe Inc. (ADBE) and TotalEnergies SE (TTE). 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 >>>

Visa’s shares have outperformed the Zacks Financial Transaction Services industry over the past year (+27.3% vs. +23.7%). The company’s stock performace is consistently driven by strategic acquisitions and alliances fostering long-term growth.

Visa’s fourth quarter fiscal 2023 earnings beat estimates, fueled by increased payments and sustained investments in technology. The ongoing shift to digital payments is advantageous for Visa, with strong domestic volumes supporting overall performance. A robust cash position enables the company to enhance shareholder value.

However, elevated operating expenses pose margin challenges. Increased client incentives may impact the top line. Additionally, it is witnessing a declining cash volume from the Asia Pacific and CEMEA regions. As such the stock warrants a cautious stance.

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

Shares of Adobe have outperformed the Zacks Computer - Software industry over the past year (+81.5% vs. +60.4%). The company’s Creative Cloud, Document Cloud and Adobe Experience Cloud products drove the top-line growth. Further, rising subscription revenues and solid momentum across the mobile apps were positives.

Growth in emerging markets, robust online video creation demand and solid adoption of Acrobat are tailwinds. The Zacks analyst remain optimistic about Adobe’s market position, compelling product lines, continued innovation, strategic acquisitions and solid adoption of cloud applications. Also, the company’s growing generative AI efforts remain a plus.

However, the ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine remain headwinds for Digital Media segment. Also, high acquisition expenses do not bode well for its margin expansion.

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

Shares of TotalEnergies have outperformed the Zacks Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing industry over the past year (+14.9% vs. +12.2%). The company continues to benefit from startups, well-spread LNG assets and an expanding upstream portfolio that has exposure to rapidly growing hydrocarbon-producing regions. Multi-energy portfolio acts as a tailwind for TotalEnergies.

The company streamlines its portfolio through acquisitions and divestitures. TotalEnergies is steadily investing to expand its renewable operation and aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

However, the company’s production has been impacted by security-related production cuts in some regions. The company remains exposed to acquisition-related risks as these assets contribute a sizable volume to production. A natural decline in production and its withdrawal from Russia might affect profitability.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include General Electric Co. (GE), Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) and Waste Management, Inc. (WM).

Mark Vickery
Senior Editor

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>>>