Friday, April 26, 2024

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 JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN) and Morgan Stanley (MS). 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 >>>

Shares of JPMorgan Chase have outperformed the Zacks Banks - Major Regional industry over the past year (+44.8% vs. +39.8%). The company’s first-quarter 2024 results show a rebound in investment banking (IB) business. High rates, buyouts, opening new branches and solid loan balance will aid net interest income (NII), though higher funding costs will weigh on it.

While there has been a resurgence in deal-making activities, a complete revival will still take some time. Thus, the performance of the IB business is not expected to improve drastically.

The volatile nature of the capital markets business and high mortgage rates will likely hamper fee income. Owing to these challenges, we expect non-interest income (managed) to rise marginally in 2024. Mounting expenses will hurt profits.

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

Texas Instruments’ shares have gained +3.6% over the year-to-date period against the Zacks Semiconductor - General industry’s gain of +47.0%. The company’s first quarter results were hurt by widespread weakness in the industrial, and communication equipment markets. Weak momentum in the enterprise systems market was also a concern.

Sluggishness in its Analog, Embedded Processing and Other segments was a negative. Increasing manufacturing costs across all segments is hurting its top line. Nevertheless, the company’s growing investments in new growth avenues and competitive advantages remain tailwinds. Its deepening focus on manufacturing, advanced technology infusion, product portfolio expansion and consistent returns to shareholders is another positive.

However, weakening momentum across the automotive market remains a major concern. Overall weak demand environment and macroeconomic challenges are likely to be headwinds.

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

Shares of Morgan Stanley have gained +34.4% over the past six months against the Zacks Financial - Investment Bank industry’s gain of +41.2%. The company’s first-quarter 2024 results reflect the resurgence of the investment banking (IB) business.

Despite this favorable development, the ambiguity on the performance of the capital markets is a major concern. Hence, this is expected to hurt the Institutional Securities segment’s prospects. Elevated costs are likely to hamper profitability. However, the company's new strategic alliance with Mitsubishi UFJ will bolster its presence in Japan.

The initiatives to become less dependent on capital-markets-driven revenue sources, inorganic expansion efforts and higher rates will likely support top-line growth. Also, a solid balance sheet and liquidity position make the company’s capital distributions sustainable. This will, thus, enhance shareholder value.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include United Rentals, Inc. (URI), Ross Stores, Inc. (ROST) and Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Co. (WTW).

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>>>