This week, Zacks Chief Equity Strategist and Economist John Blank, PhD discusses:

• Top stocks in the Finance sector, including Major Banks, Banks and Thrifts, Finance (including the credit card industry), and Insurance. Before diving into the analysis, John discusses the latest trends and developments in this sector, ranging from consolidation and mergers to AI-driven services, decentralized banking solutions and crypto, rising rates and Federal regulations, and more.

• As John has done in previous analyses, he defines “top” stocks in three ways: by market capitalization, by number of analysts following the stock, and by largest percent change in F1 EPS estimate (the most important element used in assigning a Zacks Rank to stocks).

• With this framework, John examines key metrics for stocks in these industries, including Return on Equity TTM %, EPS F12M, Net Margin TTM%, Enterprise Value/Sales F12M and many more. Stocks mentioned in today’s discussion include household names such as HSBC Holdings plc (HSBC), Discover Financial Services (DFS), and Allstate Corp (ALL), plus less familiar but relevant companies such as ICICI Bank Ltd (IBN), First Foundation Inc (FFWM), Loandepot Inc (LDI), and many other important and active players in the Finance arena.

The views of John Blank, PhD are not necessarily the views of Zacks Investment Research.

This week, Zacks Chief Equity Strategist and Economist John Blank, PhD discusses:

• The best-performing portfolios in 2024, constructed using John’s analyses of top stocks in four key sectors—Conglomerates, Aerospace, Oil & Energy, and Computers and Technology.

• In videos throughout 2024, John has screened for winners in these (and other) sectors using three criteria to define top stocks: market capitalization; number of analysts following the stock; and largest percent change in F1 EPS estimate (the most important element used in assigning a Zacks Rank to stocks). In this week’s session, he evaluates 6-stock portfolios in each sector, built using each of the three definitions, to see which ones did the best. Interestingly, each one of the three criteria produced the winning portfolio in at least one sector.

• Finally, John presents a portfolio of a combined set of tickers from all four sectors—two from each of the winning portfolios— to create an overall winner. This portfolio produced a 35% annual return, which is triple the 2024 return for the S&P 500. You do not want to miss this review of how this portfolio construction system performed in 2024!

The views of John Blank, PhD are not necessarily the views of Zacks Investment Research.

This week, Zacks Equity Strategist Mayur Thaker, CFA, discusses:

His lates update in gold. Mayur dives into the performance data of gold and the S&P, showing that gold has soared over the past year. Contrary to popular opinion, Mayur suggests gold behaves differently from the consumer price index and reflects forward-looking excess liquidity. By looking at trends in the federal government budget alongside past gold prices, Mayur believes gold can forecast the direction of a future government deficit or surplus.

Mayur’s data shows that as of August 2024, the fiscal deficit is the fourth largest in the last 100 years, and the most severe in any non-emergency year. He believes this alongside rallying gold prices over the past year may indicate rising excess liquidity. Mayur suggests that while gold may signal an upcoming recession or increasing deficit spending, it has been notably weaker following the Presidential election result, indicating decreasing expectations of excess liquidity due to stronger private sector growth expectations.

He wraps up his discussion indicating the Trump agenda can either be very bullish or very bearish depending on the order the agenda is carried out and provides a key signal to watch for to determine which outcome is most likely for the coming year. Mayur strongly advocates caution to investors and urges a repositioning of assets into quality businesses that comprise the recession-resistant Zacks Earnings Certain Portfolio. Some of these companies include Costco, Novo Nordisk, and more. Don’t miss this valuable analysis.

The views of Mayur Thaker, CFA are not necessarily the views of Zacks Investment Research.

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 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 is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index.

This week, Zacks Chief Equity Strategist and Economist John Blank, PhD discusses:

• More top stocks in the Oils & Energy sector. After his previous discussion focused on companies that produce energy used for electrical power generation, this week’s discussion looks at fuels used primarily for transportation, specifically road, marine and aviation. The three industries he covers in this week’s discussion are Oil-Miscellaneous, Oil-Integrated, and Oil & Gas Production-Pipeline.

• To begin, John looks at the latest trends and developments in these industries, including biofuel consumption, both in transportation but now also biogas usage for heating (especially in Europe as a result of Russian pipeline issues). Then he reviews top stocks using his three definitions: market capitalization; number of analysts following the stock; and largest percent change in F1 EPS estimate (the most important element used in assigning a Zacks Rank to stocks).

• With this framework, he examines the essential metrics for the stocks in these industries, such as Return on Equity, Total Debt, Reinvestment Rates, EPS F12M, Net Margin TTM %, and more. His survey includes some of the world’s leading energy companies such as TotalEnergies SE (TTE), Exxon Mobil (XOM), Shell (SHEL) and BP (BP), as well as other essential players in this sector including Kinder Morgan (KMI), ONEOK (OKE), Williams Companies (WMB), and many others. Don’t miss this important review of the companies that power our world from Zacks’ Chief Equity Strategist!

The views of John Blank, PhD are not necessarily the views of Zacks Investment Research.

This week, Zacks Equity Strategist Mayur Thaker, CFA, discusses:

• One of the newest additions to the Zacks Earnings Certain Proxy and Earnings Certain Admiral Portfolios—Comcast. While the media industry is experiencing many disruptions, Mayur believes these disruptions don’t apply to Comcast. He shares why by analyzing Comcast’s two primary revenue streams: Connectivity & Platforms and Content & Experiences.

• Mayur explores the four pillars of quality and demonstrates Comcast’s strong long-term earnings durability and sustainable growth. He also provides an analysis of the company’s Return on Invested Capital (ROIC), Earnings Backed by Free Cashflow, and Deep Value Multiple.

• Using his framework, Mayur believes Comcast is a high-quality, moated business that continues to compound high EPS. Like other members of the Zacks Earnings Certain Proxy, Comcast offers products or services that fulfill a need rather than discretionary services. Don’t miss out on this week’s valuable insights!

The views of Mayur Thaker, CFA are not necessarily the views of Zacks Investment Research.

This week, Zacks Chief Equity Strategist and Economist John Blank, PhD discusses:

• Top stocks in the Oils & Energy sector, a rapidly changing and relevant area, especially with the increasingly urgent need to power massive data centers. The four industries covered in this week’s discussion are Coal, Energy-Alternative Sources, Oil Machinery services-Drilling, and Oil Exploration & Production.

• To begin, John looks at the latest trends and developments in the industry, including declining demand, community impact, carbon capture, energy storage solutions, renewables and more. Then he reviews top stocks using his three definitions: market capitalization; number of analysts following the stock; and largest percent change in F1 EPS estimate (the most important element used in assigning a Zacks Rank to stocks).

• With this framework, he examines the essential metrics for Oils & Energy stocks, such as Return on Equity, Total Debt, Reinvestment Rates, EPS F12M, Net Margin TTM %, and more. His survey includes well-known and less familiar names including Halliburton (HAL), Cheniere Energy (LNG), Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ), First Solar (FSLR), Arch Resources (ARCH), and many others. Don’t miss this important review of the companies that power our world from Zacks’ Chief Equity Strategist!

The views of John Blank, PhD are not necessarily the views of Zacks Investment Research.

This week, Zacks Chief Equity Strategist and Economist John Blank, PhD discusses:

• Top stocks in Aerospace & Defense, a highly-rated and rapidly evolving industry. In this review, John introduces some less familiar names such as Heico Corp (HEI), Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc (KTOS) and Cae Inc (CAE). He also surveys the familiar names that have dominated this industry for decades, including Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC), Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT), and a close analysis of the struggles of Boeing Co (BA).

• As John does in all his industry analyses, he defines “top” stocks in three ways: by market capitalization, by number of analysts following the stock, and by largest percent change in F1 EPS estimate (the most important element used in assigning a Zacks Rank to stocks).

• With this framework, John then examines essential metrics for Aerospace & Defense stocks, focusing on data such as Revenue F12M, Return on Equity, Net Margin TTM %, PE F12M, Cash Flow Yield %, and many others. He also looks at the latest trends and developments in this industry, from sustainability efforts including electric flight, to manufacturing developments and novel materials, to immersive technologies (such as augmented reality) in aerospace training. Don’t miss this fascinating and detailed review of the aerospace & defense industry from Zacks’ Chief Equity Strategist!

This week, Zacks Equity Strategist Mayur Thaker, CFA, discusses:

• His latest update on macroeconomic trends. Regular followers of Mayur’s macro updates know that he has been forecasting a downturn for more than a year, based on key leading indicators, including jobs, market valuations, and consumer finances. In a shocking development, real Disposable Personal Income (DPI), Personal Savings, and Personal Savings Rate have all been revised upward—upending the bearish thesis.

• While this is a positive development, Mayur still wonders if a recession is truly off the table in the months ahead. He looks at a number of worrisome metrics that are typically associated with a downturn, including rising credit delinquencies, flat retail sales, and unemployment/underemployment trends that have crossed the recession threshold.

• Mayur concludes that we are headed for one of two scenarios: Either we get the projected economic growth from an AI-fueled productivity boom, or the projections are overly optimistic, and the economy slides into recession. To protect assets in this uncertain environment, Mayur recommends our Earnings Certain Proxy Portfolio, built to deliver low-volatility and durable earnings growth through all macroeconomic environments.

This week, Zacks Chief Equity Strategist and Economist John Blank, PhD discusses:

• Top stocks in the Computers and Technology sector. In this second part of the analysis, John covers three industries: Miscellaneous Technology, Telecommunications Equipment, and Telecommunications Services. Before he dives into the equity analysis, John discusses critical supply chain issues in the industry before the 2022 CHIPS Act, progress made since the CHIPS Act, and key trends in the sector including AI, distributed computing, IoT based office stationery, and more.

• As John has done in previous analyses, he defines “top” stocks in three ways: by market capitalization, by number of analysts following the stock, and by largest percent change in F1 EPS estimate (the most important element used in assigning a Zacks Rank to stocks).

• With this framework, John then examines key metrics for stocks in these industries, including Return on Equity TTM %, Revenue F12M, Cash Flow Yield %, Enterprise Value/Sales F12M and many more. He also compares metrics for the three industries as groups, ranging from Cap Ex to Return on Capital to Quick Ratio and others. Stocks mentioned in today’s discussion include major players such as Verizon (VZ), Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM), and Qualcomm (QCOM) as well as less familiar but relevant companies such as Viasat (VSAT), Bandwidth (BAND), Altice (ATUS), and more.

This week, Zacks Equity Strategist Mayur Thaker, CFA, discusses:

• The relationship between gold and excess liquidity. Contrary to popular opinion, Mayur suggests gold behaves differently from the consumer price index and reflects forward-looking liquidity. By looking at trends in the federal government budget alongside past gold prices, Mayur believes gold can forecast the direction of a future government deficit or surplus.

• Mayur’s data shows that as of August 2024, the fiscal deficit is the most severe in any non-emergency year. He believes this alongside rallying gold prices over the past year may indicate increasing fiscal deficits over the next 12-24 months. Mayur also suggests this may signal an upcoming recession or increasing deficit spending.

• He wraps up the discussion by strongly advocating caution to investors and urges a repositioning of assets into quality businesses that comprise the recession-resistant Zacks Earnings Certain Portfolio. Some of these companies include Clorox, Costco, Novo Nordisk, and more. Don’t miss this valuable analysis.

This week, Zacks Chief Equity Strategist and Economist John Blank, PhD discusses:

• The top stocks in the Computers and Technology sector. John surveyed this sector last year, but things move extremely rapidly in this sector, so he has put together a new two-part review for 2024. This week, John looks at stocks in four industries in the sector: Electronics, Electronics-Semiconductors, Computer Software-Services, and Computers-Office Equipment.

• As John has done in previous analyses, he defines “top” stocks in three ways: by market capitalization, by number of analysts following the stock, and by largest percent change in F1 EPS estimate (the most important element used in assigning a Zacks Rank to stocks).

• With this framework, John then examines key metrics for leading the Computers and Tech stocks, and he reveals some fascinating stories by examining data trends, including Revenue F12M, Reinvestment Rates, Net Margin TTM %, Cash Flow Yield %, Enterprise Value/Sales and many others. He looks at big, well-known names like Microsoft (MSFT), Adobe (ADBE), and Nvidia (NVDA) as well as less familiar but intriguing companies such as Pure Storage (PSTG), Generac (GNRC), IonQ (IONQ), and Ballard Power Systems (BLDP), and many, many more.

This week, Zacks Equity Strategist Mayur Thaker, CFA, discusses:

• The increasing probability of a recession. Mayur shares why it may be time to allocate to our defense-oriented Earnings Certain Proxy Portfolio, a recession-resistant portfolio built to provide low-volatility and durable earnings growth through all macroeconomic environments.

• Mayur provides a look into rising economic risks, including job openings per unemployed hitting fresh cycle lows, the high valuation risk of the S&P 500, rising layoff announcement trackers, and increasing market volatility. He also shares that cyclical companies, such as banks, materials, and industrial companies, have collectively been in an earnings recession for four quarters.

• To wrap up the discussion, Mayur suggests now is the time to get defensive with the Earnings Certain Proxy and why he thinks it will outperform over the next 12 months. He also shares the four pillars of quality—a characteristic of all companies in the Earnings Certain Portfolio. Don’t miss this week’s strategy call to get the latest analysis of our current volatile market.