Image Source: PixabayThe Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today’s Research Daily features a real-time scorecard of the Q4 earnings season and new research reports on 16 major stocks, including Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL), Blackstone Inc. (BX), and KLA Corporation (KLAC), as well as a micro-cap stock Crawford United Corporation (CRAWA). The Zacks microcap research is unique as our research content on these small and under-the-radar companies is the only research of its type in the country.These research reports have been hand-picked from the roughly 70 reports published by our analyst team today.Ahead of Wall StreetThe daily ‘Ahead of Wall Street’ article is a must-read for all investors who would like to be ready for that day’s trading action. The article comes out before the market’s open and attempts to make sense of that morning’s economic releases and how they will affect that day’s market action. You can read this article for free on our home page and can actually sign up there to get an email notification as this article comes out each morning.Q4 Earnings Season ScorecardIncluding all the results that came out today, we now have Q4 results from 181 S&P 500 members or 36.2% of the index’s total membership. Total earnings for these companies are up +7.4% from the same period last year on +5.1% higher revenues, with 80.7% beating EPS estimates and 67.4% beating revenue estimates. This is better results from these 181 index members relative to other recent periods.Looking at Q4 as a whole, combining the actual results from the 181 index members with estimates for the still-to-come companies, total earnings are expected to be up +10.2% from the same period last year on +5.2% higher revenues.Today’s Featured Research ReportsShares of Alphabet have gained +28.5% over the past six months against the Zacks Internet – Services industry’s gain of +29.2%. The company is riding on strong cloud and search growth. Google Cloud is benefiting from accelerated growth across AI infrastructure, enterprise AI platform Vertex, generative AI solutions and core Google Cloud Platform products. GOOGL’s strong AI portfolio is helping it attract new customers, win larger deals, and deepen product adoption among existing customers. Alphabet’s expanding GenAI capabilities present a potential catalyst for future growth. Its dominant position in the search engine market is a strong growth driver. Major search updates and removal of bad ads to enhance the search results continue to boost traffic on Google’s search engine. However, increasing litigation issues and expenses remain concerns. Rising cloud competition from Microsoft and Amazon is a concern.Blackstone shares have outperformed the Zacks Financial – Miscellaneous Services industry over the past six months (+37.4% vs. +23.7%). The company’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the trailing four quarters. Its fourth-quarter 2024 results showed a rise in asset under management (AUM) balance. A strong revenue mix, global footprint, diversified products, superior position in the alternative investments space and solid total and fee-earning AUM balances are expected to aid its financials. Robust fundraising ability and significant available capital for deployment will support top-line expansion. Blackstone has a solid balance sheet position, enabling it to address its debt obligations. However, rising consolidated expenses will likely hamper Blackstone’s bottom-line expansion. The low sustainability of its capital distribution activities, given volatile earnings, is worrisome.Shares of KLA have outperformed the Zacks Electronics – Miscellaneous Products industry over the past year (+21.1% vs. -28.2%). The company reported steady growth in the second quarter of fiscal 2025, with both earnings and revenues increasing year over year. This growth was driven by positive performance in the Semiconductor Process Control, Specialty Semiconductor Process, and PCB, Display and Component Inspection segments, which showed gains both year over year and sequentially. Despite facing challenges from new U.S. export controls, KLA is benefiting from strong demand for high bandwidth memory (HBM) and advanced packaging solutions. Also, the expansion of AI, HPC and DRAM investments continues to fuel demand in high-performance and advanced packaging.However, geopolitical uncertainties and supply chain disruptions, particularly in regions like China and Taiwan where much of the semiconductor production is concentrated, could pose challenges.Crawford United’s shares have outperformed the Zacks Manufacturing – General Industrial industry over the past year (+22.9% vs. +15.4%). This microcap company with market capitalization of $152.26 million demonstrates consistent growth, with third-quarter 2024 revenues up 9.2% year over year to $36.7 million and year-to-date sales rising 2.5% to $112.8 million. Year over year, operating income rose 22.4% to $5.3 million, and net income grew 19.7% to $3.4 million in third-quarter 2024, reflecting strong cost management. In third-quarter 2024, gross margins reached 29.1%, and EBITDA grew 10.1% to $6.8 million year over year, showcasing robust cash generation. Strategic acquisitions like Advanced Industrial Coatings bolstered aerospace and defense offerings while diversified markets in healthcare and transportation mitigated risks. Challenges include slower revenue growth, dependence on cyclical aerospace and defense markets, rising costs, acquisition integration risks, competitive pressures and macroeconomic uncertainty.Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include AstraZeneca PLC (AZN), Aflac Incorporated (AFL), and Hess Corporation (HES).More By This Author:How To Make The Most Of Todays Market
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