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Tuesday, April 22, 2025
The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features a real-time scorecard of the Q1 earnings season and freshly updated research reports on 16 major stocks, including NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA), Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B), as well as two micro-cap stocks BK Technologies Corporation (BKTI) and Aware (AWRE). 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.
You can see all of today’s research reports here >>>
Q1 Earnings Scorecard
Including this morning's releases from Halliburton, Verizon and others, we now have Q1 results from 82 S&P 500 members. Total earnings for these companies are up +6.4% from the same period last year on +4.9% higher revenues, with 73.2% beating EPS estimates and 62.2% revenue estimates.
This is a weaker showing from this group of companies compared to other recent periods, with the earnings and revenue growth pace tracking below the preceding period and the beats percentages below the average for the preceding 20-quarter period.
Estimates for the current period (2025 Q2) are coming down, as are those for the back half of the year.
Ahead of Wall Street
The 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 today's AWS here >>> Pre-Markets Up on Q1 Earnings; Tesla Reports After the Close
Today's Featured Research Reports
NVIDIA shares have outperformed the Zacks Semiconductor - General industry over the past year (+17.6% vs. +10.6%). The company is benefiting from the strong growth of artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance and accelerated computing.
The growing demand for generative AI and large language models using graphic processing units (GPUs) based on NVIDIA’s Hopper and Blackwell architectures is aiding data center revenues. Continued ramp-up of Ada RTX GPU workstations in the ProViz end market, following the normalization of channel inventory, is acting as a tailwind. We expect NVIDIA’s revenues to witness a CAGR of 27.7% through fiscal 2026-2028.
Collaborations with over 320 automakers and tier-one suppliers are likely to advance its presence in the autonomous vehicles space. However, a limited supply of Blackwell and Ada GPUs could hinder its ability to meet demand. Rising costs associated with the production of more complex AI systems will hurt margins.
(You can read the full research report on NVIDIA here >>>)
Shares of Alphabet have underperformed the Zacks Internet - Services industry over the past year-to-date period (-21.9% vs. -20.4%). The company is riding on strong cloud and search growth. Google Cloud is benefiting from accelerated growth across AI infrastructure, enterprise AI platform Vertex and strong adoption of Generative AI solutions.
Alphabet exited 2024 with an annual run rate of $110 billion for its Cloud and YouTube businesses. The company now expects to invest roughly $75 billion in capital expenditures in 2025, which is aimed to build up technical infrastructure, primarily for servers followed by data centers and networking.
Alphabet’s dominant position in the search engine market is a strong growth driver. However, increasing litigation issues and expenses remain concerns. Rising cloud competition from Microsoft and Amazon is a concern.
(You can read the full research report on Alphabet here >>>)
Berkshire Hathaway shares have outperformed the Zacks Insurance - Property and Casualty industry over the year-to-date period (+11.9% vs. +9.7%). The company is one of the largest property and casualty insurance companies with numerous diverse business activities. A strong cash position supports earnings-accretive bolt-on buyouts and is indicative of its financial flexibility.
Continued insurance business growth fuels an increase in float, drives earnings and generates maximum return on equity. The non-insurance businesses have also been doing well in the last few years. The insurer has also started increasing its investment in Japan. A sturdy capital level provides further impetus.
However, exposure to cat loss induces earnings volatility and also affects underwriting results. Huge capital expenditure remains a headwind. With the demise of Charles Munger, uncertainty looms over the company's performance.
(You can read the full research report on Berkshire Hathaway here >>>)
Shares of BK Technologies’ have outperformed the Zacks Wireless Equipment industry over the year-to-date period (+21.5% vs. -4.7%). This microcap company with market capitalization of $148.92 million saw strong earnings momentum with six straight profitable quarters and full-year 2024 adjusted EPS of $2.30, beating guidance.
Gross margin rose to 37.9% in 2024, driven by a shift to premium BKR 9000 radios and an asset-light East West partnership. The BKR 9000 anchors demand, with a $21.8 million backlog and broader adoption across state and local agencies. SaaS platform InteropONE and BK ONE open recurring revenue streams in the expanding LTE public safety market.
Yet, risks include exposure to government budgets, limited product diversification, customer concentration, a delayed BKR 9500 launch, tight liquidity, lack of integrated systems and execution challenges in SaaS and mobile radio development. Guidance of 2025 targets further margin expansion and EPS growth, underpinned by product innovation and operational leverage.
(You can read the full research report on BK Technologies here >>>)
Shares of Aware have underperformed the Zacks Internet - Software and Services industry over the past year (-8.8% vs. +15.3%). This microcap company with market capitalization of $32.55 million have a strategic pivot to recurring revenue offers financial resilience, with 2024 recurring revenues up 8.9% to $11.9 million, now 68.8% of total sales. Cost cuts — 14.4% lower operating expenses — have narrowed losses and created a leaner, scalable model.
While software license sales fell 18.4%, Aware secured key wins like a $1 million European government deal. SaaS traction remains limited ($0.1 million in 2024), raising concerns over adoption. AwareID anchors the SaaS shift but needs a broader uptake.
A solid $27.8 million cash position supports execution, yet ongoing revenue lumpiness, public-sector dependence and intense competition limit revenue visibility and scalability. Aware’s relevance in digital identity is clear, but consistent growth will depend on SaaS scaling, improved go-to-market and commercial market traction.
(You can read the full research report on Aware here >>>)
Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Eli Lilly and Company (LLY), Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) and Accenture plc (ACN).
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>>>