Auteur/autrice : News Team

Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ-GOOGL) for the first quarter of 2024 saw its total sales increase 15.4% year-over-year to $80.539 billion. Operating profit saw an even higher increase, up 46% to $25.472 billion. After deducting all expenses, the company earned a net profit of USD 23.662 billion with a 57% year-on-year increase. Google reported advertising revenue of $61.66 billion. A year ago, it was USD 54.55 billion. Google’s core advertising business is picking up again after difficult years in 2022 and 2023, with profits increasing globally thanks to falling interest rates and diminishing inflation concerns. Operating income in Google’s cloud business more than quadrupled to $900 million, evidence that the company has begun to generate significant profits after investing heavily in development to keep pace with Amazon and Microsoft. To secure the trust of existing consumers who use Google tools, the company has increased its investment in developing artificial intelligence, adding generative features to search and other services. CEO Sundar Pichai said: « Our leadership in AI research and infrastructure and our global product footprint positions us well for the next wave of AI innovation. »

The company also said that its board of directors has authorized a share buyback for an additional $70 billion. The company also pays a regular quarterly dividend to its investors, which currently has a dividend yield of 0.47%. The actual dividend amount was approved by the company’s AGM at USD 0.20 per share. The Company has also recently announced through a press release the last trading day for the use of the quarterly dividend, the « Ex Dividend Date », which will be 10 June 2024 and the « Pay Date », which will be 17 June 2024. According to the multinational investment corporations, the share price of Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ-GOOGL), can be expected to be in a bull market trend, that is, an uptrend in the share price. The average target price for the short- to medium-term investment horizon was set at $189.79 per share.

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NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ-NVDA) continues to emerge as an outstanding company, especially for its solid performance since the start of this year 2024. Nvidia stock has started the year with strong momentum and has surged over 96% year-to-date, approaching the $1,000 milestone in March. However, that growth has stalled at $974 per share. Currently, Nvidia is in a consolidation phase, with its stock price oscillating between $756 and $974 per share. Many investors consider Nvidia the ultimate artificial intelligence (AI) stock , thanks to its dominance with AI chips. As a result, Nvidia stock has risen sharply in recent years. In 2024 alone, the stock is up more than 70%. Competitors such as Advanced Micro Devices and Intel are trying to release ever better chips to compete with Nvidia and to push ahead of Nvidia in the market in the future.

NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ-NVDA) created the CUDA parallel computing platform to make GPUs available for mainstream computers, and in recent years, Nvidia’s AI business has taken off. Today, Nvidia still serves the gaming industry, but its core AI revenue far exceeds its gaming revenue. In the most recent quarter, data center revenue, which includes the AI business, grew 400% to more than $18 billion, while gaming revenue grew 59% to $2.9 billion.

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang said: « Our strong growth reflects a significant transition from a standard trading platform, to a modern one, through powerful computing and generative artificial intelligence. » The company also said that startups in AI and global cloud services were early movers and more are starting to emerge. Countries are currently investing heavily in AI clouds and proprietary AI for automation across the world’s largest industries to meet demand in their country. According to Nvidia Corp, the AI era is taking off, with GPUs, NVIDIA processors, networking, AI services, foundries and NVIDIA AI Enterprise software being the company’s engines that are currently running at full throttle.

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) sector is rapidly evolving and AI technologies are transforming various industries including healthcare, automotive, finance, etc. Companies operating in this sector are developing AI to increase work efficiency in automating processes, creating new products and services.

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According to experienced Bernstein analyst, Stacy Rasgon, investors who are currently investing their funds in the stock just (NVDA) are particularly concerned about the sustainability of long-term growth, thanks to the strong share price growth. Among other things, Nvidia ( NVDA ) has far outpaced most of the market in terms of share price appreciation, rising over 240% in 12 months. NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ-NVDA) also pays regular quarterly dividends to its shareholders. The dividend yield is currently 0.019% per annum and the actual dividend amount has been approved by the company’s general meeting of shareholders at $0.030 per share. The average target price for the short to medium term investment horizon has been set at US$1,005.59 per share. 

The Home Depot, Inc (NYSE-HD) will buy SRS Distribution for $18.25 billion. The move will expand Home Depot’s addressable market by $50 billion. The acquisition of SRS will give The Home Depot a stronger presence with its customers in premium products, a category in which competitor Lowe’s had an advantage. Home Depot CEO Ted Decker said: « SRS is an industry leader with a productive history across all DIY sectors. » The acquisition of SRS brings Home Depot assets including more than 7,000 professional tribal salespeople with more than 760 locations and a company fleet of 4,000 vehicles. The company has expanded its product offerings in the furniture, decoration and pet segments. The company also plans to invest US$172.16 million this year to expand its market share in Mexico, adding in a statement that it intends to open 12 more stores in Mexico over the next few years to reach a total of 150 stores.

The Home Depot, Inc (NYSE-HD) generated total sales of $152.7 billion for fiscal year 2023. Gross sales were $21.69 billion. After deducting all expenses, the company earned $15.14 billion. Total assets are USD 76.53 billion. Shareholders’ equity is USD 1.044 billion. The company employs 463,100 tribal workers.

The Home Depot, Inc (NYSE-HD) also pays a regular, quarterly dividend to its shareholders. The dividend yield is currently 2.67% per annum and the actual dividend amount has been approved by the company’s board of directors at $2.25 per share. Shares of The Home Depot have become very popular with multinational investment companies and private investors, and brokerage analysts believe that the share price can be expected to rise in the short to medium term investment horizon. The average target price has been set at $388.00 per share.

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The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE-DIS) was founded by Mr. Walt Disney and Roy Disney on October 16, 1923 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Its business segments include – Media Networks, theme parks and resorts, interactive products, and consumer promotional products. The Media Networks segment includes cable, terrestrial and satellite broadcasting, distribution of television shows and radio stations. The Walt Disney Co (NYSE-DIS) also broadcasts in the entertainment segment, social events and animated films, recorded music, and live theatrical plays. The company owns theme parks and resorts and operates Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, which includes theme parks, hotels, restaurants, sports complexes, convention centers, campgrounds, golf courses, and water sports parks. The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE-DIS) also owns and operates Disneyland Resort in California, Disney Vacation Club and Disney Cruise Line. The company also operates the Disneyland Resort in Paris, the Disneyland Resort in Hong Kong and the Disney Resort in Tokyo, Japan. The company employs 225,000 tribal workers.

The Company will release its second quarter 2024 financial results on May 7, 2024.

The Walt Disney Co (NYSE-DIS) recently released financial results for the first quarter of 2024, in which it generated total sales of $23.91 billion, up 1.7% year-over-year. The company has total assets of $205.579 billion and equity of $103.957 billion. The company also performed very well in terms of subscribers which increased by almost 7 million. Among the most popular streaming content were theatrical titles such as Elemental, Little Mermaid and Guardians of the Galaxy 3, as well as the Ahsoka and Moving series. The company expects free cash flow for fiscal year 2024 to increase significantly over fiscal year 2023, bringing it closer to pre-pandemic years. Both the continued strong growth in the Company’s business and the Company’s pipeline of new projects will ensure good investment progress and the achievement of its targets in the future.

The company also pays a regular quarterly dividend to its shareholders. The quarterly dividend payout is $0.19 per share. The annual dividend yield is 0.67% p.a. The company also currently disclosed the dividend payment date. The last day to use the dividend in the form of purchased Walt Disney Co (NYSE-DIS) shares (Ex. Dividend Date) has been set for July 8, 2024. The dividend payment date (Pay Date) has been set for July 25, 2024. These facts have attracted multinational investment corporations and private investors to buy shares of Walt Disney Co (NYSE-DIS) specifically. The average target price with a high estimate for the short to medium term investment horizon has been set at $124.44 per share.

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Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) announced through a press release that it is extending its leadership with the second-generation Versal Series Gen2 system on an AI-driven adaptive single-chip (SoC). This new generation of AMD Versal Series Gen 2 AI is capable of up to 10x more computations per second compared to the previous version. The Versal Series Gen 2 devices increase and extend performance along with advanced functional safety and security, delivering new capabilities and features that enable the design of high-performance products that are optimized for automotive, aerospace and defense, industrial, monitoring and healthcare applications. Versal Prime Gen 2’s 10x AI compute speeds also make them suitable for high-definition video processing, including 8K resolution , multi-channel worker nodes, and applications for streaming, ultra-high definition (UHD) video recording, and aerospace computing.

Adaptive and Embedded Group senior vice president and general manager Salil Raje said: « Demand for embedded applications with artificial intelligence is skyrocketing, calling for the need for single-chip solutions to provide the most effective end-to-end acceleration within high-performance, embedded systems. » « Backed by more than 40 years of development in adaptive computing, this latest generation of Versal devices combines multiple computing solutions on a single architecture that offers high computational efficiency and performance with scalability from low-end to high-end. »

Subaru is interested in this second generation, which will be fitted to new Subaru cars.

The Japanese automaker is among the first customers to announce plans to use AMD Versal’s second-generation AI Edge Series Gen 2 technology for Subaru’s EyeSight system , the most advanced driver assistance technology with lane-keeping assist, intelligent braking and throttle control. EyeSight is integrated into select Subaru models to enable advanced safety features including adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist and accident avoidance braking. Subaru already uses AMD’s adaptive SoC technology in current vehicles that are equipped with EyeSight.

Director General of Advanced Integration System & ADAS Development Department, Engineering Division, Subaru Corporation Satoshi Katahira said: « Versal AI Edge Gen 2 devices are designed to deliver the AI derivation performance, ultra-low latency and functional safety features needed to put cutting-edge AI-based safety features in the hands of drivers. »

These facts have attracted multinational investment corporations and private investors to buy shares of Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD), for which an average target price of USD 201.26 per share has been set for the short to medium term investment horizon.

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Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ-MAR) is the world’s largest hospitality and travel company. Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ-MAR) is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, USA. The company currently owns over 6,000 of its properties worldwide, located in 122 countries and territories. Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ-MAR) operates hotels and franchises. The company currently has 30 subsidiaries that are engaged in the same business. Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ-MAR)’s most prestigious resort hotel brands include : Bulgari®, The Ritz-Carlton®, St. Reserve®, Regis®, W®, JW Marriott®, Marriott Hotels®, Westin®, Le Méridien®, Sheraton®, Marriott Vacation Club®, Gaylord Hotels®, SpringHill Suites®, Fairfield Inn, TownePlace Suites®, Aloft®, Element®. The Company also operates award-winning loyalty programs: Marriott Rewards®, which includes Ritz-Carlton Rewards® resorts and Starwood Preferred Guest®.

Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ-MAR) is expanding its Fairfield by Marriott portfolio into Europe. The second largest brand in the global Marriott Bonvoy portfolio, the brand boasts more than 1,290 hotels worldwide. Fairfield by Marriott also owns more than 450 properties worldwide. The company has also said through the media that it will open 17 more hotels in Europe.

Marriott International president for Asia Pacific Rajeev Menon said , « India remains a shining star » with the rest of the world in terms of growth. Among other things, 80% of new contracts in India are in the premium category. The company plans to build more than 80 hotels in India within five years. Also, the president added that the real potential capacity of Marriot hotels in India is 250 hotels. Marriott International has signed 30 deals in South Asia comprising more than 5,000 rooms since last year. Of these 30 deals, 28 are in India. The company currently has Marriott hotels in more than 40 Indian cities where it has opened new hotels in Gorakhpur, Siliguri and Shillong, among others. The company posted a 35% increase in revenue in India last year.

The company also signed a purchase agreement in Jaipur a few weeks ago to buy a Ritz Carlton hotel, which will be called JW Marriott Resort & Spa. The company also released its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2023. It posted a 9% increase of $1.026 billion compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Excluding all expenses, the company earned a 26% year-over-year increase in net income, at $848 million.

President and CEO, Anthony Capuano said: « Our team delivered outstanding results in 2023 as demand for our world-class portfolio of hotels and properties continues to grow around the world. Global new hotel rooms grew by 15% and additional space grew by 4.7%. « We expect another year of solid growth and significant returns for shareholders in 2024. We also expect global new hotel rooms to grow by 3% to 5% and spaces such as meeting rooms to grow by 5.5% to 6%. The Company expects annual revenue growth of $4.9 billion to $5.0 billion due to these actions.

Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ-MAR) also pays a regular quarterly dividend to its shareholders. The dividend yield is 0.82% per annum and the actual dividend amount has been approved by the company’s general meeting of shareholders at $0.52 per share. The high estimate average target price was set at $280 per share.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE-CAT) is an American company that designs, develops, manufactures and sells construction vehicles, (bulldozers, excavators) machinery, engines, as well as financial products and insurance through a worldwide sales network. Caterpillar is a leading manufacturer of engine equipment for oil and gas mining. The company also develops and manufactures industrial gas turbines and diesel electric locomotives. The company was founded in 1925 in California, USA. Caterpillar Inc (NYSE-CAT) is currently headquartered in Peoria, Illinois, USA.  The company is engaged in heavy engineering, mainly manufacturing earthmoving equipment (bulldozers, excavators) and machinery for the mining industry. Also important is the manufacture of diesel and gas engines and gas turbines for various applications.

Caterpillar shares hit a record high, thanks to strong demand. Caterpillar Inc (NYSE-CAT)’s total sales for the fourth quarter of 2023 were $17.1 billion, an increase of 3% compared to the same quarter a year earlier. The company’s total sales for fiscal year 2023 were $67.1 billion, up 13% year-over-year. The sales increase also reflected price increases and higher sales volume to end customers. Sales rose above global analysts’ estimates, mainly due to an increase in commodity prices, but also due to an increase in business supply, which has returned to the pre-Covid era. Caterpillar Inc. shares have steadily appreciated to a record high since the start of the week. The company also said its sales reached the highest level in its 98-year career. Caterpillar expects demand to increase in the coming quarters for infrastructure construction and expansion through government investment.

Caterpillar Inc (NYSE-CAT) also pays a quarterly dividend to its shareholders, the current amount of which corresponds to a dividend yield of 1.43% per annum and the actual dividend amount has been approved by the company’s general meeting of shareholders at $1.30 per share. According to analysts at brokerage firms and financial strategists at investment banks, the share price can be expected to rise in the short to medium term investment horizon, where an average target price has been set with a high estimate of USD 395.00 per share.

Shares of Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) have surged to an all-time high of over $211 per share since the beginning of March, thanks to new AI-related processors. The company’s stock has seen a decline only after the debut of new AI chips from rival Nvidia Corp. AMD made an amazing turnaround in 2015 after hitting its stock price bottom, thanks to its new products and better business policies on competitive capabilities, with AMD stock rocketing over the next six years. In the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2023, AMD took over the market leadership from Intel in the PC server and CPU sector. The share of fourth-quarter desktop processor sales rose to 19.8%. The share of sales of processors for notebooks increased to 20.3% year-on-year. Share of the lucrative server CPU market rose to 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Shares of Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) closed at $177.87 per share on March 27, 2024.

Shares of chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) have seen a more than 300% increase since the fall of 2022. This increase shows the cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry. This potential value-add associated with AMD chips thanks to Instinct AI accelerators could further boost the company’s sales growth and stock value (NASDAQ:AMD). The company has managed to defend its leadership in a market dominated by Nvidia, so we can expect another strong quarter for AMD. These facts have attracted the attention of multinational investment corporations and private investors to buy shares of Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) in particular, for which an average target price of $201.26 per share has been set for the short to medium term investment horizon.

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Microsoft Inc. is currently a very attractive stock to buy for multinational investment corporations and private investors. This is mainly due to the extensive update of the Windows 11 Pro and Home operating system and its subcomponents in the AI sector. On March 21, 2024, the company unveiled its Office 365 programs, powered by AI. The company is also introducing the Surface Event platform to its fleet of software add-ons. The Surface platform is all about AI in the lead role. AI will not only play a role in how we interact with software, but also how we use hardware, other devices, both at work and in gaming. The prospect of new Surface hardware, along with major developments in AI, Windows and Copilot, point to a revolution in the Windows platform. This device is also expected to be in the Surface Pro 10 PC version, which will be targeted at business users and will be billed as the first « AI PC ».

Microsoft has also currently made GPT-4 Turbo available in a free version of Copilot for Windows. Its new version GPT-4.5 Turbo is around the corner and there is a real chance that OpenAI will join Microsoft with the new GPT-4.5 Turbo. Is this a coincidence ? Maybe, but given the friendly relationship between OpenAI and Microsoft, perhaps a future reality. It has even been suggested in the media that its successor GPT-5 could be in existence this summer.

At the birth of AI, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT ) effectively managed the evolution of AI and cemented its position by investing ahead of the rise of AI in the mainstream, namely OpenAI. Another major growth segment is Microsoft Cloud, which is emerging as a key catalyst for Microsoft’s growth. This segment alone posted remarkable year-over-year revenue growth of 24% in the second quarter, accounting for more than 50% of Microsoft’s total revenue. The company has also set ambitious targets, aiming to reach $500 billion in revenue by the end of 2024. Key to this goal are investments in cloud infrastructure, as well as developing proprietary AI GPU chips and reducing dependence on external suppliers.

The company also pays regular quarterly dividends to its shareholders. Currently, the dividend yield is 0.71% p.a. The actual dividend amount was approved by the AGM at $0.75 per share. The company also currently has a known last day to claim the dividend (Ex Dividend Date) , which will be May 15, 2024 and a known dividend payment date (Pay Date), which has been set for June 13, 2024. According to analysts at brokerage firms and financial strategists at investment banks, the share price can be expected to rise in the short to medium term investment horizon. The average target price for the short to medium term investment horizon has been set at USD 470.30 per share.

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Starbucks hosted shareholders at its 32nd annual meeting. Speakers at this annual meeting included CEO Laxman Narashimhan, Executive Vice President Brand Lerman and Independent Chairwoman Mellody Hobson. As part of their opening remarks, both Hobson and Narasimhan revealed the outlook for this year, for which they shared their optimism for long-term and steady growth. Despite the coffee giant’s stock being down 7% YTD, Starbucks is still very successful thanks to its many innovations that will ensure continued dynamic growth in the future. The Starbucks brand not only has significant pricing power, but also differentiates itself with its product offerings from its competitors. Investors cannot ignore how Starbucks is steadily financially successful. Over the past decade, the company’s annual operating margin has averaged 14.9%, resulting in consistent profitability. Starbucks produced $6 billion in operating cash flow for fiscal year 2023. Management directs this capital toward dividends and share repurchases. And what has helped Starbucks maintain such a strong position in this competitive foodservice industry? It’s largely due to its focus on bolstering its digital support. No other restaurant chain does this better than Starbucks. The company boasts 34.3 million active members in the U.S., where it collects comprehensive data that it uses as it targets marketing campaigns to advertise through its consumers. Starbucks also had the most recent fiscal read

Founded on March 31, 1971, Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ-SBUX) is an international coffee manufacturer and the world’s largest commercial coffeehouse chain. The company is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, USA. This largest chain operates 35,711 coffee shops in 80 countries. Of these, over 15,000 are located in the USA, nearly 2,000 in China, more than 1,500 in Canada, more than 1,000 in Japan and more than 900 in the UK. The company sells drip coffee, espresso, hot drinks, other hot and cold drinks, roasted coffee, salads, hot and cold sandwiches, pastries, snacks, and cups or mugs. It also sells books, music, and movies in its entertainment division through its record label, Hear Music. Many products are offered seasonally or with respect to branch location. In the US, Starbucks ice creams and coffees are also available in convenience stores. Since its founding in Seattle, when the company was a local roaster and coffee shop, it has expanded very quickly. In the 1990s, the chain opened a new location every weekday, which continued into the early 2000s. In the mid-1990s, the first store opened in Canada and now branches outside North America account for up to a third of the total.

These facts have attracted the attention of private investors and multinational investment corporations to buy shares of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ-SBUX), which generated total sales of $35.98 billion for fiscal year 2023 with an operating profit of $5.871 billion. After deducting all expenses, the company earned a net profit of $4.125 billion.  The total assets of the company are USD 29.45 billion. The company employs its 381,000 tribal workers. Starbucks Corporation also pays regular quarterly dividends to its shareholders. Currently, the dividend yield is 2.49% per annum and the actual dividend amount has been approved by the company’s board of directors at $0.57 per share. According to analysts at brokerage firms and financial strategists at investment banks, the share price of (NASDAQ- SBUX) can be expected to rise in the short to medium term investment horizon, where the average target price of the stock has been set at $107.83 per share.

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