Top Research Reports for Costco, Morgan Stanley & Caterpillar

Friday, September 19, 2025

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 Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST), Morgan Stanley (MS), and Caterpillar Inc. (CAT). 

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 >>>

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 opens, attempting 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.

You can read today's AWS here >>> A Late Summer Reflection on Growth, Inflation and Jobs

Today's Featured Research Reports

Costco’s shares have outperformed the Zacks Retail - Discount Stores industry over the past year (+5.0% vs. +4.0%). Being a consumer defensive stock, Costco has been surviving the market turmoil pretty well. The discount retailer’s key strengths are strategic investments, a customer-centric approach, merchandise initiatives, and an emphasis on membership growth. These factors have been helping it register decent sales and earnings numbers.

A favorable product mix, steady store traffic, pricing power, and strong liquidity position should help Costco keep outperforming. 

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

Shares of Morgan Stanley have outperformed the Zacks Financial - Investment Bank industry over the past year (+55.0% vs. +49.5%). The company's efforts to focus on wealth and asset management operations, its inorganic expansion efforts, strategic alliances, and relatively high interest rates are expected to aid its top line. The performance of the investment banking (IB) business is expected to be driven by a strong pipeline in the near term. 

However, operating expenses are likely to stay elevated due to business expansion efforts. The uncertainty of the performance of the capital markets is a key near-term concern for the company. 

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

Caterpillar’s shares have outperformed the Zacks Manufacturing - Construction and Mining industry over the past year (+26.5% vs. +25.1%). Caterpillar’s Energy and Transportation segment has shown improved volume and margin performance in the past few quarters, helping offset weaker results in the Resource Industries and Construction Industries segments.

However, higher labor costs and the impact of tariffs on its margins are concerning. Going forward, the Construction Industries segment will gain from increased construction activities in the United States and globally. Resource Industries will be supported by commodity demand.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (CRWD), Amgen Inc. (AMGN), and Sony Group Corp. (SONY).

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>>>

Today's Must Read

Decent Comparable Sales Run to Fuel Costco's (COST) Top Line

High Rates, IB Income to Aid Morgan Stanley (MS), Costs High

Caterpillar (CAT) Bets on Solid Backlog Amid Cost & Tariff Headwinds

Featured Reports

Amgen (AMGN) Key & New Drugs Driving Sales in 2025
The Zacks analyst expect Amgen's key products like Evenity, Repatha and Blincyto and new drugs and biosimilars to continue to drive sales offsetting lower revenues from mature products such as Enbrel.

Strong Production & Stable Free Cash Flow Aid CNX Resources (CNX)
Per the Zacks analyst, CNX Resources will benefit from strong production from Marcellus and Utica shales assets. Free cash flow generated in 22 consecutive quarters allowed it to reduce debt.

Phillips 66's (PSX) Diversified Business Model Drives Growth
Per the Zacks analyst, Phillips 66's diversification across multiple sectors should strengthen its cash flows. However, rising regulatory-compliance costs may limit profitability.

Waste Connections (WCN) Market Expands Despite Low Liquidity
Per the Zacks analyst, Waste Connections is well-positioned to capitalize on global waste management market expansion, boosting the top and bottom lines. Low liquidity is concerning.

Coinbase (COIN) Banks on Improving Top Line, Expenses Hurt
Per the Zacks analyst, higher transaction revenues, subscription and services revenues, growth in crypto assets should drive Coinbase revenues.

Strength in Music & G&NS Segments Aids SONY Amid Forex Woes
Per the Zacks analyst, solid demand in the Game & Network Services and Music units is driving Sony's performance. FX volatility and the potential imposition of additional U.S. tariffs pose headwinds.

Strategic Efforts Aid Marriott Vacations (VAC), Costs High
Per the Zacks analyst, Marriott Vacations is likely to benefit from strong leisure demand, digital efforts and Business Modernization program. However, high costs and weak contract sales are concerns.

New Upgrades

CrowdStrike (CRWD) Rides on Product Strength, Acquisitions
Per the Zacks analyst, CrowdStrike is gaining from solid contributions of its growth-oriented products, primarily Falcon platform. Also, buyouts like Adaptive Shield and Flow Security are positive.

Expanding Clientele, Hybrid-Working Solutions Aids Zoom (ZM)
Per the Zacks analyst, Zoom is benefiting from solid adoption of hybrid-working solutions like Zoom Phone and expanding subscriber base driven by the need for digital transformation among enterprises.

Macy's (M) Bold New Chapter to Propel Long-Term Growth
Per the Zacks analyst, Macy's Bold New Chapter strategy is driving growth, as brand strength, luxury focus, and operational modernization boost profitability and long-term positioning.

New Downgrades

Macroeconomic Pressures, Intense Rivalry Ails Bruker (BRKR)
The Zacks analyst is concerned with ongoing macroeconomic issues, including global tariffs and U.S. academic funding headwinds, weighing on Bruker's operations. Fierce competition may dent growth.

Reducing Demand, Weakness in European Business Ail LKQ
Per the Zacks analyst, lower repairable claims are affecting demand for LKQ's replacement parts, which is likely to weigh on its prospects. Near-term weakness in European business is also a concern.

Weak Demand & Margin Pressures Ail International Paper (IP)
The Zacks analyst is concerned that weak demand in end markets, along with higher maintenance outage expense and elevated interest expense, will continue to impact International Paper's results.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research