Mizuho Financial Group Inc Expected To Post Earnings Of 10 Cents A Share - Earnings

Investing.com-- Mizuho (NYSE:MFG) analysts increased their price target on Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) citing confidence in the company’s accelerating AI-driven revenue initiatives, regulatory support, and open-source efficiency potential.

Mizuho hiked PT to $750 from $675, while maintaining an "Outperform" rating.

The adjustment was driven by Meta’s "significant optionality" in generative AI products like MetaAI, WhatsApp monetization, and cost efficiencies. Despite in-line quarterly guidance, Mizuho highlighted management’s "optimistic tone" on product development and government collaboration, which could mitigate regulatory risks and spur innovation.

Meta’s revenue grew 21% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, outperforming consensus by 4 points, fueled by e-commerce strength.

While first-quarter guidance of 12% YoY growth—3 points below expectations—reflects foreign exchange headwinds, constant-currency growth is projected at 11-18%.

Mizuho expects full-year FY25 revenue growth to remain stable, noting ad metrics improved with impressions up 6% YoY and pricing rising 14% YoY, aided by AI-enhanced ranking systems and video content.

Monetization catalysts are building, analysts said. MetaAI, the personal assistant with 700 million monthly active users (MAUs), is projected to surpass 1 billion users in FY25, unlocking revenue potential.

Operating expenses rose 5% YoY in Q4, but FY25 operating expenditure guidance of 23% growth—including severance costs and server-life extensions—aligns with expectations.

Mizuho noted Meta’s commitment to open-source AI could lower inferencing costs, while FY25 capex is set to rise 62% YoY, reflecting sustained infrastructure investment.

Meta’s execution on AI, combined with regulatory tailwinds and operational discipline, reinforces our long-term bullish view, Mizuho analysts wrote.

Investing.com – Australia stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Energy, Consumer Discretionary and Consumer Staples sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.55% to hit a new 1-month high.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Aristocrat Leisure Ltd (ASX:ALL), which rose 3.70% or 2.64 points to trade at 73.99 at the close. Meanwhile, Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX:TWE) added 2.87% or 0.30 points to end at 10.77 and St Barbara Ltd (ASX:SBM) was up 2.13% or 0.01 points to 0.24 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Zip Co Ltd (ASX:ZIP), which fell 25.54% or 0.84 points to trade at 2.44 at the close. Credit Corp Group Ltd (ASX:CCP) declined 12.55% or 2.29 points to end at 15.95 and Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX:MFG) was down 8.30% or 1.03 points to 11.38.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 568 to 514 and 474 ended unchanged.

Shares in Aristocrat Leisure Ltd (ASX:ALL) rose to all time highs; up 3.70% or 2.64 to 73.99.

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was up 0.88% to 10.94.

Gold Futures for April delivery was up 0.12% or 3.30 to $2,796.80 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in March rose 0.06% or 0.04 to hit $72.66 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract fell 0.13% or 0.10 to trade at $75.51 a barrel.

AUD/USD was unchanged 0.13% to 0.62, while AUD/JPY fell 0.63% to 96.12.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.08% at 107.72.

Investing.com -- Mizuho initiated coverage on MicroStrategy with an Outperform rating and a $515 price target on Wednesday, citing its unique corporate structure and strong correlation with Bitcoin price appreciation.

“MSTR Stock Benefits from Bitcoin Price Appreciation; We Expect Bitcoin To CAGR at 25-30% through 2027, albeit with Extreme Volatility,” said the firm.

MicroStrategy’s strategy revolves around raising capital through debt and equity issuances to accumulate Bitcoin, with the goal of growing its Bitcoin holdings per diluted share.

Mizuho (NYSE:MFG) notes that MSTR currently trades at a ~75% premium to the underlying value of its Bitcoin holdings, leveraging this valuation premium to issue convertible bonds and equity at favorable terms. This structure enables the company to accrete Bitcoin per share at a faster rate than its share dilution.

The firm highlights MicroStrategy’s 21/21 Plan, which aims to raise $21 billion each in debt and equity by 2027 to acquire more Bitcoin.

“We believe favorable market conditions put MSTR on a fast track to exceed targets (already raised $3bn/$18bn of debt/equity since October announcement,” added the firm.

Mizuho’s valuation model assigns a 1-2x EV/revenue multiple to MSTR’s software business ($750 million), a 9x multiple to its Bitcoin treasury operations ($61 billion), and assumes Bitcoin holdings of 783,000 at a projected $166,000 per BTC in 2027 ($130 billion total value).

“At an estimated 374mn fully diluted shares, this implies base case equity value per share of $515,” writes Mizuho.

While the firm acknowledges Bitcoin’s extreme volatility and lack of intrinsic value, it believes rising adoption, a finite supply, and a favorable political environment under President Trump will drive significant upside for MSTR.

Investing.com - Morrisons, the UK-based supermarket chain, has reported a strong performance for its full year and fourth quarter, ending 27 October 2024.

The company saw its like-for-like (LFL) sales for the year increase by 4.1%, with a notable 4.9% rise in the fourth quarter, marking the most robust quarter since early 2021.

The full year underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) climbed by 11.2%, reaching £835 million. Total (EPA:TTEF) revenue also grew by 3.8% to £15.3 billion over the year, with the fourth quarter revenue up by 4.8% to £3.8 billion.

Morrisons' financial health was further bolstered by the sale of its petrol forecourts to MFG for £2.5 billion in April 2024, contributing to an operating cash flow of £401 million for the full year. The supermarket has also made significant strides in improving product availability, which increased by 4 percentage points for fresh items.

In a strategic move to enhance its presence, Morrisons acquired 36 convenience stores in the Channel Islands in November 2024. The company has also managed to reduce its debt by 40% from its peak and continued to grow its convenience store estate, now boasting over 1,600 stores.

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Investing.com -- Software stocks are rallying sharply after Monday’s DeepSeek-induced decline, with significant volume-driven moves across the sector. The IGV Software (ETR:SOWGn) ETF traded at 190% of its average volume, pushing it to two-month highs relative to semiconductor indices and highlighting strong demand for midcap software names.

Elastic (NYSE:ESTC) N.V. shares jumped more than 10%, Datadog Inc (NASDAQ:DDOG) surged over 7%, and other notable gainers included Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK), UiPath (NYSE:PATH) Inc, Zoom (NASDAQ:ZM), Salesforce (NYSE:CRM), CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD), ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW), Oracle (NYSE:ORCL), and Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR), all rising between 3% and 9%.

The rally follows a rebound in Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), up more than 7%,along with other AI plays. “Today's move in Software appears to be genuine and not just short covering,” Mizuho (NYSE:MFG) analyst said calling it a wake-up call for investors seeking opportunities amid broader AI market adjustments.

While larger tech names like Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) up 1.7%, Meta (NASDAQ:META) up 2.5%, and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) up 3,7% also remain resilient.