For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – April 15, 2026 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Alphabet Inc. GOOGL, Meta Platforms, Inc. META and Shell plc SHEL.
Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:
Top Analyst Reports for Alphabet, Meta Platforms and Shell
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 Alphabet Inc., Meta Platforms, Inc. and Shell plc. 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 >>>
Today's Featured Research Reports
Alphabet’s shares have outperformed the Zacks Internet - Services industry over the past year (+106.3% vs. +93.8%). The company is benefiting from accelerated growth across AI infrastructure, Google Cloud, and Search. Google Cloud ended the fourth quarter of 2025 with $240 billion in backlog, up 55% sequentially.
GOOGL has more than 325 million paid subscriptions across consumer services with strong adoption for Google One and YouTube Premium. Gemini app now has over 750 million monthly active users and the company sold more than 8 million paid seats of Gemini enterprise in Q4. Search is benefiting from AI Overviews and AI Mode that has driven growth in overall queries.
Launching personal intelligence in AI Mode in search and the Gemini app bodes well for Alphabet’s prospects. YouTube is benefiting from the growing demand for shorts. However, stiff competition in cloud computing has been concerning.
(You can read the full research report on Alphabet here >>>)
Shares of Meta Platforms have outperformed the Zacks Internet - Software industry over the past year (+22.1% vs. +1.1%). The company is benefiting from increasing AI-infusion across its services which currently reach more than 3.58 billion people daily. META’s improved recommendation system is driving up user engagement. Instagram Reels had a strong fourth-quarter, with watch time up more than 30% year-over-year in the United States.
Facebook video time continued to grow double-digits year-over-year in the United States. Recommendation improvement drove 20% lift in time spent on Threads. AI usage is making META a popular name among advertisers.
Meta Platforms now expects to invest significantly more over the next few years in developing more advanced models and the largest AI services in the world. However, monetization of these AI services will take considerable time, which is a concern. Increasing regulatory challenges is a headwind for investors.
(You can read the full research report on Meta Platforms here >>>)
Shell’s shares have gained +53.4% over the past year against the Zacks Oil and Gas - Integrated - International industry’s gain of +61.8%. The company being a London based oil supermajor, looks fairly balanced at the moment. Shell demonstrated resilient cash generation in 2025, delivering robust operating and free cash flows, supporting shareholder returns.
Its LNG franchise remains a long-term strength, with solid sales growth and clear demand visibility. Structural cost reductions achieved ahead of schedule and portfolio simplification have improved efficiency and balance-sheet flexibility.
However, earnings and revenue declined year over year, highlighting exposure to commodity price cycles. Net debt increased, while Chemicals and Renewables continue to weigh on returns amid weak margins. Potential LNG oversupply and geopolitical volatility add uncertainty. Overall, strengths are offset by cyclical and segment-specific risks, justifying a neutral stance.
(You can read the full research report on Shell here >>>)
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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL): Free Stock Analysis Report
Meta Platforms, Inc. (META): Free Stock Analysis Report
Shell PLC Unsponsored ADR (SHEL): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).