Take the Zacks Approach to Beat the Markets: PSQ, AutoZone, Palantir Technologies in Focus

Economic Overview - All three major U.S. indexes have shown gains, with the Nasdaq Composite up 1%, S&P 500 up 0.86%, and Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.91%, driven by positive economic data during a holiday-shortened trading week [1] - U.S. business activity in January has declined to its lowest level since April, with the S&P Global's flash U.S. Composite PMI Output Index falling to 52.4 from 55.4 in December, indicating a slowdown in expansion [2] - The labor market remains healthy, but new applications for unemployment benefits have reached a three-year high, with weekly jobless claims increasing by 6,000 to 223,000 and continuing claims rising by 46,000 to 1.899 million [3] Investment Performance - PSQ Holdings, Inc. has gained 80.2% since being upgraded to Zacks Rank 2 on November 16, outperforming the S&P 500's 3.8% increase [4] - KORE Group Holdings, Inc. has returned 20% since its upgrade to Zacks Rank 2 on November 22, compared to the S&P 500's 2.4% increase [5] - A hypothetical portfolio of Zacks Rank 1 stocks returned +22.3% in 2024, while the S&P 500 index returned +28% [6] Zacks Recommendations - Raymond James Financial, Inc. and StoneX Group Inc. have advanced 7.5% and 6.2% respectively since their Zacks Recommendations were upgraded [9] - The Zacks Recommendation system classifies stocks into three groups: Outperform, Neutral, and Underperform, based on earnings estimate revisions [11] Focus List and Model Portfolios - Palantir Technologies Inc. has gained 76.1% over the past 12 weeks since being added to the Zacks Focus List, while Axon Enterprise, Inc. has returned 37.3% [12] - The Zacks Focus List model portfolio returned +29.54% in 2023, outperforming the S&P 500 index's +26.28% return [15] - The Zacks Earnings Certain Admiral Portfolio (ECAP) returned +5.62% in November 2024, while the S&P 500 index returned +5.87% [17] Long-term Performance - The Zacks Top 10 portfolio has produced a cumulative return of +1,998% since 2012, significantly outperforming the S&P 500 index's +461.86% return [23]