Goldman’s stocks to buy into earnings

Goldman Sachs unveiled a slew of buy-rated stocks with major upside ahead of earnings. The firm said it likes companies with room for growth and attractive valuations. CNBC Pro combed through Goldman Sachs’ research to find stocks worth snapping up going into quarterly results. They include Monster Beverage , Uber Technologies, IBM and Bill.com. Uber Technologies Analyst Eric Sheridan urged investors to remain calm on shares of the ride-sharing company ahead of Uber’s earnings report on Feb. 5 . He acknowledged in a recent note to clients that autonomous vehicle uncertainty remains, but Sheridan also said that shares are too compelling to ignore. The analyst thinks there are “multiple pathways to generate an attractive multi-year IRR [internal rate of return] without the need for multiple expansion by buying UBER shares as the company grows EPS nearly 30%/yr through 2026.” Additionally, the firm likes Uber’s profitability setup, free cash flow potential and margin upside. “We reiterate our Buy rating and $96 12-month PT as we see UBER presenting the best risk-reward in our large-cap coverage with stock price performance & valuation dislocated from earnings power,” Sheridan said. Uber shares are up more than 7% over the past year. Bill.com The payment fintech company is firing on all cylinders ahead of earnings in early February . Analyst Will Nance and team recently upgraded the stock to buy from neutral, citing a slew of positive catalysts in 2025. In particular, Goldman Sachs said it sees “strong revisions over the course of the year against the company’s conservative forecast,” with macro overhang concerns subsiding. Bill.com is also well positioned to benefit from enhanced business confidence and reduced inflation, with client capture trends on the rise, the firm added. “The improving macro, in addition to BILL’s success in onboarding larger customers, positions the stock well for improving C2025 volume trends,” Nance wrote. Shares of the company are up 28% over the last 12 months. IBM Analyst James Schneider is standing by the stock amidst a host of positive catalysts in the weeks ahead. The company is scheduled to report quarterly earnings on Jan. 29 , but Schneider is also bullish on IBM’s investor day on Feb. 4. Schneider said investors should pay close attention to IBM’s software announcements. “We think the stock could continue to move higher if the company is able to articulate a credible strategy for sustaining accelerating long-term Software revenue growth,” he wrote. IBM is “squarely focused on continuing to build out its portfolio of hybrid cloud Infrastructure Software solutions targeting large enterprise customers,” the analyst added. IBM shares are up more than 2% this year. “We think the stock can re-rate as software mix improves and IBM demonstrates consistent financial performance,” Schneider said. IBM “We expect IBM to maintain its focus on Software M & A & we believe the company is squarely focused on continuing to build out its portfolio of hybrid cloud Infrastructure Software solutions targeting large enterprise customers. … We think the stock can re-rate as software mix improves and IBM demonstrates consistent financial performance. … We think the stock could continue to move higher if the company is able to articulate a credible strategy for sustaining accelerating long-term Software revenue growth.” Monster Beverage “We continue to believe MNST has meaningful room to grow gross profit dollars (and improve gross margins) through a combination of incremental topline growth opportunities from strong innovation & pricing, while moderating input costs provide a clear line of sight to GM recovery, which ultimately we think should serve as a positive catalyst and support a further re-rating of the stock.” Uber Technologies “While the AV theme will likely remain an overhang, we believe investors have multiple pathways to generate an attractive multi-year IRR without the need for multiple expansion by buying UBER shares as the company grows EPS nearly 30%/yr through 2026. … We reiterate our Buy rating & $96 12-month PT as we see UBER presenting best risk-reward in our large-cap coverage with stock price performance & valuation dislocated from earnings power.” Bill.com “Conversely, we are upgrading BILL, which we believe should see strong revisions over the course of the year against the company’s conservative forecast, and believe that fewer macro overhangs should be a tailwind to valuation. … The improving macro, in addition to BILL’s success in onboarding larger customers, positions the stock well for improving C2025 volume trends.”