Barron’s Latest Picks and Pans: Microsoft, Exxon Mobile, Zendesk and America’s Largest Radio Station Operator

Benzinga reviews this weekend’s top stories on Barron’s, for more on the latest market news, Benzinga Pro offers a 24/7 news feed, live chat and software of cartography.

“Gasoline Prices Reach Record Highs, But Proprietary Data Shows Gas Stations Aren’t the Problem,” by Avi Salzman and Marc Lajoie, notes that the average price of gasoline in the United States has reached a record $5 a gallon, up more than 50% from a year ago, but gas station profits are actually down this year.

In “Zendesk backed out of a sale. Activist wants to change board,” Carleton English writes that investors are growing increasingly uncomfortable with Zendesk Inc. ZENas the cloud-based customer service software provider plans to remain a standalone business.

“IHeartMedia Stock Tumbles as Morgan Stanley Turns Cautious on Ad Outlook,” by Eric Savitz, examines why a Morgan Stanley analyst cut his rating on iHeartMedia Inc IHRTAmerica’s largest radio station operator.

In “Exxon can do ‘more than God.’ But Apple and Alphabet are more profitable,” writes Andrew Bary. Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE XOM) is expected to generate approximately $41 billion in net revenue in 2022, but it is far from the most profitable company in the country.

“Microsoft Could Stop TV Advertising to Cut Costs,” by Angela Palumbo, reports that Microsoft Corp. MSFT could halt its TV advertising campaigns to save money as concerns grow over slowing consumer spending.

See also: Benzinga Bulls And Bears Of The Week: Amazon, Tesla, Netflix, Roku, Carnival, Disney, Coinbase, etc.

Also in this week’s Barron’s:

Food stocks are a safe haven for investors on a tough day

3 boring chip stocks could turn around a slowing economy, says Morgan Stanley

A break in inflation is on the way, but it’s the wrong break

These 6 energy actions could still get you a piece of the spurt

FDA advisers back first new gene therapy in nearly 5 years

At the time of this writing, the author has no position in the stocks mentioned.