Caterpillar and Celsius have been highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day

Here is a synopsis of all four stocks:

Bull of the Day:

Caterpillar is aZack Rank #1 (Strong Buy) that is the world's leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives.

The company just delivered the best quarter in its history, and a surging AI driven backlog in its power generation business points to years of growth ahead.

With the stock still digesting the move, investors are getting a chance to position in a name after a "sell the news" earnings reaction.

About the Company

The Irving, Texas based company operates three primary segments.

Construction Industries serves customers building infrastructure, roads, and buildings.

Resource Industries supports mining and heavy earthmoving through commodities like copper and gold.

Energy & Transportation, the standout of the moment, produces engines, turbines, and generator sets for power generation, oil and gas, marine, and rail applications. This is now at the center of the AI data center buildout.

The company is valued at $390 billion and has a forward PE of 32. The stock has Zacks Style Scores of "F" in Value, "C" in Growth, and "A" in Momentum.

Earnings Beat

Caterpillar reported Q2 EPS of $8.17, crushing estimates by 430%.  Revenue of $20.5 billion topped the $19.3 billion estimate, marking the first $20 billion quarter in company history. Revenue grew 24% year over year, with higher sales volume adding $3.1 billion and favorable pricing contributing another $595 million.

Adjusted operating margin expanded to 21.9% from 17.6% a year ago. CEO Joe Creed called the quarter a milestone reflecting broadening momentum across all three primary segments.

The demand backdrop in Power & Energy is roaring. Sales to users in power generation jumped 72%, driven by explosive demand for large generator sets and turbines serving data centers. Total dealer machine statistics climbed 25%, the sixth straight quarter of acceleration. Management said AI and data center customers are not slowing down and are requesting more units than Caterpillar can currently produce.

Raised Guidance

Management raised its full year 2026 outlook, calling for revenue growth of mid to high teens. Adjusted operating margin is expected above April's forecast.

Backlog surged to $72.1 billion, up $9 billion sequentially and 92% y/y, with 59% scheduled for delivery within the next 12 months. Power & Energy customers are now placing orders that stretch into 2029 and 2030. Caterpillar is restarting a 10-megawatt gas engine platform that adds 1.5 gigawatts of capacity beyond its existing 65-gigawatt plan through 2030, with shipments starting in the fourth quarter.

Estimates Are Soaring

Analysts are moving quickly with agreement strongly positive across every timeframe, with eight estimates revised higher over the last 30 days for the current year against zero moving lower.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current quarter has climbed to $6.86 from $6.40 ninety days ago. The current year number has moved to $26.30 from $24.21 over the same stretch, while next year's estimate has risen to $32.02 from $29.63.

This one directional revisions trend across every timeframe.

The Technical Take

The stock made a higher in late June over $1000 and dropped to $780 before EPS. After the report the stock rallied to $920, right where the 50-day moving averages reside. Sellers showed up and the stock filled the earnings gap.

While the fundamentals are very bullish the price action was not, signaling a classic "Sell the news" earnings reaction. This could continue over the short-term as traders play the directional trade. However, investors should watch for more consolidation as the 200-day MA is down at $750. This would likely be a strong level of long-term support.

In Summary

Caterpillar delivered a historic quarter and backed it up with a meaningfully raised outlook. The Power & Energy segment is riding a genuine structural tailwind from AI infrastructure buildout, and the company is production constrained rather than demand constrained, a rare and enviable position for an industrial name to hold.

With backlog visibility now stretching into the next decade and estimates rising across every timeframe, this looks like a name that can keep grinding higher.

Bear of the Day:

Celsius Holdings is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) that has built a scaled portfolio of energy drink brands including CELSIUS, Alani Nu, and the recently integrated Rockstar Energy.

The company just missed on both the top and bottom lines, and management's own commentary revealed a self-inflicted wound in its flagship brand's distribution strategy. With estimates falling across every timeframe and the stock still overvalued relative to its growth trajectory, this looks like a name to avoid.

About the Company

The Boca Raton based company sells functional energy drinks positioned around fitness and active lifestyles. With CELSIUS, Alani Nu, and Rockstar now under one roof, the company controls roughly one in five energy drinks sold in the United States, giving it real scale in a crowded category.

The company is valued at $7 billion and has a forward PE of 18. The stock has Zacks Style Scores of "D" in Value, "A" in Growth, and "B" in Momentum.

A Disappointing Quarter

Celsius reported Q2 adjusted earnings of $0.36 per share, missing the $0.42 consensus estimate. Revenue of $818 million also fell short of the $883 million estimate despite a double-digit year over year increase.

Profitability took a bigger hit than revenue. Gross margin contracted to 48.1% from 51.5% a year ago, and adjusted EBITDA fell to $184.2 million from $210.3 million.

The most troubling admission came on the flagship brand. Management acknowledged it went too deep on Celsius SKU rationalization, cutting products immediately while the planned cold space, cooler, and end cap gains that were supposed to offset the cuts took longer to materialize. Consumer sell through for the core Celsius brand only declined 2% in the quarter, but net sales fell 12%, with roughly half the gap tied to distributors pulling back orders faster than actual consumer demand fell off.

Guidance Signals a Slow Grind, not a Snapback

Management set expectations for a gradual recovery rather than a quick turnaround. Third quarter Celsius brand sales are expected to stay broadly similar to the second quarter in both dollars and growth rate, with only slight sequential improvement.

Not everything in the portfolio is struggling. Alani Nu remains a bright spot, with tracked retail sales up roughly 56% in the quarter against 21% net sales growth, and management pointing to its largest ever product launch and additional back half offerings. Rockstar integration wrapped up in June with early velocity gains described as encouraging.

But the core Celsius brand, still the company's largest, is the piece investors are most focused on, and it remains under pressure.

Wall Street Is Cutting Targets

The reaction from sell side analysts has been sharply negative, with a wave of price target cuts following the print even as most firms maintained bullish ratings.

Piper Sandler reiterated Overweight but cut its target to $36 from $49. Morgan Stanley reiterated Overweight and cut its target to $42 from $48. JPMorgan reiterated Overweight and lowered its target to $52 from $56. Citigroup reiterated Buy and cut its target to $40 from $50. Bernstein SocGen downgraded shares to Market Perform from Outperform with a $26 target, one of the more bearish calls on the Street.

Estimates Are Falling Fast

The estimate revisions trend confirms the deteriorating picture. Over the last 60 days, the current quarter, next quarter, current year, and next year estimates have been revised lower, with zero upward revisions across any timeframe.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current quarter has fallen to $0.37 from $0.43 ninety days ago. Current year estimates have dropped to $1.51 from $1.59, and next year's number has slid to $1.85 from $2.00 over the same stretch.

Technicals Look Bleak

CELH was a high flyer back in 2023 and 2024, but the stock gave up all those gains and is challenging the 2025 lows.

But this is nothing new, after a nice start early in the year, the stock has fallen from the mid $50s to $25. That 50% haircut was a slow bleed over the last five months. This means a lot of investors are likely stick with bad prices and any up move will be sold.

The 200-day is at $40, but to get back up there we have to see the earnings story change.  The $30 area looks like resistance while the recent low of $23.50 was support. A move below that level could bring the $20 price quickly.

In Summary

Celsius delivered a quarter that missed on both lines and exposed a misstep in how the company managed its flagship brand's distribution. With Wall Street cutting price targets across the board, this looks like a stock where the risk still points lower.

For investors who like their risk-reward balanced, the Zacks Rank #5 says look elsewhere. Those interested in a name in the same industry grouping, Darling Ingredients (DAR) is a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) that is trading near 2026 highs.  

Additional content:

Everyone's Watching NVIDIA, but Is Sandisk the Real AI Winner?

Investors are keeping an eye on NVIDIA Corporation's earnings later this month, as the results could signal strength in artificial intelligence (AI) demand and set the tone for the broader tech sector. NVIDIA has consistently reported strong quarterly performances, banking on robust demand for its state-of-the-art chips and CUDA software platform. 

However, the stock has gained only 20.1% this year, indicating that investors' expectations remain exceptionally high. Investors are also concerned that any possibility of a slowdown in AI spending, export restrictions on the sale of chips to China, and stiffer competition could weigh on NVIDIA's margins. 

Thus, it's prudent for investors to closely watch strong performers across the AI ecosystem that have delivered substantial gains this year and are poised to scale higher in the near term. Sandisk Corporation stands out, with its shares surging 410.7% year to date and appearing well positioned for further upside. Let's explore why Sandisk is the real AI winner – 

Sandisk's Growth and Pricing Power Fuel Upside 

Sandisk recently reported strong fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 financial results. The company's revenues for the fiscal fourth quarter were $8.97 billion, up 51% quarter over quarter, while revenues for the fiscal year 2026 reached $20.25 billion, up 175% from a year ago, according to investor.sandisk.com.  

Datacenter has emerged as the key growth engine for Sandisk, with revenues from the segment jumping 437% in fiscal 2026. As AI models continue to grow larger and process more data, demand for high-capacity storage solutions has increased, benefiting Sandisk.  

The sequential revenue growth was driven not only by selling more units but also by higher pricing, indicating that Sandisk's customers are willing to pay more for the company's products, translating into higher margins and stronger cash flows.  

Looking ahead, Sandisk expects exceptionally high non-GAAP gross margins for the fiscal first quarter of 2027, guiding for 83% to 85%. For the fiscal first quarter, revenues are expected to come in at $10.3B-$10.8B, and at the midpoint, that would represent approximately 17.6% sequential growth. The outlook confirms that Sandisk expects strong growth and pricing momentum to continue into fiscal 2027. 

Clients are increasingly interested in establishing strategic relationships with Sandisk. During the company's April earnings call, Sandisk announced five New Business Model agreements, and since then it has signed five more, improving revenue visibility and enhancing cash flow predictability. 

Therefore, Sandisk is a potential winner in the broader AI ecosystem, banking on strong growth, pricing power, margins and customer agreements. Consequently, the company's expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 173.8%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate of $194.06 for SNDK's earnings per share is up 1767.8% year over year.

Brokers also remain confident of the company's growth prospects, estimating an average short-term price target for SNDK stock of $2,287.05, which represents an 88.7% increase from the last closing price of $1,212.21. The highest target is $3,169, suggesting a potential upside of 161.4%.

Sandisk currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 stocks here.

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