Friday, October 2, 2026

The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 12 major stocks, including TotalEnergies SE (TTE), Snowflake Inc. (SNOW) and Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC), as well as two micro-cap stocks MIND Technology, Inc. (MIND) and Zeo Energy Corp. (ZEO). The Zacks microcap research is unique as our research content on these small and under-the-radar companies is the only research of its type in the country.

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 >>>

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You can read today's AWS here >>> Jobs Market Stays Flat at +29K, Futures Love It

Today's Featured Research Reports

Shares of TotalEnergies have gained +40.7% over the past year against the Zacks Oil and Gas - Integrated - International industry’s gain of +45.3%. The company presents a balanced investment case, supported by its expanding global portfolio, resilient production outside disrupted regions and exposure to the global LNG value chain and emerging hydrocarbon basins. 

Contributions from new project start-ups and acquired assets are expected to boost volumes and support cash generation across market cycles. Investments in low-carbon businesses also provide a longer-term transition path and help align operations with emissions goals. 

However, geopolitical and security risks could disrupt operations, while dependence on acquired assets creates integration and execution challenges. Commodity price volatility may also weigh on margins and cash flow.

(You can read the full research report on TotalEnergies here >>>)

Snowflake’s shares have outperformed the Zacks Internet - Software industry over the past year (+42.2% vs. +0.7%). The company is seeing broader AI-led demand as CoCo and CoWork bring new workloads and users to the AI Data Cloud, while core migrations lift consumption. 

Customer additions, retention, and large-account expansion remain healthy, while rapid product releases and model choice broaden enterprise use cases. Management raised fiscal 2027 product revenue and operating margin guidance, supporting the growth and efficiency outlook. 

However, the consumption model leaves results sensitive to customer optimization and renewal timing. A richer mix of AI workloads is lowering product gross margin expectations, while acquisition integration and a heavy GAAP cost base require continued discipline. Competition across cloud, data, and AI platforms also remains intense. These factors keep the risk-reward balanced despite better growth execution.

(You can read the full research report on Snowflake here >>>)

Shares of Marathon have outperformed the Zacks Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing industry over the year-to-date period (+160.4% vs. +138.4%). The company benefits from the scale and integration of a large, diversified U.S. refining system and a logistics network that enhances crude sourcing, product placement and regional optimization. 

Marathon’s majority ownership of MPLX provides durable fee-based midstream cash flow and diversifies earnings beyond refining. A favorable refining environment, elevated global capacity outages and tight U.S. fuel inventories are supporting margins. Advantaged crude access also enables feedstock optimization and reduces exposure to costly crude dislocations. 

Meanwhile, investments in jet fuel, specialty gasoline and diesel yields should strengthen the product mix. Export flexibility adds further growth potential by allowing MPC to capitalize on domestic and international markets. These strengths support an Outperform Recommendation.

(You can read the full research report on Marathon here >>>)

MIND Technology’s shares have underperformed the Zacks Technology Services industry over the past year (-45.1% vs. -22.1%). This microcap company with a market capitalization of $41.72 million saw its backlog decline to $4.8 million as of July 31, 2026, from $13.9 million at Jan. 31, 2026, while prolonged customer decision cycles, geopolitical uncertainty and project delays continue to limit near-term revenue visibility. Weak system sales and high operating expenses could also pressure margins. The stock trades at discounted EV/sales and price/book multiples. 

Nevertheless, MIND Technology’s aftermarket sales represented about 87% of fiscal Q2 2027 revenues, providing recurring repair, parts and support revenue despite weak equipment sales. As of July 31, 2026, MIND held $15.8 million in cash and $36.7 million of working capital with no debt. 

Expanded Huntsville capacity, SeaLink design enhancements, continued R&D and a global manufacturing and service footprint could support larger projects and future revenue growth. Cost controls could also improve operating leverage if system orders recover.

(You can read the full research report on MIND Technology here >>>)

Shares of Zeo Energy have underperformed the Zacks Alternative Energy - Other industry over the past year (-77.5% vs. -3.2%). This microcap company with a market capitalization of $17.99 million sees its revenue concentration, elevated receivables and working-capital sensitivity making cash-conversion volatile. Domestic-content sourcing continues to pressure gross margins, while limited liquidity leaves Zeo dependent on external financing and exposes shareholders to potential dilution. 

Heliogen remains pre-revenue and continues to generate losses, creating an earnings drag until its commercial pipeline begins contributing meaningfully. Nevertheless, Zeo’s investment case rests on improving cost discipline, stronger contribution economics and a focused residential solar strategy. 

Better installation productivity, tighter operating expenses and process improvements could support scalable growth, while improving access to tax-equity funding may help expand installation capacity. Moderating cash consumption also provides some support for continued investment in residential and commercial-energy opportunities.

(You can read the full research report on Zeo Energy here >>>)

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Coherent Corp. (COHR), EMCOR Group, Inc. (EME) and Arch Capital Group Ltd. (ACGL).

Mark Vickery
Senior Editor

Note: Sheraz Mian heads the Zacks Equity Research department and is a well-regarded expert of aggregate earnings. He is frequently quoted in the print and electronic media and publishes the weekly Earnings Trends and Earnings Preview reports. If you want an email notification each time Sheraz publishes a new article, please click here>>>