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5 Stocks to Buy Amid Growing Strength in the Business Services Sector
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Key Takeaways
Five Business Services stocks, including DUOL and CTAS, gained double digits in the past three months.
Duolingo shows 33.4% revenue and 55.3% earnings growth forecasts, with estimates up 10.2% in 60 days.
Cintas' growth is fueled by product expansion, acquisitions, and strong demand in multiple service segments.
The U.S. Business Services Sector has been well supported by the strong fundamentals of the domestic economy. The space consists of companies providing business services such as, consulting, staffing, financial tractions, outsourcing, advertising, waste removal, building maintenance, technology services and auction/valuation services.
The sector is mature, with demand for services remaining stable. Revenues, income, and cash flows are now above pre-pandemic levels. The Zacks-defined Business Services Sector is currently in the top 25% of the Zacks Sector Rank. Since the business services sector is ranked in the top half of the Zacks Ranked sectors, we expect it to outperform the market over the next three to six months.
The chart below shows the price performance of our five picks in the past three months.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Duolingo Inc.
Duolingo operates as a mobile learning platform in the United States, China, the United Kingdom, and internationally. DUOL offers courses in 40 different languages, including Spanish, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, and Chinese through the Duolingo app. DUOL also provides a digital language proficiency assessment exam.
DUOL has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 33.4% and 55.3%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 10.2% over the last 60 days.
Cintas Corp.
Cintas is well-positioned to benefit from the solid momentum across its segments. Penetration of additional products and services into existing customers is aiding the Uniform Rental and Facility Services segment. Improved demand for AED Rentals and WaterBreak products is driving the First Aid and Safety Services segment.
CTAS’ investments in technology and automation hold promise. The successive acquisitions of Paris Uniform and SITEX sparked optimism in the stock. Also, handsome rewards to its shareholders add to CTAS’ appeal.
CTAS has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 7% and 10.8%, respectively, for the current year (ending May 2026). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 1.9% over the last 60 days.
Stantec Inc.
Stantec provides professional consulting services in planning, engineering, architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, surveying and geomatics. STN also provides professional consulting services in environmental sciences, project management, and project economics for infrastructure and facilities projects.
STN’s services include, or relate to, the development of conceptual plans, zoning approval of design infrastructure, transportation planning, traffic engineering, landscape architecture, urban planning, design construction review and surveying. STN provides knowledge-based solutions for infrastructure and facilities projects through value-added professional services principally under fee-for-service agreements with clients.
Stantec has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 11.1% and 19.5%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current-year earnings has improved 3.2% over the last 30 days.
Thomson Reuters Corp.
Thomson Reuters operates as a content and technology company in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. TRI operates through five segments: Legal Professionals, Corporates, Tax and Accounting Professionals, Reuters News, and Global Print.
TRI is a leading provider of value-added information and technology to users in the fields of law, tax, accounting, financial services, higher education, reference information, corporate training and assessment, scientific research and healthcare.
TRI has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 3.2% and 4.2%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 1.3% over the last 60 days.
FirstCash Holdings Inc.
FirstCash Holdings operates retail pawn stores in the United States, Mexico, and the rest of Latin America. FCFS operates through three segments: U.S. Pawn, Latin America Pawn, and Retail POS Payment Solutions.
FCFS’ pawn stores lend money on the collateral of pledged personal property, including jewelry, electronics, tools, appliances, sporting goods, and musical instruments. It also retails merchandise acquired through collateral forfeitures and over-the-counter purchases of merchandise from customers.
FCFS provides retail POS payment solutions, which focus on LTO products and facilitating other retail financing payment options across the network of traditional and e-commerce merchant partners. The company serves cash and credit-constrained consumers.
FirstCash Holdings has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of -0.2% and 17.3%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 2.7% over the last 60 days.
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5 Stocks to Buy Amid Growing Strength in the Business Services Sector
Key Takeaways
The U.S. Business Services Sector has been well supported by the strong fundamentals of the domestic economy. The space consists of companies providing business services such as, consulting, staffing, financial tractions, outsourcing, advertising, waste removal, building maintenance, technology services and auction/valuation services.
The sector is mature, with demand for services remaining stable. Revenues, income, and cash flows are now above pre-pandemic levels. The Zacks-defined Business Services Sector is currently in the top 25% of the Zacks Sector Rank. Since the business services sector is ranked in the top half of the Zacks Ranked sectors, we expect it to outperform the market over the next three to six months.
Here we recommend five business services stocks with a favorable Zacks Rank that have provided double-digit returns in the past three months. These are: Duolingo Inc. (DUOL - Free Report) , Cintas Corp. (CTAS - Free Report) , Stantec Inc. (STN - Free Report) , Thomson Reuters Corp. (TRI - Free Report) and FirstCash Holdings Inc. (FCFS - Free Report) . Each of our picks carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The chart below shows the price performance of our five picks in the past three months.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Duolingo Inc.
Duolingo operates as a mobile learning platform in the United States, China, the United Kingdom, and internationally. DUOL offers courses in 40 different languages, including Spanish, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, and Chinese through the Duolingo app. DUOL also provides a digital language proficiency assessment exam.
DUOL has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 33.4% and 55.3%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 10.2% over the last 60 days.
Cintas Corp.
Cintas is well-positioned to benefit from the solid momentum across its segments. Penetration of additional products and services into existing customers is aiding the Uniform Rental and Facility Services segment. Improved demand for AED Rentals and WaterBreak products is driving the First Aid and Safety Services segment.
CTAS’ investments in technology and automation hold promise. The successive acquisitions of Paris Uniform and SITEX sparked optimism in the stock. Also, handsome rewards to its shareholders add to CTAS’ appeal.
CTAS has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 7% and 10.8%, respectively, for the current year (ending May 2026). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 1.9% over the last 60 days.
Stantec Inc.
Stantec provides professional consulting services in planning, engineering, architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, surveying and geomatics. STN also provides professional consulting services in environmental sciences, project management, and project economics for infrastructure and facilities projects.
STN’s services include, or relate to, the development of conceptual plans, zoning approval of design infrastructure, transportation planning, traffic engineering, landscape architecture, urban planning, design construction review and surveying. STN provides knowledge-based solutions for infrastructure and facilities projects through value-added professional services principally under fee-for-service agreements with clients.
Stantec has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 11.1% and 19.5%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current-year earnings has improved 3.2% over the last 30 days.
Thomson Reuters Corp.
Thomson Reuters operates as a content and technology company in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. TRI operates through five segments: Legal Professionals, Corporates, Tax and Accounting Professionals, Reuters News, and Global Print.
TRI is a leading provider of value-added information and technology to users in the fields of law, tax, accounting, financial services, higher education, reference information, corporate training and assessment, scientific research and healthcare.
TRI has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 3.2% and 4.2%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 1.3% over the last 60 days.
FirstCash Holdings Inc.
FirstCash Holdings operates retail pawn stores in the United States, Mexico, and the rest of Latin America. FCFS operates through three segments: U.S. Pawn, Latin America Pawn, and Retail POS Payment Solutions.
FCFS’ pawn stores lend money on the collateral of pledged personal property, including jewelry, electronics, tools, appliances, sporting goods, and musical instruments. It also retails merchandise acquired through collateral forfeitures and over-the-counter purchases of merchandise from customers.
FCFS provides retail POS payment solutions, which focus on LTO products and facilitating other retail financing payment options across the network of traditional and e-commerce merchant partners. The company serves cash and credit-constrained consumers.
FirstCash Holdings has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of -0.2% and 17.3%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 2.7% over the last 60 days.