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Stride and Summit Hotel have been highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day
Read MoreHide Full Article
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – September 5, 2025 – Zacks Equity Research shares Stride, Inc. (LRN - Free Report) as the Bull of the Day and Summit Hotel Properties (INN - Free Report) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on McDonald’s Corp. (MCD - Free Report) , Starbucks Corp. (SBUX - Free Report) and Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG - Free Report) .
Soaring costs, the artificial intelligence boom, reshoring, remote work and schooling, and more are creating a paradigm shift in education and career learning/planning.
Digital education standout Stride, Inc. stock has more than quadrupled (4X) the S&P 500 over the past three years (and the past decade), capitalizing on the rapidly changing education industry.
Stride surged to fresh highs in August after its impressive beat-and-raise fourth quarter of FY25. The company expanded its full-year enrollments by 20%, with Career Learning enrollments up 33%, driven by demand for coding bootcamps, career planning, apprenticeships, and beyond.
The digital education firm grew its revenue from $1 billion in FY20 to $2.4 billion in FY25, helping boost its GAAP earnings per share (EPS) from $0.61 to $5.95 a share (+875% expansion).
Stride stock skyrocketed 1,100% in the past decade and it hit all-time records in late August. Despite its market-crushing run, LRN stock trades at a 70% discount to its highs in terms of forward earnings as it churns out strong bottom-line growth.
Stride’s upbeat EPS outlook earns it a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). LRN stock is worth buying for long-term investors and traders looking to diversify outside of big tech into stocks far removed from the tariff wars.
Buy Top-Ranked LRN Stock and Hold Forever
Stride, which went public in late 2007, provides a variety of services such as K-12 education, career learning, professional skills training, and talent development throughout the U.S. and over 100 countries.
The next-generation digital education company is capitalizing on compounding trends across the economy, helping students and parents of all ages adapt to the quickly changing work and education landscape.
Stride is expanding its offerings as more people dive into digital education, reevaluate four-year college amid skyrocketing costs, and head into fields such as IT, healthcare, and skilled trades to meet soaring demand.
Stride offers courses such as MedCerts to help people land a new career in healthcare. Meanwhile, its Tech Elevator program, which includes coding courses and much more, helps “students fully transition to a career as a software developer” and boasts a 90% job placement rate. Its Tallo unit provides growth opportunities for emerging professionals, focused on everything from earning scholarships to landing internships, apprenticeships, jobs, and more.
Its more traditional K-12 segment provides comprehensive online and blended education programs, including full-time virtual schools, supplemental courses, homeschooling support, and more. Meanwhile, its tutoring services and learning hub are designed to help students both catch up and get ahead.
A confluence of trends, including skyrocketing education costs, the AI boom and its impact on the economy, reshoring, and remote work and schooling, created a paradigm shift in education and career development/planning.
Stride is capitalizing on this backdrop in a big way, and Wall Street has taken notice. LRN has added two more brokerage recommendations over the last month, with six out of the seven Zacks has at “Strong Buys.” Stride also has a strong balance sheet, with more cash and equivalents than total liabilities.
Megatrends Drive Stride’s Impressive Growth
Stride grew its revenue from under $400 million in 2010 to $1 billion in FY20. Covid and the other trends we just highlighted sent its growth into hyperdrive.
LRN grew its revenue from $1 billion in FY20 to $2.4 billion in FY25, boosting its GAAP earnings per share (EPS) from $0.61 to $5.95 a share (+875% expansion).
LRN expanded its revenue by 18% in FY25, for its best YoY showing since FY21’s 48% surge. Its General Education segment sales climbed roughly 12% in 2025, accounting for 60% of total revenue. Meanwhile, Stride’s Career Learning unit surged 27%, with the growth driven entirely by the Middle-High School group’s 35% expansion.
Full-year enrollments climbed 20% to an average of 234K, with Career Learning enrollments up 33%.
The company topped our Q4 FY25 EPS estimate by 25% on August 5 and provided upbeat guidance. Its Q1 EPS estimate surged 14% since then, with its FY26 consensus 11% higher, earning Stride a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Stride is projected to grow its sales by 11% in FY26 and 7.4% in FY27. LRN is expected to expand its adjusted EPS by 6% and 9%, respectively, following 48% expansion in FY25. The company boasts an impressive history of bottom-line beats as well, including two massive outperformances in the trailing four quarters.
Buy Soaring LRN Stock for Great Value
Stride stock soared 330% in the past three years, outrunning Tech’s 110% and the S&P 500’s 68%. This is part of a 1,100% run over the last decade that helped it blow away Tech’s 400% and the benchmark’s 250%.
LRN has jumped 28% since its August 5 earnings release, helping it break out to new all-time highs at the end of last month. The stock found buyers at its 21-day moving average (and its previous peaks) earlier this week.
Despite trading right near its peak in terms of stock price, Stride trades at a 67% discount to its highs and 25% below its 15-year median at 18.4X forward 12-month earnings.
LRN also offers 20% value vs. the S&P 500 and 33% value compared to Tech, even though Stride stock has crushed both.
Summit Hotel Properties is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on premium-branded lodging facilities such as Hyatt Place.
INN’s bottom line has been trending in the wrong direction as it deals with a shifting business and broader travel landscape. Plus, Summit Hotel Properties and the broader hotel landscape have been shaken up by the likes of Airbnb, VRBO, and vacation rental companies.
Summit Hotel Properties is down over 50% in the past decade, including a 17% YTD drop as its bottom-line outlook continues to fade.
Investors Might Want to Stay Away from INN Stock
Summit Hotel Properties is a hotel-focused REIT with a portfolio that includes 97 assets, 53 of which are wholly owned, across 25 states, as of February 24, 2025. In its own words, Summit Hotel Properties is focused “on owning premium-branded lodging facilities with efficient operating models primarily in the upscale segment of the lodging industry."
INN’s portfolio of brands includes hotels under the Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott umbrellas, as well as others. These hotels range from Embassy Suites and Residence Inn to Courtyard, Hyatt Place, and other well-known hotels.
The company’s revenue climbed substantially over the past 10 years. Unfortunately, its bottom line has faded. It is worth noting that instead of earnings, REITs report funds from operations or FFO, but investors can view them as essentially the same.
Summit Hotel Properties has seen its adjusted FFO outlook sink over the last few years, including another significant stretch of downward revisions since its Q2 earnings release in early August.
Its Q3 consensus estimate is down 33% since its release, with its estimates for FY25 down 11% and FY26’s 19% worse. This backdrop lands INN stock a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
Some investors will appreciate INN’s 5.9% dividend yield. But the stock has underperformed the market significantly, and the benchmark risk-free rate hovers at 4.17%. Therefore, investors might want to look elsewhere for now.
Additional content:
Can McDonald's Tech Platform Unlock a New Wave of Margin Expansion?
McDonald’s Corp. is leaning into a multi-year, technology-led transformation that could reshape its cost structure and improve customer engagement. The company’s “Accelerating the Arches” strategy is now being underpinned by three digital platforms — restaurant, consumer and company — designed to scale innovation, boost efficiency and enhance loyalty economics.
At the center of this push is the deployment of edge computing across U.S. restaurants, which enables AI- and IoT-driven capabilities such as predictive equipment maintenance, automated order taking and real-time operations management. Early results are promising, with “ready on arrival” geofencing cutting wait times by more than 50% in pilot markets. These innovations improve speed of service, enhance crew productivity and reinforce customer satisfaction.
On the consumer side, McDonald’s loyalty program has surpassed 185 million active users globally in the second quarter of 2025. U.S. members who joined the program more than doubled their annual visits (from 10.5 to 26), highlighting the frequency upside as adoption scales. Management is targeting 250 million active loyalty users by 2027, positioning the brand to capture more consistent repeat spend while deepening digital engagement.
By integrating technology across restaurants, consumers and corporate functions, McDonald’s is establishing a scalable operating framework that supports both revenue growth and margin resilience. With the bulk of investment weighted toward 2025-2026, the company is positioning itself for operating leverage as digital platforms mature and efficiencies flow through the P&L.
In an environment where consumer value perceptions and traffic trends remain under strain, the ability to drive structural cost savings and throughput gains via technology could emerge as McDonald’s competitive differentiator over the next cycle.
How It Stacks Up to Competitors
Starbucks Corp. continues to leverage its digital ecosystem as a core growth driver, with the Starbucks Rewards program reaching approximately 34 million 90-day active members in the U.S. Loyalty penetration remains a key contributor to both transaction growth and average ticket expansion.
The rollout of SmartQ technology, designed to alleviate peak-hour bottlenecks, along with new in-store equipment upgrades, is improving order throughput and reinforcing Starbucks’ premium brand positioning. For fiscal 2025, management is guiding to low-single-digit comparable sales growth, with digital engagement expected to remain a central lever for mix optimization and margin resilience.
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. is intensifying its digital strategy, with online and app-based transactions accounting for 35.5% of sales in second-quarter 2025. Its loyalty program, now with roughly 20 million members, remains a core engagement tool, helping to drive higher order frequency and digital mix. To support this growth, Chipotle has expanded its second digital makeline across more restaurants, enhancing order accuracy and throughput during peak periods.
Management also emphasized ongoing investments in back-of-house efficiency and equipment upgrades aimed at improving productivity. While restaurant-level margin slipped to 27.4% in the quarter, down about 150 basis points year over year, management views these digital initiatives as key levers to restore Chipotle’s operating leverage and sustain long-term margin expansion.
The Zacks Rundown for MCD Stock
McDonald’s shares have gained 2.4% in the past three months against the industry’s decline of 3.2%.
From a valuation standpoint, MCD trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 8.14, significantly higher than the industry’s 3.79.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for McDonald’s 2025 and 2026 earnings per share implies a year-over-year uptick of 5.5% and 8.2%, respectively. The estimate for 2025 has been northbound in the past 60 days.
Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +7.7% average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +48.4%, +50.2% and +56.7% per year.
Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation.
Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss.This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index.Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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Stride and Summit Hotel have been highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – September 5, 2025 – Zacks Equity Research shares Stride, Inc. (LRN - Free Report) as the Bull of the Day and Summit Hotel Properties (INN - Free Report) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on McDonald’s Corp. (MCD - Free Report) , Starbucks Corp. (SBUX - Free Report) and Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG - Free Report) .
Here is a synopsis of all five stocks.
Bull of the Day:
Soaring costs, the artificial intelligence boom, reshoring, remote work and schooling, and more are creating a paradigm shift in education and career learning/planning.
Digital education standout Stride, Inc. stock has more than quadrupled (4X) the S&P 500 over the past three years (and the past decade), capitalizing on the rapidly changing education industry.
Stride surged to fresh highs in August after its impressive beat-and-raise fourth quarter of FY25. The company expanded its full-year enrollments by 20%, with Career Learning enrollments up 33%, driven by demand for coding bootcamps, career planning, apprenticeships, and beyond.
The digital education firm grew its revenue from $1 billion in FY20 to $2.4 billion in FY25, helping boost its GAAP earnings per share (EPS) from $0.61 to $5.95 a share (+875% expansion).
Stride stock skyrocketed 1,100% in the past decade and it hit all-time records in late August. Despite its market-crushing run, LRN stock trades at a 70% discount to its highs in terms of forward earnings as it churns out strong bottom-line growth.
Stride’s upbeat EPS outlook earns it a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). LRN stock is worth buying for long-term investors and traders looking to diversify outside of big tech into stocks far removed from the tariff wars.
Buy Top-Ranked LRN Stock and Hold Forever
Stride, which went public in late 2007, provides a variety of services such as K-12 education, career learning, professional skills training, and talent development throughout the U.S. and over 100 countries.
The next-generation digital education company is capitalizing on compounding trends across the economy, helping students and parents of all ages adapt to the quickly changing work and education landscape.
Stride is expanding its offerings as more people dive into digital education, reevaluate four-year college amid skyrocketing costs, and head into fields such as IT, healthcare, and skilled trades to meet soaring demand.
Stride offers courses such as MedCerts to help people land a new career in healthcare. Meanwhile, its Tech Elevator program, which includes coding courses and much more, helps “students fully transition to a career as a software developer” and boasts a 90% job placement rate. Its Tallo unit provides growth opportunities for emerging professionals, focused on everything from earning scholarships to landing internships, apprenticeships, jobs, and more.
Its more traditional K-12 segment provides comprehensive online and blended education programs, including full-time virtual schools, supplemental courses, homeschooling support, and more. Meanwhile, its tutoring services and learning hub are designed to help students both catch up and get ahead.
A confluence of trends, including skyrocketing education costs, the AI boom and its impact on the economy, reshoring, and remote work and schooling, created a paradigm shift in education and career development/planning.
Stride is capitalizing on this backdrop in a big way, and Wall Street has taken notice. LRN has added two more brokerage recommendations over the last month, with six out of the seven Zacks has at “Strong Buys.” Stride also has a strong balance sheet, with more cash and equivalents than total liabilities.
Megatrends Drive Stride’s Impressive Growth
Stride grew its revenue from under $400 million in 2010 to $1 billion in FY20. Covid and the other trends we just highlighted sent its growth into hyperdrive.
LRN grew its revenue from $1 billion in FY20 to $2.4 billion in FY25, boosting its GAAP earnings per share (EPS) from $0.61 to $5.95 a share (+875% expansion).
LRN expanded its revenue by 18% in FY25, for its best YoY showing since FY21’s 48% surge. Its General Education segment sales climbed roughly 12% in 2025, accounting for 60% of total revenue. Meanwhile, Stride’s Career Learning unit surged 27%, with the growth driven entirely by the Middle-High School group’s 35% expansion.
Full-year enrollments climbed 20% to an average of 234K, with Career Learning enrollments up 33%.
The company topped our Q4 FY25 EPS estimate by 25% on August 5 and provided upbeat guidance. Its Q1 EPS estimate surged 14% since then, with its FY26 consensus 11% higher, earning Stride a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Stride is projected to grow its sales by 11% in FY26 and 7.4% in FY27. LRN is expected to expand its adjusted EPS by 6% and 9%, respectively, following 48% expansion in FY25. The company boasts an impressive history of bottom-line beats as well, including two massive outperformances in the trailing four quarters.
Buy Soaring LRN Stock for Great Value
Stride stock soared 330% in the past three years, outrunning Tech’s 110% and the S&P 500’s 68%. This is part of a 1,100% run over the last decade that helped it blow away Tech’s 400% and the benchmark’s 250%.
LRN has jumped 28% since its August 5 earnings release, helping it break out to new all-time highs at the end of last month. The stock found buyers at its 21-day moving average (and its previous peaks) earlier this week.
Despite trading right near its peak in terms of stock price, Stride trades at a 67% discount to its highs and 25% below its 15-year median at 18.4X forward 12-month earnings.
LRN also offers 20% value vs. the S&P 500 and 33% value compared to Tech, even though Stride stock has crushed both.
Bear of the Day:
Summit Hotel Properties is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on premium-branded lodging facilities such as Hyatt Place.
INN’s bottom line has been trending in the wrong direction as it deals with a shifting business and broader travel landscape. Plus, Summit Hotel Properties and the broader hotel landscape have been shaken up by the likes of Airbnb, VRBO, and vacation rental companies.
Summit Hotel Properties is down over 50% in the past decade, including a 17% YTD drop as its bottom-line outlook continues to fade.
Investors Might Want to Stay Away from INN Stock
Summit Hotel Properties is a hotel-focused REIT with a portfolio that includes 97 assets, 53 of which are wholly owned, across 25 states, as of February 24, 2025. In its own words, Summit Hotel Properties is focused “on owning premium-branded lodging facilities with efficient operating models primarily in the upscale segment of the lodging industry."
INN’s portfolio of brands includes hotels under the Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott umbrellas, as well as others. These hotels range from Embassy Suites and Residence Inn to Courtyard, Hyatt Place, and other well-known hotels.
The company’s revenue climbed substantially over the past 10 years. Unfortunately, its bottom line has faded. It is worth noting that instead of earnings, REITs report funds from operations or FFO, but investors can view them as essentially the same.
Summit Hotel Properties has seen its adjusted FFO outlook sink over the last few years, including another significant stretch of downward revisions since its Q2 earnings release in early August.
Its Q3 consensus estimate is down 33% since its release, with its estimates for FY25 down 11% and FY26’s 19% worse. This backdrop lands INN stock a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
Some investors will appreciate INN’s 5.9% dividend yield. But the stock has underperformed the market significantly, and the benchmark risk-free rate hovers at 4.17%. Therefore, investors might want to look elsewhere for now.
Additional content:
Can McDonald's Tech Platform Unlock a New Wave of Margin Expansion?
McDonald’s Corp. is leaning into a multi-year, technology-led transformation that could reshape its cost structure and improve customer engagement. The company’s “Accelerating the Arches” strategy is now being underpinned by three digital platforms — restaurant, consumer and company — designed to scale innovation, boost efficiency and enhance loyalty economics.
At the center of this push is the deployment of edge computing across U.S. restaurants, which enables AI- and IoT-driven capabilities such as predictive equipment maintenance, automated order taking and real-time operations management. Early results are promising, with “ready on arrival” geofencing cutting wait times by more than 50% in pilot markets. These innovations improve speed of service, enhance crew productivity and reinforce customer satisfaction.
On the consumer side, McDonald’s loyalty program has surpassed 185 million active users globally in the second quarter of 2025. U.S. members who joined the program more than doubled their annual visits (from 10.5 to 26), highlighting the frequency upside as adoption scales. Management is targeting 250 million active loyalty users by 2027, positioning the brand to capture more consistent repeat spend while deepening digital engagement.
By integrating technology across restaurants, consumers and corporate functions, McDonald’s is establishing a scalable operating framework that supports both revenue growth and margin resilience. With the bulk of investment weighted toward 2025-2026, the company is positioning itself for operating leverage as digital platforms mature and efficiencies flow through the P&L.
In an environment where consumer value perceptions and traffic trends remain under strain, the ability to drive structural cost savings and throughput gains via technology could emerge as McDonald’s competitive differentiator over the next cycle.
How It Stacks Up to Competitors
Starbucks Corp. continues to leverage its digital ecosystem as a core growth driver, with the Starbucks Rewards program reaching approximately 34 million 90-day active members in the U.S. Loyalty penetration remains a key contributor to both transaction growth and average ticket expansion.
The rollout of SmartQ technology, designed to alleviate peak-hour bottlenecks, along with new in-store equipment upgrades, is improving order throughput and reinforcing Starbucks’ premium brand positioning. For fiscal 2025, management is guiding to low-single-digit comparable sales growth, with digital engagement expected to remain a central lever for mix optimization and margin resilience.
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. is intensifying its digital strategy, with online and app-based transactions accounting for 35.5% of sales in second-quarter 2025. Its loyalty program, now with roughly 20 million members, remains a core engagement tool, helping to drive higher order frequency and digital mix. To support this growth, Chipotle has expanded its second digital makeline across more restaurants, enhancing order accuracy and throughput during peak periods.
Management also emphasized ongoing investments in back-of-house efficiency and equipment upgrades aimed at improving productivity. While restaurant-level margin slipped to 27.4% in the quarter, down about 150 basis points year over year, management views these digital initiatives as key levers to restore Chipotle’s operating leverage and sustain long-term margin expansion.
The Zacks Rundown for MCD Stock
McDonald’s shares have gained 2.4% in the past three months against the industry’s decline of 3.2%.
From a valuation standpoint, MCD trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 8.14, significantly higher than the industry’s 3.79.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for McDonald’s 2025 and 2026 earnings per share implies a year-over-year uptick of 5.5% and 8.2%, respectively. The estimate for 2025 has been northbound in the past 60 days.
McDonald’s stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss.This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index.Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.