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General Motors and AptarGroup have been highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day
Read MoreHide Full Article
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – December 9, 2025 – Zacks Equity Research shares General Motors (GM - Free Report) as the Bull of the Day and AptarGroup (ATR - Free Report) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA - Free Report) and Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR - Free Report) .
General Motors has made the case for being one of the best value stocks to consider, as the iconic automaker dispels the perception that it won’t be able to sustain its dominance in an increasingly competitive and innovative auto industry.
Trading near a fresh 52-week and all-time high of $77 a share, GM stock has been performing exceptionally well thanks to strong financial results, aggressive share buybacks, restructuring successes in China, and investor optimism around its product lineup and EV investments.
Even better is that despite soaring +40% year to date, GM stock is still trading at just 7X forward earnings and at less than 1X forward sales.
No.2 Domestic EV Seller
At the core of the rally and high sentiment for GM stock is that General Motors has emerged as a serious challenger to Tesla in the domestic EV market.
Solidifying its spot as the second-leading EV seller, General Motors' EV sales in the U.S. have already surged 105% this year to over 144,000 units sold. Notably, this has been led by its Chevrolet Equinox EV, with over 25,000 units sold, making it the best-selling non-Tesla EV in the U.S.
China Restructuring & Rare Earth Venture
Widely recognized for its effective management, GM has successfully restructured its business operations in China, improving efficiency and better positioning itself in one of the world’s largest auto markets.
To do so, GM has streamlined its product lineup, focusing on profitable models in China and reducing exposure to weaker segments. This included the shut down of its factory in Shenyang that produced Buick GL8 minivans and Chevrolet Tracker SUVs, along with writing down the value of equity stakes in its Chinese ventures by $2.6-$2.9 billion.
Still, despite the write-down and restructuring charges of $2.7 billion, GM is ultimately cutting costs and overcapacity to free up resources for EVs and autonomous vehicle production, not only in China but in its stronger North America market.
Furthermore, an underlying catalyst in regard to enthusiasm for GM stock is that General Motors has a rather unique position in the U.S. government’s bid to protect and increase rare earth mineral production. With Lithium Americas being a player at the center of the rare earth stocks trade, it’s noteworthy that the mining company’s Thacker Pass project in Nevada is a joint venture with General Motors and is expected to become one of the largest sources of lithium in North America. Making the potential outcome of the project more optimal is that the U.S. government has taken a 5% stake in Lithium Americas, with lithium being essential for electric vehicle production and other technologies.
Positive EPS Revisions
Correlating with a strong buy rating and suggesting even more upside in GM stock, fiscal 2025 and FY26 EPS revisions have continued to trend higher over the last 60 days, rising more than 1% and 2% in the last month, respectively. (Shown below)
This comes as GM has exceeded the Zacks EPS Consensus for 13 consecutive quarters. Most recently crushing Q3 earnings expectations by nearly 23% in October, GM posted quarterly EPS of $2.80 compared to estimates of $2.28.
Following a multi-year peak, GM’s annual EPS is now expected to dip 2% in FY25 but is projected to rebound and increase 11% in FY26 to $11.51.
GM Dividend & Share Buybacks
After halting its dividend due to precautionary reasons during the pandemic, GM has raised its dividend by 25% in 2025, continuing a streak of increases for four consecutive years. Also signaling confidence in its financial strength, this coincides with a $6 billion share repurchase plan, which was resumed in July as uncertainties surrounding President Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs have faded.
Conclusion & Final Thoughts
Much credit has to be given to GM’s investments in EVs and autonomous driving through its subsidiary Cruise, which is serving as the next phase of the company’s growth, and may be boosted by the intriguing Thacker Pass project.
The days of GM’s “boring” stock performance are in the past, as several catalysts are working in the automaker's favor right now. In addition to its strong buy rating, GM checks an overall “A” Zacks Style Scores grade for the combination of Value, Growth, and Momentum.
Landing the Bear of the Day, AptarGroup is a stock to avoid in the Zacks Containers-Paper and Packaging Industry, which is currently in the bottom 7% of over 240 Zacks industries.
With the innovative packaging solutions company starting to exemplify some of the industry’s struggles, ATR shares are down more than +20% in 2025 to noticeably underperform the broader indexes.
Unfortunately, there could be more downside risk ahead, even as Aptar has consistently exceeded its quarterly expectations, but has faced various headwinds that have weighed on investor sentiment.
Recent Headwinds & ATR Technical Analysis
Notably, Aptar’s stock has been falling due to a mix of legal costs, inventory challenges, analyst downgrades, and weaker demand in certain healthcare markets. Regarding legal expenses, Aptar is facing intellectual property litigation, raising concerns about short-term profitability.
Furthermore, destocking in its Consumer Healthcare segment has pressured margins and created uncertainty about demand recovery, while challenges in the European cold/cough packaging market have added to investor worries about long-term growth as well.
The technical tape for Aptar stock is indicative of these fears, with ATR trading below its 50-day (green line) and 200-day (red line) simple moving averages, signaling short and long-term weakness and an overall bearish downtrend since July.
Declining EPS Revisions
Correlating with recent headwinds and taking away from Aptar’s modest growth projections is that over the last 60 days, fiscal 2025 and FY26 EPS estimates have dipped 2% and 7%, respectively.
Aptar’s “F” Value Score
More concerning to the declining EPS revisions is that at 21X forward earnings, Aptar’s stock is still trading at a bit of a stretch to its industry average of 14X, with some noteworthy peers being Avery Dennison, Packaging Corporation of America and Sonoco.
In terms of price to forward sales, ATR is also at an elevated but not as noticeable P/S multiple of 2X compared to the industry average of 1X.
Bottom Line
On the surface, Aptar’s consistent operational performance and pleasant discounts to the benchmark S&P 500’s valuation metrics may be attractive. However, at over $100 a share, investors are understandably concerned about the premium they are paying for ATR relative to its peers, especially given the packaging industry’s challenges at the moment.
Additional content:
NVIDIA vs. Palantir: Which Is the Best AI Stock to Buy for 2026?
Over the past year, NVIDIA Corp. rose 31.4%, while Palantir Technologies Inc. soared an impressive 150.8%. Does this mean Palantir is the better artificial intelligence (AI) stock for investors in the new year, or is there more to consider? After all, NVIDIA is a diversified and reasonably valued stock, while Palantir carries high risk due to its dependence on government contracts and lofty valuation. Let’s examine –
Reasons to Be Bullish on NVIDIA
NVIDIA remains optimistic about its future growth, driven by its competitive edge in the AI hardware market. Ongoing demand for its CUDA software platform is also expected to contribute to growth. NVIDIA now projects fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 revenues of approximately $65 billion, with about 2% margin of error.
Strong demand for its innovative Blackwell chips and cloud graphics processing units (GPUs) has already helped NVIDIA deliver outstanding fiscal third-quarter 2026 results. The company reported revenues of $57 billion for the quarter, a 62% increase year over year and a 22% rise sequentially, according to investor.nvidia.com.
Both data center and gaming revenues increased in the quarter, and NVIDIA’s net income reached $31.91 billion, up from $19.31 billion a year earlier. This strong quarterly performance eases concerns that AI growth might be entering a bubble.
Reasons to Be Bullish on Palantir
Robust demand for Palantir’s Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) helped expand its U.S. commercial client base while maintaining valuable government contracts. The rapid adoption of AIP increased Palantir’s U.S. commercial segment revenues to $397 million in the third quarter, a 121% increase year over year and a 29% sequential rise, according to investors.palantir.com.
For the quarter, government revenues reached $486 million, representing a 52% year-over-year increase and a 14% quarter-over-quarter rise, with total revenues of $1.18 billion, a 63% year-over-year increase and an 18% sequential rise, easily surpassing market expectations. Notably, Palantir generated nearly half a billion dollars in GAAP net income during the quarter, said CEO Alex Karp.
An anticipated increase in large AI enterprise contracts is expected to drive Palantir’s future growth, with the company projecting full-year revenues between $4.396 billion and $4.400 billion.
2026 AI Investing: Should You Choose NVIDIA or Palantir?
NVIDIA is well-positioned to grow in the near term, leveraging its strong presence in AI hardware and software, with high demand for its next-generation chips easing AI bubble worries. Palantir may also see solid growth ahead due to the rising adoption of its AI Platform among commercial and government clients.
However, Palantir’s valuation raises concerns. Its forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 250.36 significantly exceeds the Internet-Software industry’s average of 39.25, increasing the risk of a price decline if the broader market pulls back.
Conversely, despite continuous growth, NVIDIA is reasonably valued with a forward P/E of 39.44, lower than the Semiconductor - General industry’s average of 44.97. NVIDIA’s diversified business model across AI hardware, software and gaming provides additional market resilience.
In contrast, Palantir’s dependence on government contracts exposes it to political risks like regulations and policy shifts.
Therefore, investing in Palantir involves higher risk, making it more suitable for risk-takers. Conservative investors should consider NVIDIA for steady, reliable growth. Currently, NVIDIA holds a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while Palantir is rated Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 stocks here.
Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?
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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General Motors and AptarGroup have been highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – December 9, 2025 – Zacks Equity Research shares General Motors (GM - Free Report) as the Bull of the Day and AptarGroup (ATR - Free Report) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA - Free Report) and Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR - Free Report) .
Here is a synopsis of all four stocks.
Bull of the Day:
General Motors has made the case for being one of the best value stocks to consider, as the iconic automaker dispels the perception that it won’t be able to sustain its dominance in an increasingly competitive and innovative auto industry.
Trading near a fresh 52-week and all-time high of $77 a share, GM stock has been performing exceptionally well thanks to strong financial results, aggressive share buybacks, restructuring successes in China, and investor optimism around its product lineup and EV investments.
Even better is that despite soaring +40% year to date, GM stock is still trading at just 7X forward earnings and at less than 1X forward sales.
No.2 Domestic EV Seller
At the core of the rally and high sentiment for GM stock is that General Motors has emerged as a serious challenger to Tesla in the domestic EV market.
Solidifying its spot as the second-leading EV seller, General Motors' EV sales in the U.S. have already surged 105% this year to over 144,000 units sold. Notably, this has been led by its Chevrolet Equinox EV, with over 25,000 units sold, making it the best-selling non-Tesla EV in the U.S.
China Restructuring & Rare Earth Venture
Widely recognized for its effective management, GM has successfully restructured its business operations in China, improving efficiency and better positioning itself in one of the world’s largest auto markets.
To do so, GM has streamlined its product lineup, focusing on profitable models in China and reducing exposure to weaker segments. This included the shut down of its factory in Shenyang that produced Buick GL8 minivans and Chevrolet Tracker SUVs, along with writing down the value of equity stakes in its Chinese ventures by $2.6-$2.9 billion.
Still, despite the write-down and restructuring charges of $2.7 billion, GM is ultimately cutting costs and overcapacity to free up resources for EVs and autonomous vehicle production, not only in China but in its stronger North America market.
Furthermore, an underlying catalyst in regard to enthusiasm for GM stock is that General Motors has a rather unique position in the U.S. government’s bid to protect and increase rare earth mineral production. With Lithium Americas being a player at the center of the rare earth stocks trade, it’s noteworthy that the mining company’s Thacker Pass project in Nevada is a joint venture with General Motors and is expected to become one of the largest sources of lithium in North America. Making the potential outcome of the project more optimal is that the U.S. government has taken a 5% stake in Lithium Americas, with lithium being essential for electric vehicle production and other technologies.
Positive EPS Revisions
Correlating with a strong buy rating and suggesting even more upside in GM stock, fiscal 2025 and FY26 EPS revisions have continued to trend higher over the last 60 days, rising more than 1% and 2% in the last month, respectively. (Shown below)
This comes as GM has exceeded the Zacks EPS Consensus for 13 consecutive quarters. Most recently crushing Q3 earnings expectations by nearly 23% in October, GM posted quarterly EPS of $2.80 compared to estimates of $2.28.
Following a multi-year peak, GM’s annual EPS is now expected to dip 2% in FY25 but is projected to rebound and increase 11% in FY26 to $11.51.
GM Dividend & Share Buybacks
After halting its dividend due to precautionary reasons during the pandemic, GM has raised its dividend by 25% in 2025, continuing a streak of increases for four consecutive years. Also signaling confidence in its financial strength, this coincides with a $6 billion share repurchase plan, which was resumed in July as uncertainties surrounding President Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs have faded.
Conclusion & Final Thoughts
Much credit has to be given to GM’s investments in EVs and autonomous driving through its subsidiary Cruise, which is serving as the next phase of the company’s growth, and may be boosted by the intriguing Thacker Pass project.
The days of GM’s “boring” stock performance are in the past, as several catalysts are working in the automaker's favor right now. In addition to its strong buy rating, GM checks an overall “A” Zacks Style Scores grade for the combination of Value, Growth, and Momentum.
Bear of the Day:
Landing the Bear of the Day, AptarGroup is a stock to avoid in the Zacks Containers-Paper and Packaging Industry, which is currently in the bottom 7% of over 240 Zacks industries.
With the innovative packaging solutions company starting to exemplify some of the industry’s struggles, ATR shares are down more than +20% in 2025 to noticeably underperform the broader indexes.
Unfortunately, there could be more downside risk ahead, even as Aptar has consistently exceeded its quarterly expectations, but has faced various headwinds that have weighed on investor sentiment.
Recent Headwinds & ATR Technical Analysis
Notably, Aptar’s stock has been falling due to a mix of legal costs, inventory challenges, analyst downgrades, and weaker demand in certain healthcare markets. Regarding legal expenses, Aptar is facing intellectual property litigation, raising concerns about short-term profitability.
Furthermore, destocking in its Consumer Healthcare segment has pressured margins and created uncertainty about demand recovery, while challenges in the European cold/cough packaging market have added to investor worries about long-term growth as well.
The technical tape for Aptar stock is indicative of these fears, with ATR trading below its 50-day (green line) and 200-day (red line) simple moving averages, signaling short and long-term weakness and an overall bearish downtrend since July.
Declining EPS Revisions
Correlating with recent headwinds and taking away from Aptar’s modest growth projections is that over the last 60 days, fiscal 2025 and FY26 EPS estimates have dipped 2% and 7%, respectively.
Aptar’s “F” Value Score
More concerning to the declining EPS revisions is that at 21X forward earnings, Aptar’s stock is still trading at a bit of a stretch to its industry average of 14X, with some noteworthy peers being Avery Dennison, Packaging Corporation of America and Sonoco.
In terms of price to forward sales, ATR is also at an elevated but not as noticeable P/S multiple of 2X compared to the industry average of 1X.
Bottom Line
On the surface, Aptar’s consistent operational performance and pleasant discounts to the benchmark S&P 500’s valuation metrics may be attractive. However, at over $100 a share, investors are understandably concerned about the premium they are paying for ATR relative to its peers, especially given the packaging industry’s challenges at the moment.
Additional content:
NVIDIA vs. Palantir: Which Is the Best AI Stock to Buy for 2026?
Over the past year, NVIDIA Corp. rose 31.4%, while Palantir Technologies Inc. soared an impressive 150.8%. Does this mean Palantir is the better artificial intelligence (AI) stock for investors in the new year, or is there more to consider? After all, NVIDIA is a diversified and reasonably valued stock, while Palantir carries high risk due to its dependence on government contracts and lofty valuation. Let’s examine –
Reasons to Be Bullish on NVIDIA
NVIDIA remains optimistic about its future growth, driven by its competitive edge in the AI hardware market. Ongoing demand for its CUDA software platform is also expected to contribute to growth. NVIDIA now projects fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 revenues of approximately $65 billion, with about 2% margin of error.
Strong demand for its innovative Blackwell chips and cloud graphics processing units (GPUs) has already helped NVIDIA deliver outstanding fiscal third-quarter 2026 results. The company reported revenues of $57 billion for the quarter, a 62% increase year over year and a 22% rise sequentially, according to investor.nvidia.com.
Both data center and gaming revenues increased in the quarter, and NVIDIA’s net income reached $31.91 billion, up from $19.31 billion a year earlier. This strong quarterly performance eases concerns that AI growth might be entering a bubble.
Reasons to Be Bullish on Palantir
Robust demand for Palantir’s Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) helped expand its U.S. commercial client base while maintaining valuable government contracts. The rapid adoption of AIP increased Palantir’s U.S. commercial segment revenues to $397 million in the third quarter, a 121% increase year over year and a 29% sequential rise, according to investors.palantir.com.
For the quarter, government revenues reached $486 million, representing a 52% year-over-year increase and a 14% quarter-over-quarter rise, with total revenues of $1.18 billion, a 63% year-over-year increase and an 18% sequential rise, easily surpassing market expectations. Notably, Palantir generated nearly half a billion dollars in GAAP net income during the quarter, said CEO Alex Karp.
An anticipated increase in large AI enterprise contracts is expected to drive Palantir’s future growth, with the company projecting full-year revenues between $4.396 billion and $4.400 billion.
2026 AI Investing: Should You Choose NVIDIA or Palantir?
NVIDIA is well-positioned to grow in the near term, leveraging its strong presence in AI hardware and software, with high demand for its next-generation chips easing AI bubble worries. Palantir may also see solid growth ahead due to the rising adoption of its AI Platform among commercial and government clients.
However, Palantir’s valuation raises concerns. Its forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 250.36 significantly exceeds the Internet-Software industry’s average of 39.25, increasing the risk of a price decline if the broader market pulls back.
Conversely, despite continuous growth, NVIDIA is reasonably valued with a forward P/E of 39.44, lower than the Semiconductor - General industry’s average of 44.97. NVIDIA’s diversified business model across AI hardware, software and gaming provides additional market resilience.
In contrast, Palantir’s dependence on government contracts exposes it to political risks like regulations and policy shifts.
Therefore, investing in Palantir involves higher risk, making it more suitable for risk-takers. Conservative investors should consider NVIDIA for steady, reliable growth. Currently, NVIDIA holds a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while Palantir is rated Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 stocks here.
Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?
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.
See Stocks Free >>
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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.