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Macy's and ADT have been highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day
Read MoreHide Full Article
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – December 29, 2025 – Zacks Equity Research shares Macy’s (M - Free Report) as the Bull of the Day and ADT (ADT - Free Report) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR - Free Report) and BigBear.ai Holdings, Inc. (BBAI - Free Report) .
When the market is humming along near all-time highs, it’s easy to feel like everything is working. But seasoned investors know that eventually the market gets selective. When that happens, stocks with real earnings momentum are the ones that keep getting rewarded. That’s exactly where today’s Bull of the Day fits in.
Macy’s checks the right boxes with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), driven by meaningful upward earnings estimate revisions. Over the last two months, analysts have steadily raised their outlook for both this year and next, signaling growing confidence that management’s turnaround strategy is translating into durable results. Current-year consensus EPS has moved higher, and next year’s numbers have followed suit. We call that the lifeblood of sustained stock performance.
Over the course of the last 60 days, three analysts have increased their earnings estimates for both the current year and next year. The bullish moves have pushed up our Zacks Consensus Estimate from $1.96 to $2.16 for the current year and up from the same $1.96 to $2.23 for next year.
What’s powering the move is execution. Macy’s Polaris strategy is finally showing teeth:. That means tighter inventory discipline, smarter merchandising, stronger private-label penetration, and an omnichannel approach that actually works. Digital continues to be a major contributor, but unlike many retailers, Macy’s physical stores are pulling their weight again as traffic stabilizes and margins improve. Better inventory management has also reduced discounting pressure, helping gross margins recover.
The result is a legacy retailer proving it can still grow earnings in a tough environment. With estimates trending higher and expectations resetting in Macy’s favor, this is the kind of stock that can keep working even if the broader market cools off. When earnings are moving up, price usually follows, and that’s why Macy’s earns today’s Bull of the Day title.
The stock market has a way of separating the winners from the laggards, especially when conditions get even a little bit choppy. While investors love growth stories and clean earnings momentum, the flip side is just as important: spotting companies where earnings trends are rolling over. Unfortunately for shareholders, that’s exactly where today’s Bear of the Day finds itself today.
I’m talking about Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) ADT. ADT currently sits with a weak earnings profile, driven by a steady deterioration in analyst estimates. Over the past couple of months, Wall Street has been dialing back expectations for both the current year and next. That negative revision activity is the single biggest red flag in the Zacks framework. When estimates are falling, stocks almost always struggle to find lasting upside.
The problem isn’t demand for home security. It’s profitability. ADT continues to battle high customer acquisition costs, aggressive competition from DIY and smart-home players, and margin pressure tied to servicing and monitoring expenses. Even with recurring subscription revenue, the company has struggled to translate scale into consistent earnings leverage. Add in elevated debt levels and higher interest costs, and the margin for error gets razor thin.
From a stock perspective, ADT has also failed the “show me” test. While broader markets and consumer-adjacent names have pushed higher, ADT shares have lagged badly, reflecting skepticism that earnings will meaningfully reaccelerate anytime soon. Without a clear inflection in estimates, rallies tend to fizzle quickly.
Additional content:
2 AI Defense Stocks Soar 30%+ in 2025, Poised for More in 2026
With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), a plethora of tech stocks have surged in value this year. Two prominent names are Palantir Technologies Inc. and BigBear.ai Holdings, Inc., with respective stock gains of 156.7% and 35.5% in 2025.
Both are defense-focused, with Palantir the larger, more established AI-driven defense and enterprise software stock, while BigBear.ai is smaller and considered a more speculative AI-defense stock. However, both companies have strong growth potential, making them compelling buys for the upcoming year. Let’s take a closer look.
Reasons to Be Bullish on Palantir
For quite some time, Palantir relied on government contracts to sell its products. However, Palantir’s Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) has gained popularity among both U.S. commercial clients and the government segment. As a result, Palantir reported substantial revenue growth in the last quarter. For the third quarter, Palantir’s revenues came in at $1.18 billion, up 63% year over year and 18% quarter over quarter, according to investors.palantir.com.
Revenues from the U.S. commercial client segment were $397 million, marking a 121% year-over-year increase and a 29% rise sequentially. Meanwhile, revenues from the government segment totaled $486 million, up 52% from the previous year and 14% quarter over quarter.
The growing demand for AIP also led the company to raise its fourth-quarter sales guidance to between $1.327 billion and $1.331 billion, and for the full fiscal year to between $4.396 billion and $4.400 billion. The company remains confident about profitability, expecting positive GAAP operating income and net income in every quarter this year.
Additionally, the increase in the U.S. commercial client base is expected to fuel growth next year, while the increase in government contracts will create a strong barrier to entry. Thus, Palantir’s expected earnings growth rate for the next year is a solid 42.5%.
Reasons to Be Bullish on BigBear.ai
At the onset of 2025, the Trump administration’s willingness to boost growth in the technology field helped BigBear.ai’s shares climb northward. But afterwards, Trump’s move to cut federal spending impacted BigBear.ai’s share price, and its revenues plunged 20% year over year to $33.1 million in the third quarter. This followed an 18% year-over-year decline to $32.5 million in the second quarter, as cited by ir.bigbear.ai.
However, concerns related to the decline in sales are on the back burner, especially after BigBear.ai’s definitive deal to acquire Ask Sage for $250 million. This is because Kevin McAleenan, CEO of BigBear.ai, believes that “by integrating Ask Sage with BigBear.ai, we are creating what the market has been asking for: a secure, integrated AI platform that connects software, data, and mission services in one place.”
Ask Sage is a fast-growing generative AI platform designed for AI deployment in defense and national security. Some of the prominent agencies adopting Ask Sage are the U.S. Space Force and the Defense Health Agency.
BigBear.ai now expects its revenues to accelerate and has raised its full-year sales outlook to between $125 million and $140 million. Additionally, BigBear.ai is financially strong, with a record cash position of $456.6 million as of Sept. 30, 2025, providing the company with sufficient funds to pursue growth initiatives. Therefore, BigBear.ai’s projected earnings growth rate for the next year is a stellar 73.1%.
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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 tap into those powerful strategies – and the high-potential stocks they uncover – free. No strings attached.
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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Macy's and ADT have been highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – December 29, 2025 – Zacks Equity Research shares Macy’s (M - Free Report) as the Bull of the Day and ADT (ADT - Free Report) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR - Free Report) and BigBear.ai Holdings, Inc. (BBAI - Free Report) .
Here is a synopsis of all four stocks.
Bull of the Day:
When the market is humming along near all-time highs, it’s easy to feel like everything is working. But seasoned investors know that eventually the market gets selective. When that happens, stocks with real earnings momentum are the ones that keep getting rewarded. That’s exactly where today’s Bull of the Day fits in.
Macy’s checks the right boxes with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), driven by meaningful upward earnings estimate revisions. Over the last two months, analysts have steadily raised their outlook for both this year and next, signaling growing confidence that management’s turnaround strategy is translating into durable results. Current-year consensus EPS has moved higher, and next year’s numbers have followed suit. We call that the lifeblood of sustained stock performance.
Over the course of the last 60 days, three analysts have increased their earnings estimates for both the current year and next year. The bullish moves have pushed up our Zacks Consensus Estimate from $1.96 to $2.16 for the current year and up from the same $1.96 to $2.23 for next year.
What’s powering the move is execution. Macy’s Polaris strategy is finally showing teeth:. That means tighter inventory discipline, smarter merchandising, stronger private-label penetration, and an omnichannel approach that actually works. Digital continues to be a major contributor, but unlike many retailers, Macy’s physical stores are pulling their weight again as traffic stabilizes and margins improve. Better inventory management has also reduced discounting pressure, helping gross margins recover.
The result is a legacy retailer proving it can still grow earnings in a tough environment. With estimates trending higher and expectations resetting in Macy’s favor, this is the kind of stock that can keep working even if the broader market cools off. When earnings are moving up, price usually follows, and that’s why Macy’s earns today’s Bull of the Day title.
Bear of the Day:
The stock market has a way of separating the winners from the laggards, especially when conditions get even a little bit choppy. While investors love growth stories and clean earnings momentum, the flip side is just as important: spotting companies where earnings trends are rolling over. Unfortunately for shareholders, that’s exactly where today’s Bear of the Day finds itself today.
I’m talking about Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) ADT. ADT currently sits with a weak earnings profile, driven by a steady deterioration in analyst estimates. Over the past couple of months, Wall Street has been dialing back expectations for both the current year and next. That negative revision activity is the single biggest red flag in the Zacks framework. When estimates are falling, stocks almost always struggle to find lasting upside.
The problem isn’t demand for home security. It’s profitability. ADT continues to battle high customer acquisition costs, aggressive competition from DIY and smart-home players, and margin pressure tied to servicing and monitoring expenses. Even with recurring subscription revenue, the company has struggled to translate scale into consistent earnings leverage. Add in elevated debt levels and higher interest costs, and the margin for error gets razor thin.
From a stock perspective, ADT has also failed the “show me” test. While broader markets and consumer-adjacent names have pushed higher, ADT shares have lagged badly, reflecting skepticism that earnings will meaningfully reaccelerate anytime soon. Without a clear inflection in estimates, rallies tend to fizzle quickly.
Additional content:
2 AI Defense Stocks Soar 30%+ in 2025, Poised for More in 2026
With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), a plethora of tech stocks have surged in value this year. Two prominent names are Palantir Technologies Inc. and BigBear.ai Holdings, Inc., with respective stock gains of 156.7% and 35.5% in 2025.
Both are defense-focused, with Palantir the larger, more established AI-driven defense and enterprise software stock, while BigBear.ai is smaller and considered a more speculative AI-defense stock. However, both companies have strong growth potential, making them compelling buys for the upcoming year. Let’s take a closer look.
Reasons to Be Bullish on Palantir
For quite some time, Palantir relied on government contracts to sell its products. However, Palantir’s Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) has gained popularity among both U.S. commercial clients and the government segment. As a result, Palantir reported substantial revenue growth in the last quarter. For the third quarter, Palantir’s revenues came in at $1.18 billion, up 63% year over year and 18% quarter over quarter, according to investors.palantir.com.
Revenues from the U.S. commercial client segment were $397 million, marking a 121% year-over-year increase and a 29% rise sequentially. Meanwhile, revenues from the government segment totaled $486 million, up 52% from the previous year and 14% quarter over quarter.
The growing demand for AIP also led the company to raise its fourth-quarter sales guidance to between $1.327 billion and $1.331 billion, and for the full fiscal year to between $4.396 billion and $4.400 billion. The company remains confident about profitability, expecting positive GAAP operating income and net income in every quarter this year.
Additionally, the increase in the U.S. commercial client base is expected to fuel growth next year, while the increase in government contracts will create a strong barrier to entry. Thus, Palantir’s expected earnings growth rate for the next year is a solid 42.5%.
Reasons to Be Bullish on BigBear.ai
At the onset of 2025, the Trump administration’s willingness to boost growth in the technology field helped BigBear.ai’s shares climb northward. But afterwards, Trump’s move to cut federal spending impacted BigBear.ai’s share price, and its revenues plunged 20% year over year to $33.1 million in the third quarter. This followed an 18% year-over-year decline to $32.5 million in the second quarter, as cited by ir.bigbear.ai.
However, concerns related to the decline in sales are on the back burner, especially after BigBear.ai’s definitive deal to acquire Ask Sage for $250 million. This is because Kevin McAleenan, CEO of BigBear.ai, believes that “by integrating Ask Sage with BigBear.ai, we are creating what the market has been asking for: a secure, integrated AI platform that connects software, data, and mission services in one place.”
Ask Sage is a fast-growing generative AI platform designed for AI deployment in defense and national security. Some of the prominent agencies adopting Ask Sage are the U.S. Space Force and the Defense Health Agency.
BigBear.ai now expects its revenues to accelerate and has raised its full-year sales outlook to between $125 million and $140 million. Additionally, BigBear.ai is financially strong, with a record cash position of $456.6 million as of Sept. 30, 2025, providing the company with sufficient funds to pursue growth initiatives. Therefore, BigBear.ai’s projected earnings growth rate for the next year is a stellar 73.1%.
Both BigBear.ai and Palantir carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Free: Instant Access to Zacks' Market-Crushing Strategies
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 tap into those powerful strategies – and the high-potential stocks they uncover – free. No strings attached.
Get all the details here >>
Free: Instant Access to Zacks' Market-Crushing Strategies
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 tap into those powerful strategies – and the high-potential stocks they uncover – free. No strings attached.
Get all the details 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.