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SANM vs. JBL: Which Electronics Manufacturing Stock is the Better Buy?
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Key Takeaways
The EMS industry outlook is improving as AI, cloud computing, and digital transformation drive demand.
JBL is expanding its AI data center capabilities through strategic acquisitions and product innovation.
SANM is investing in connected manufacturing and new U.S. facilities while managing supply chain challenges.
Jabil Inc. (JBL - Free Report) and Sanmina Corporation (SANM - Free Report) are two leading players in the electronics manufacturing services (EMS) industry. Jabil is one of the leading providers of EMS solutions worldwide. The company operates in multiple sectors, including aerospace, automotive, computing, consumer, defense, industrial, instrumentation, medical, networking, peripherals, storage and telecommunications industries, providing electronics design, production, product management and after-market services.
Sanmina is another major provider of electronics contract manufacturing services. It focuses on engineering and fabricating complex components and also on providing complete end-to-end supply chain solutions to Original Equipment Manufacturers across various end markets.
Digital transformation and AI-related investments, IoT adoption across sectors, are projected to be a major growth driver in the EMS industry. With in-depth expertise, both Jabil and Sanmina are well-positioned to capitalize on these emerging trends.
The Case for Jabil
Jabil is benefiting from its comprehensive and diverse product offerings. With a broad portfolio, the company boasts a strong presence across several end markets, such as AI data center infrastructure, capital equipment, warehouse automation, 5G wireless and cloud computing, renewable energy and automotive. The AI data center market has been a major focus point for the company throughout the last few quarters.
Enterprises across industries are rapidly integrating AI across their operations. This is pushing hyperscalers like Amazon and Microsoft to expand their AI data center footprint. Per Grandview Research, AI data center market is expected to reach $60.49 billion in 2030 from $13.62 billion in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 28.3%. Jabil has been taking several initiatives to capitalize on this trend.
Jabil recently completed the acquisition of Hanley Energy Group, a leading provider of energy management and critical power solutions in the data center market. This has significantly boosted Jabil’s prospects in the data center power management. Its acquisition of Mikros Technologies has augmented its capabilities in data center thermal management and liquid cooling. Moreover, it is collaborating with Endeavour Energy LLC, a sustainable data center infrastructure provider. This is allowing Jabil to streamline the AI data center deployment and capacity expansion process. Such partnerships and strategic acquisitions have significantly improved Jabil’s portfolio offerings across different critical aspects of AI data center operations. This bodes well for long-term sustainable growth.
Over the years, the company has built a robust supply chain network. It has a strong presence across 100 locations in 30 countries.Its worldwide connected factory network enables it to scale production according to evolving market dynamics. The multi-region presence boosts Jabil’s reliability to its customers. The company faces competition from Celestica and Flex LTD. (FLEX - Free Report) in the EMS market. Flex is also rapidly expanding into the AI data center space. It also boasts a strong presence worldwide with a resilient supply chain. However, by expanding its AI native portfolio offering and strengthening its supply chain network, Jabil is well-positioned to gain a competitive edge.
The Case for Sanmina
Strong focus on innovation, combined with product diversification, is a major aspect of Sanmina’s growth strategy. It works closely with its customers to anticipate future manufacturing requirements and modify its R&D initiatives accordingly.For instance, the traditional method of collecting and processing information from all the different factories and suppliers takes a lot of time and delays the critical decision-making process.
However, Sanmina’s 42Q connected manufacturing process incorporates data from clients’ global factories and suppliers’ fleets and creates an up-to-date information base. The comprehensive and unified information ecosystem offers Sanmina a comprehensive visibility across the enterprise’s distributed manufacturing and accelerates the decision-making process.
Supply chain disruptions have been a major issue for Sanmina. The company has been affected by delays and shortages of critical components, including capacitors, resistors and more, due to geopolitical unrest. The company has been trying to mitigate this issue by strengthening its supply chain network. The company is set to launch a new manufacturing facility in Houston, TX. The facility will develop leading-edge energy products such as medium-voltage distribution transformers, instrument transformers and switchgear for U.S. energy markets.
The company’s presence across several verticals, such as aerospace, defense, communication, and energy, is a positive. It is also gaining solid market traction in cloud and AI infrastructure end markets. However, growing competition from other major players in the EMS industry, such as Jabil, Celestica and Flex, remains a concern.
How Do Zacks Estimates Compare for SANM & JBL?
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Sanmina’s 2025 sales and EPS implies year-over-year growth of 72.2% and 59.6%, respectively. The EPS estimates have remained unchanged over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Jabil’s 2025 sales and EPS implies a year-over-year growth of 8.8% and 18.46%, respectively. The EPS estimates have been trending northward (up 4.52%) over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Price Performance & Valuation of SANM & JBL
Over the past year, Sanmina has gained 92.2% compared with the industry’s growth of 90.2%. Jabil has gained 47.3% over the same period.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Sanmina looks more attractive than Jabil from a valuation standpoint. Going by the price/earnings ratio, Sanmina’s shares currently trade at 15.11 forward earnings, lower than 18.49 for Jabil.
Jabil and Sanmina are both expected to gain from healthy net sales growth. Growing AI proliferation is a positive factor. However, supply chain issues will likely persist for Sanmina in the medium term. Jabil is better positioned in this aspect. Moreover, with strategic acquisition and product innovation, Jabil has already expanded its foothold in the AI hardware supply chain. Management expects AI data center infrastructure, healthcare and advanced warehouse and retail automation to be the major growth drivers in the upcoming quarters. Strong upward estimate revision shows growing investors’ confidence in Jabil’s prospects. Owing to these factors and a Zacks Rank #2, Jabil seems to be a better investment option at the moment.
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SANM vs. JBL: Which Electronics Manufacturing Stock is the Better Buy?
Key Takeaways
Jabil Inc. (JBL - Free Report) and Sanmina Corporation (SANM - Free Report) are two leading players in the electronics manufacturing services (EMS) industry. Jabil is one of the leading providers of EMS solutions worldwide. The company operates in multiple sectors, including aerospace, automotive, computing, consumer, defense, industrial, instrumentation, medical, networking, peripherals, storage and telecommunications industries, providing electronics design, production, product management and after-market services.
Sanmina is another major provider of electronics contract manufacturing services. It focuses on engineering and fabricating complex components and also on providing complete end-to-end supply chain solutions to Original Equipment Manufacturers across various end markets.
Digital transformation and AI-related investments, IoT adoption across sectors, are projected to be a major growth driver in the EMS industry. With in-depth expertise, both Jabil and Sanmina are well-positioned to capitalize on these emerging trends.
The Case for Jabil
Jabil is benefiting from its comprehensive and diverse product offerings. With a broad portfolio, the company boasts a strong presence across several end markets, such as AI data center infrastructure, capital equipment, warehouse automation, 5G wireless and cloud computing, renewable energy and automotive. The AI data center market has been a major focus point for the company throughout the last few quarters.
Enterprises across industries are rapidly integrating AI across their operations. This is pushing hyperscalers like Amazon and Microsoft to expand their AI data center footprint. Per Grandview Research, AI data center market is expected to reach $60.49 billion in 2030 from $13.62 billion in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 28.3%. Jabil has been taking several initiatives to capitalize on this trend.
Jabil recently completed the acquisition of Hanley Energy Group, a leading provider of energy management and critical power solutions in the data center market. This has significantly boosted Jabil’s prospects in the data center power management. Its acquisition of Mikros Technologies has augmented its capabilities in data center thermal management and liquid cooling. Moreover, it is collaborating with Endeavour Energy LLC, a sustainable data center infrastructure provider. This is allowing Jabil to streamline the AI data center deployment and capacity expansion process. Such partnerships and strategic acquisitions have significantly improved Jabil’s portfolio offerings across different critical aspects of AI data center operations. This bodes well for long-term sustainable growth.
Over the years, the company has built a robust supply chain network. It has a strong presence across 100 locations in 30 countries.Its worldwide connected factory network enables it to scale production according to evolving market dynamics. The multi-region presence boosts Jabil’s reliability to its customers. The company faces competition from Celestica and Flex LTD. (FLEX - Free Report) in the EMS market. Flex is also rapidly expanding into the AI data center space. It also boasts a strong presence worldwide with a resilient supply chain. However, by expanding its AI native portfolio offering and strengthening its supply chain network, Jabil is well-positioned to gain a competitive edge.
The Case for Sanmina
Strong focus on innovation, combined with product diversification, is a major aspect of Sanmina’s growth strategy. It works closely with its customers to anticipate future manufacturing requirements and modify its R&D initiatives accordingly.For instance, the traditional method of collecting and processing information from all the different factories and suppliers takes a lot of time and delays the critical decision-making process.
However, Sanmina’s 42Q connected manufacturing process incorporates data from clients’ global factories and suppliers’ fleets and creates an up-to-date information base. The comprehensive and unified information ecosystem offers Sanmina a comprehensive visibility across the enterprise’s distributed manufacturing and accelerates the decision-making process.
Supply chain disruptions have been a major issue for Sanmina. The company has been affected by delays and shortages of critical components, including capacitors, resistors and more, due to geopolitical unrest. The company has been trying to mitigate this issue by strengthening its supply chain network. The company is set to launch a new manufacturing facility in Houston, TX. The facility will develop leading-edge energy products such as medium-voltage distribution transformers, instrument transformers and switchgear for U.S. energy markets.
The company’s presence across several verticals, such as aerospace, defense, communication, and energy, is a positive. It is also gaining solid market traction in cloud and AI infrastructure end markets. However, growing competition from other major players in the EMS industry, such as Jabil, Celestica and Flex, remains a concern.
How Do Zacks Estimates Compare for SANM & JBL?
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Sanmina’s 2025 sales and EPS implies year-over-year growth of 72.2% and 59.6%, respectively. The EPS estimates have remained unchanged over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Jabil’s 2025 sales and EPS implies a year-over-year growth of 8.8% and 18.46%, respectively. The EPS estimates have been trending northward (up 4.52%) over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Price Performance & Valuation of SANM & JBL
Over the past year, Sanmina has gained 92.2% compared with the industry’s growth of 90.2%. Jabil has gained 47.3% over the same period.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Sanmina looks more attractive than Jabil from a valuation standpoint. Going by the price/earnings ratio, Sanmina’s shares currently trade at 15.11 forward earnings, lower than 18.49 for Jabil.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
SANM or JBL: Which is a Better Pick?
While Sanmina carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), Jabil has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Jabil and Sanmina are both expected to gain from healthy net sales growth. Growing AI proliferation is a positive factor. However, supply chain issues will likely persist for Sanmina in the medium term. Jabil is better positioned in this aspect. Moreover, with strategic acquisition and product innovation, Jabil has already expanded its foothold in the AI hardware supply chain. Management expects AI data center infrastructure, healthcare and advanced warehouse and retail automation to be the major growth drivers in the upcoming quarters. Strong upward estimate revision shows growing investors’ confidence in Jabil’s prospects. Owing to these factors and a Zacks Rank #2, Jabil seems to be a better investment option at the moment.