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Applied Materials leads Zacks' latest Analyst Blog, with strong semiconductor momentum offset by rising trade and cost pressures.
Read MoreHide Full Article
For Immediate Releases
Chicago, IL – January 30, 2026 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT - Free Report) , Linde plc (LIN - Free Report) , Abbott Laboratories (ABT - Free Report) and Flanigan's Enterprises, Inc. (BDL - Free Report) .
Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:
Top Analyst Reports for Applied Materials, Linde & Abbott
The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including Applied Materials, Inc., Linde plc and Abbott Laboratories, as well as a micro-cap stock Flanigan's Enterprises, Inc.. The Zacks microcap research is unique as our research content on these small and under-the-radar companies is the only research of its type in the country.
These research reports have been hand-picked from the roughly 70 reports published by our analyst team today.
The daily 'Ahead of Wall Street' article is a must-read for all investors who would like to be ready for that day's trading action. The article comes out before the market opens, attempting to make sense of that morning's economic releases and how they will affect that day's market action. You can read this article for free on our home page and can actually sign up there to get an email notification as this article comes out each morning.
Applied Materials’ shares have outperformed the Zacks Electronics - Semiconductors industry over the past six months (+80.2% vs. +19.5%). The company is benefiting from strength in the Semiconductor Systems, owing to a rebound in the semiconductor industry, particularly in the foundry and logic space.
Consistent progress in the services is aiding Applied Global Services’ performance. Solid momentum in the subscription and display businesses is a plus. Its strength in IoT, Communications, Auto, Power and Sensors (ICAPS) is likely to continue aiding its position in the semiconductor industry. Its diversified portfolio remains its key growth driver.
However, increasing U.S.-China tensions and export restrictions on semiconductor manufacturing equipment may undermine its near-term growth prospects. Slow memory market recovery and rising operating costs remain other major concerns.
Shares of Linde have outperformed the Zacks Chemical - Specialty industry over the past year (+2.2% vs. -0.2%). The company is one of the top players in the industrial gas business, known for its steady profit growth, smart use of its money and industry-leading efficiency. Linde holds a record-high order book of $10 billion, with projects deemed highly reliable thanks to their fixed-fee contracts and the company’s strong track record of successful execution.
Linde has maintained industry-leading operating margins with further improvements expected from cost-control programs, automation, and AI-enabled process optimization. Yet, LIN is not very hopeful about Europe’s economy this year, expecting demand there to shrink, especially in the industrial sector.
Moreover, prices for helium and other rare gases are falling at a high single-digit pace due to an oversupply in the market, a trend affecting the global market. Fluctuations in exchange rates also pose risks.
Abbott’s shares have underperformed the Zacks Medical - Products industry over the past year (-16.1% vs. -14.4%). The company’s nutrition business is in transition, with Adult Nutrition and innovation positioned to support a return to growth in the second half of 2026 following near-term volume and pricing woes. At the same time, macro uncertainty, tariffs and China pressures limit near-term visibility despite Abbott’s diversified portfolio.
Nevertheless, Abbott’s strong product pipeline continues to open new prospects and supports its growth outlook into 2026. The Medical Devices segment remains a key growth driver, led by the FreeStyle Libre CGM franchise and expansion across Diabetes Care.
In Diagnostics, underlying demand outside COVID continues to improve, with Core Laboratory and Point of Care gaining momentum outside China. Abbott also remains constructive on its biosimilar strategy, supporting sustained growth in the EPD across emerging markets.
Shares of Flanigan's have outperformed the Zacks Retail - Restaurants industry over the past year (+35.4% vs. -5.1%). This microcap company with market capitalization of $62.45 million offers a differentiated, dual-format casual dining and liquor retail model that continues to deliver steady growth and strong cash generation.
Fiscal 2025 revenue rose 9.6%, driven by pricing discipline, package store strength and incremental unit contributions. Strategic menu and bar price increases preserved traffic and lifted restaurant gross margins to 66.6% despite labor and commodity inflation, underscoring pricing power and operational control. Capital-light liquor stores and franchise royalties provide diversified, recurring cash flows, while supporting balance sheet flexibility.
Risks center on structural cost pressures, labor inflation, muted same-store traffic growth, high fixed costs and underinvestment in digital capabilities, which may limit margin scalability and organic growth. Valuation reflects both operational resilience and investor skepticism.
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.
Note: Sheraz Mian heads the Zacks Equity Research department and is a well-regarded expert of aggregate earnings. He is frequently quoted in the print and electronic media and publishes the weekly Earnings Trends and Earnings Previewreports. If you want an email notification each time Sheraz publishes a new article, please click here>>>
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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Applied Materials leads Zacks' latest Analyst Blog, with strong semiconductor momentum offset by rising trade and cost pressures.
For Immediate Releases
Chicago, IL – January 30, 2026 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT - Free Report) , Linde plc (LIN - Free Report) , Abbott Laboratories (ABT - Free Report) and Flanigan's Enterprises, Inc. (BDL - Free Report) .
Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:
Top Analyst Reports for Applied Materials, Linde & Abbott
The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including Applied Materials, Inc., Linde plc and Abbott Laboratories, as well as a micro-cap stock Flanigan's Enterprises, Inc.. The Zacks microcap research is unique as our research content on these small and under-the-radar companies is the only research of its type in the country.
These research reports have been hand-picked from the roughly 70 reports published by our analyst team today.
You can see all of today’s research reports here >>>
Ahead of Wall Street
The daily 'Ahead of Wall Street' article is a must-read for all investors who would like to be ready for that day's trading action. The article comes out before the market opens, attempting to make sense of that morning's economic releases and how they will affect that day's market action. You can read this article for free on our home page and can actually sign up there to get an email notification as this article comes out each morning.
You can read today's AWS here >>> Jobless Claims, Productivity & Earnings: What More Do You Want?
Today's Featured Research Reports
Applied Materials’ shares have outperformed the Zacks Electronics - Semiconductors industry over the past six months (+80.2% vs. +19.5%). The company is benefiting from strength in the Semiconductor Systems, owing to a rebound in the semiconductor industry, particularly in the foundry and logic space.
Consistent progress in the services is aiding Applied Global Services’ performance. Solid momentum in the subscription and display businesses is a plus. Its strength in IoT, Communications, Auto, Power and Sensors (ICAPS) is likely to continue aiding its position in the semiconductor industry. Its diversified portfolio remains its key growth driver.
However, increasing U.S.-China tensions and export restrictions on semiconductor manufacturing equipment may undermine its near-term growth prospects. Slow memory market recovery and rising operating costs remain other major concerns.
(You can read the full research report on Applied Materials here >>>)
Shares of Linde have outperformed the Zacks Chemical - Specialty industry over the past year (+2.2% vs. -0.2%). The company is one of the top players in the industrial gas business, known for its steady profit growth, smart use of its money and industry-leading efficiency. Linde holds a record-high order book of $10 billion, with projects deemed highly reliable thanks to their fixed-fee contracts and the company’s strong track record of successful execution.
Linde has maintained industry-leading operating margins with further improvements expected from cost-control programs, automation, and AI-enabled process optimization. Yet, LIN is not very hopeful about Europe’s economy this year, expecting demand there to shrink, especially in the industrial sector.
Moreover, prices for helium and other rare gases are falling at a high single-digit pace due to an oversupply in the market, a trend affecting the global market. Fluctuations in exchange rates also pose risks.
(You can read the full research report on Linde here >>>)
Abbott’s shares have underperformed the Zacks Medical - Products industry over the past year (-16.1% vs. -14.4%). The company’s nutrition business is in transition, with Adult Nutrition and innovation positioned to support a return to growth in the second half of 2026 following near-term volume and pricing woes. At the same time, macro uncertainty, tariffs and China pressures limit near-term visibility despite Abbott’s diversified portfolio.
Nevertheless, Abbott’s strong product pipeline continues to open new prospects and supports its growth outlook into 2026. The Medical Devices segment remains a key growth driver, led by the FreeStyle Libre CGM franchise and expansion across Diabetes Care.
In Diagnostics, underlying demand outside COVID continues to improve, with Core Laboratory and Point of Care gaining momentum outside China. Abbott also remains constructive on its biosimilar strategy, supporting sustained growth in the EPD across emerging markets.
(You can read the full research report on Abbott here >>>)
Shares of Flanigan's have outperformed the Zacks Retail - Restaurants industry over the past year (+35.4% vs. -5.1%). This microcap company with market capitalization of $62.45 million offers a differentiated, dual-format casual dining and liquor retail model that continues to deliver steady growth and strong cash generation.
Fiscal 2025 revenue rose 9.6%, driven by pricing discipline, package store strength and incremental unit contributions. Strategic menu and bar price increases preserved traffic and lifted restaurant gross margins to 66.6% despite labor and commodity inflation, underscoring pricing power and operational control. Capital-light liquor stores and franchise royalties provide diversified, recurring cash flows, while supporting balance sheet flexibility.
Risks center on structural cost pressures, labor inflation, muted same-store traffic growth, high fixed costs and underinvestment in digital capabilities, which may limit margin scalability and organic growth. Valuation reflects both operational resilience and investor skepticism.
(You can read the full research report on Flanigan's 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 >>
Note: Sheraz Mian heads the Zacks Equity Research department and is a well-regarded expert of aggregate earnings. He is frequently quoted in the print and electronic media and publishes the weekly Earnings Trends and Earnings Previewreports. If you want an email notification each time Sheraz publishes a new article, please click here>>>
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Zacks Investment Research
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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.