We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience.
This includes personalizing content and advertising.
By pressing "Accept All" or closing out of this banner, you consent to the use of all cookies and similar technologies and the sharing of information they collect with third parties.
You can reject marketing cookies by pressing "Deny Optional," but we still use essential, performance, and functional cookies.
In addition, whether you "Accept All," Deny Optional," click the X or otherwise continue to use the site, you accept our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, revised from time to time.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Celestica is benefiting from AI, cloud and networking demand, including 800G and 400G switches.
JBL is expanding AI data center manufacturing and seeing strength across key end markets.
SANM cites AI infrastructure wins, growing bookings and a pipeline extending into 2027-2028.
The electronics manufacturing services (EMS) space has been benefiting from astonishing investment in artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud infrastructure, the growing transition to connected and electric vehicles and AI-led medical devices.
The Zacks defined Electronics - Manufacturing Services industry is currently in the top 25% of the Zacks Industry Rank. Since the industry is ranked in the top half of the Zacks Ranked Industries, we expect it to outperform the market over the next three to six months.
The EMS industry players provide design, engineering and manufacturing services to electronics original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Here we recommend three global EMS leaders, namely Celestica Inc. (CLS - Free Report) , Jabil Inc. (JBL - Free Report) and Sanmina Corp. (SANM - Free Report) , that are strategically positioned in the EMS landscape and have the ability to cater to the evolving AI demands of business enterprises.
The three stocks are flying high on Wall Street year to date. Despite this stiff northward journey, they still have more fireworks in store for the rest of 2026. Each of our picks carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The chart below shows the price performance of our three picks year to date.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Celestica Inc.
Celestica is one of the largest EMS companies in the world, serving OEMs, cloud-based and other service providers, and business enterprises across several industries. CLS’ focus on product diversification and increasing its presence in high-value markets is positive.
CLS’ strong research and development foundations allow it to produce high-volume electronic products and highly complex technology infrastructure products for a wide range of industries.
CLS is benefiting from healthy demand trends in the Connectivity & Cloud Solutions segment. The growth is primarily backed by CLS’ strength in Hyperscaler Portfolio Solutions networking business and optical programs, especially increasing demand for 800G and 400G network switches.
The growing proliferation of AI-based applications and generative AI tools is fueling solid AI investments across the technology ecosystem. This, in turn, is driving demand for CLS’ enterprise-level data communications and information processing infrastructure products, such as routers, switches, data center interconnects, edge solutions and servers and storage-related products. To further capitalize on this trend, Celestica is steadily expanding its offerings through innovation and strategic collaboration.
Solid Estimate Revisions
Celestica has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 53.8% and 67.9%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year’s earnings has improved 13.6% in the last 60 days. It has a long-term (3 to 5 years) growth rate of 45.3%, significantly higher than the S&P 500 Index’s current growth rate of 17.6%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Jabil Inc.
Jabil is one of the largest global suppliers of EMS solutions. JBL offers electronics design, production, product management and after-market services to customers in more than a dozen industry verticals.
JBL has been benefiting immensely from healthy momentum in capital equipment, AI-powered data center infrastructure, cloud, and digital commerce business verticals. Its focus on end-market and product diversification is a key catalyst.
JBL’s focus on end-market and product diversification is a key catalyst. JBL’s top-line is expected to benefit from strength in AI data center infrastructure, capital equipment and warehouse automation markets.
JBL is set to invest heavily over the next several years to expand its manufacturing capabilities for the AI data center vertical. This will significantly boost the company’s position in the AI hardware supply chain.
JBL’s unmatched end-market experience, technical and design capabilities, manufacturing know-how, supply-chain insights and global product management expertise have put it in good standing.
Massive application of generative AI is set to drastically increase the efficiency of JBL’s automated optical inspection machines for the automation industry. A large-scale portfolio of business sectors offers JBL a high degree of resiliency during times of macroeconomic and geopolitical disruption.
An extensive global footprint is further strengthened by a centralized procurement process, which, coupled with a single Enterprise Resource Planning system, aids customers with end-to-end supply-chain visibility. A worldwide connected factory network enables JBL to scale up production per the evolving market dynamics.
Jabil is expected to gain from the rapid adoption of 5G wireless and cloud computing in the long run. The company is benefiting from solid demand in key end markets together with excellent operational execution and skillful management of supply-chain dynamics.
Solid Estimate Revisions
Jabil has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 14.2% and 27.7%, respectively, for the current year (ending August 2026). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year’s earnings has improved 0.8% in the last seven days. It has a long-term growth rate of 28.5%, well above the S&P 500 Index’s current growth rate of 17.6%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Sanmina Corp.
Sanmina focuses on engineering and fabricating complex components and on providing complete end-to-end supply chain solutions to Original Equipment Manufacturers across various end markets, including industrial, medical, defense and aerospace, automotive, communications and cloud infrastructure.
SANM’s diverse portfolio and end-to-end product lifecycle management allow customers to rely on a single partner and reduce complexity in operations. Strategic expansion into high-growth industries backed by its strong global network and deep expertise in advanced electronics manufacturing, acts as a tailwind.
SANM aims to strengthen technology leadership by working closely with customers on future manufacturing requirements and aligning its engineering and software investments to those needs. SANM’s 42Q connected manufacturing platform is designed to integrate data across factories and suppliers, creating a more current operational view that can shorten decision cycles and improve visibility across distributed manufacturing.
SANM is also using the ZT Systems integration to expand its addressable market beyond full systems builds by layering in Sanmina capabilities such as sub-assemblies and related CPS technologies over time. In communications networks and cloud and AI infrastructure, the company is witnessing program activity, with management noting continued bookings and new program wins and pointing to a pipeline that extends into 2027 and 2028.
Solid Estimate Revisions
Sanmina has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 75.5% and 85.8%, respectively, for the current year (ending September 2026). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year’s earnings has improved 10.1% in the last 60 days. It has a long-term growth rate of 27.8%, well above the S&P 500 Index’s current growth rate of 17.6%.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
Image: Bigstock
Buy 3 High-Flying AI-Powered EMS Stocks for 2H Amid Solid Demand
Key Takeaways
The electronics manufacturing services (EMS) space has been benefiting from astonishing investment in artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud infrastructure, the growing transition to connected and electric vehicles and AI-led medical devices.
The Zacks defined Electronics - Manufacturing Services industry is currently in the top 25% of the Zacks Industry Rank. Since the industry is ranked in the top half of the Zacks Ranked Industries, we expect it to outperform the market over the next three to six months.
The EMS industry players provide design, engineering and manufacturing services to electronics original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Here we recommend three global EMS leaders, namely Celestica Inc. (CLS - Free Report) , Jabil Inc. (JBL - Free Report) and Sanmina Corp. (SANM - Free Report) , that are strategically positioned in the EMS landscape and have the ability to cater to the evolving AI demands of business enterprises.
The three stocks are flying high on Wall Street year to date. Despite this stiff northward journey, they still have more fireworks in store for the rest of 2026. Each of our picks carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The chart below shows the price performance of our three picks year to date.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Celestica Inc.
Celestica is one of the largest EMS companies in the world, serving OEMs, cloud-based and other service providers, and business enterprises across several industries. CLS’ focus on product diversification and increasing its presence in high-value markets is positive.
CLS’ strong research and development foundations allow it to produce high-volume electronic products and highly complex technology infrastructure products for a wide range of industries.
CLS is benefiting from healthy demand trends in the Connectivity & Cloud Solutions segment. The growth is primarily backed by CLS’ strength in Hyperscaler Portfolio Solutions networking business and optical programs, especially increasing demand for 800G and 400G network switches.
The growing proliferation of AI-based applications and generative AI tools is fueling solid AI investments across the technology ecosystem. This, in turn, is driving demand for CLS’ enterprise-level data communications and information processing infrastructure products, such as routers, switches, data center interconnects, edge solutions and servers and storage-related products. To further capitalize on this trend, Celestica is steadily expanding its offerings through innovation and strategic collaboration.
Solid Estimate Revisions
Celestica has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 53.8% and 67.9%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year’s earnings has improved 13.6% in the last 60 days. It has a long-term (3 to 5 years) growth rate of 45.3%, significantly higher than the S&P 500 Index’s current growth rate of 17.6%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Jabil Inc.
Jabil is one of the largest global suppliers of EMS solutions. JBL offers electronics design, production, product management and after-market services to customers in more than a dozen industry verticals.
JBL has been benefiting immensely from healthy momentum in capital equipment, AI-powered data center infrastructure, cloud, and digital commerce business verticals. Its focus on end-market and product diversification is a key catalyst.
JBL’s focus on end-market and product diversification is a key catalyst. JBL’s top-line is expected to benefit from strength in AI data center infrastructure, capital equipment and warehouse automation markets.
JBL is set to invest heavily over the next several years to expand its manufacturing capabilities for the AI data center vertical. This will significantly boost the company’s position in the AI hardware supply chain.
JBL’s unmatched end-market experience, technical and design capabilities, manufacturing know-how, supply-chain insights and global product management expertise have put it in good standing.
Massive application of generative AI is set to drastically increase the efficiency of JBL’s automated optical inspection machines for the automation industry. A large-scale portfolio of business sectors offers JBL a high degree of resiliency during times of macroeconomic and geopolitical disruption.
An extensive global footprint is further strengthened by a centralized procurement process, which, coupled with a single Enterprise Resource Planning system, aids customers with end-to-end supply-chain visibility. A worldwide connected factory network enables JBL to scale up production per the evolving market dynamics.
Jabil is expected to gain from the rapid adoption of 5G wireless and cloud computing in the long run. The company is benefiting from solid demand in key end markets together with excellent operational execution and skillful management of supply-chain dynamics.
Solid Estimate Revisions
Jabil has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 14.2% and 27.7%, respectively, for the current year (ending August 2026). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year’s earnings has improved 0.8% in the last seven days. It has a long-term growth rate of 28.5%, well above the S&P 500 Index’s current growth rate of 17.6%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Sanmina Corp.
Sanmina focuses on engineering and fabricating complex components and on providing complete end-to-end supply chain solutions to Original Equipment Manufacturers across various end markets, including industrial, medical, defense and aerospace, automotive, communications and cloud infrastructure.
SANM’s diverse portfolio and end-to-end product lifecycle management allow customers to rely on a single partner and reduce complexity in operations. Strategic expansion into high-growth industries backed by its strong global network and deep expertise in advanced electronics manufacturing, acts as a tailwind.
SANM aims to strengthen technology leadership by working closely with customers on future manufacturing requirements and aligning its engineering and software investments to those needs. SANM’s 42Q connected manufacturing platform is designed to integrate data across factories and suppliers, creating a more current operational view that can shorten decision cycles and improve visibility across distributed manufacturing.
SANM is also using the ZT Systems integration to expand its addressable market beyond full systems builds by layering in Sanmina capabilities such as sub-assemblies and related CPS technologies over time. In communications networks and cloud and AI infrastructure, the company is witnessing program activity, with management noting continued bookings and new program wins and pointing to a pipeline that extends into 2027 and 2028.
Solid Estimate Revisions
Sanmina has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 75.5% and 85.8%, respectively, for the current year (ending September 2026). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year’s earnings has improved 10.1% in the last 60 days. It has a long-term growth rate of 27.8%, well above the S&P 500 Index’s current growth rate of 17.6%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research