For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – September 15, 2026 – Zacks Equity Research shares Caterpillar (CAT Quick QuoteCAT - Free Report) as the Bull of the Day and The Campbell's Company (CPB Quick QuoteCPB - Free Report) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA Quick QuoteNVDA - Free Report) and Oracle Corporation (ORCL Quick QuoteORCL - Free Report) .

Here is a synopsis of all four stocks:

Bull of the Day:

Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock Caterpillar is the largest global construction and mining equipment manufacturer in the world. Founded in 1925, the company serves a wide range of sectors, including infrastructure, mining, oil and gas, rail-related products, engines, and backup power solutions. 

The company also operates Cat Financial, a segment providing customer financing, equipment loans, heavy equipment insurance, and operating leases. Additionally, Caterpillar entered the artificial intelligence business in 2018, focusing on autonomy, physical AI, and AI models.

Caterpillar: The AI Darkhorse

Caterpillar has quietly emerged as an AI dark horse as a classic "picks and shovels" investment. The current AI buildout, led by hyperscalers like Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Amazon and Google, is the largest industrial buildout since the railroad boom of the late 19th century.

Meanwhile, according to Wall Street analyst estimates, AI spending will go vertical over the next few years.

Caterpillar benefits from the AI boom in several ways, including:

·       Data Center Demand: Energy is currently the biggest bottleneck of the AI revolution. As a result, Caterpillar's turbines, generator sets, and microgrids are likely to be in demand for the foreseeable future.

·       Autonomy: Caterpillar was an early-mover in the industrial autonomous revolution. The company already has a global fleet of over 800 autonomous mining trucks, with more to come.

·       Mining Demand: AI data centers require a large amount of copper, steel, concrete, and silver. Caterpillar sells the machinery needed to dig up these raw materials for the AI supply chain.

·       Cat AI Assistant: Cat AI, a voice-controlled AI agent, allows operators to control machine functions and work safer and more efficiently. AI leader NVIDIA is a partner on the project.

Caterpillar has a Record Backlog

There's nothing Wall Street investors like more than revenue visibility. As of last quarter, Caterpillar's order backlog swelled to a record $72 billion, soaring 92% year-over-year. Zacks Consensus Analyst Estimates expect Caterpillar to grow earnings at a mid-double-digit clip through 2027.

Wall Street Continues to Underestimate Caterpillar's Growth

Caterpillar is consistently beating Wall Street expectations. The company has surpassed Zacks Consensus Estimates for four consecutive quarters, with an average surprise of 18.12%.

Low Volatility & Robust Technical Set Up

Between the War in Iran and a flurry of AI headlines, tech stocks have been volatile lately. However, thanks to Caterpillar's diverse and well-established businesses, the company offers AI exposure with a fraction of the volatility of a pure-play AI stock. In addition, the stock offers investors a low-risk entry zone as it uniformly retreats to the 200-day moving average.

Bottom Line

Caterpillar offers investors a rare combination of industrial value, consistent earnings beats, and direct upside to the generational AI revolution. Supported by a record $72 billion order backlog and a low-volatility pullback to key technical support, the "picks and shovels" play offers investors a way to capture AI-driven growth.

Bear of the Day:

Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) stock The Campbell's Company is one of North America's largest branded food and beverage product companies. Headquartered in Camden, NJ, and founded in 19222, the company's portfolio includes brands such as Campbell's, Rao's, Goldfish, Pepperidge Farm, Swanson, Pacific Foods, Prego, Pace, V8, Snyder's of Hanover, Lance, Cape Cod, Kettle Brand, Late July, and Snack Factory. 

The Campbell's meals and beverages segment comprises ~60% of sales and includes soup, simple meals, and beverages sold through retail and foodservice stores throughout North America. The snacks segment includes frozen products, cookies, and crackers and accounts for the remaining 40% of revenues.

Campbell's Snack Segment Sees Weakness

In Q4, Campbell's snack segment saw organic net sales fall 6% while operating earnings plunged 28%. Unfortunately for Campbell's, multiple factors drove the weakness. 

First, over the past few years, consumers have dramatically cut back on junk food and are choosing healthier alternatives (with GLP-1 fat loss drugs only intensifying this headwind). Second, with inflation running hot, consumers are prioritizing essentials and cutting back on discretionary snack food purchases. Finally, costs are rising, squeezing margins. 

For instance, the management team expects raw-material and packaging inflation of 5-6% and double-digit logistics inflation, driven by higher diesel costs and reduced driver availability. Additionally, import tariffs have added 4% to the company's costs. Since late 2021, gross profit margins have plunged from 32.5% to 28.14%.

Earnings Will Be Stagnant Through Next Year

Campbell's management team expects earnings to remain weak. Fiscal 2027 guidance suggests 2027 will be another year of declining sales and profits after an abysmal 2026, when EPS plunged 27%. Zacks Consensus Estimates expect a similar trajectory, with 2027 annual earnings dropping 18.43%.

CPB Technical View

Campbell's shares have shown troubling relative weakness, down 36% over the past year compared to the S&P 500's 16.5% gain. Even if CPB shares stage a rally, a lot of overhead selling supply waiting from bulls who are offside on their positions.

Bottom Line

The Campbell's Company faces shifting consumer habits, shrinking margins, and a stagnant earnings trajectory. These fundamental and technical headwinds make a near-term turnaround unlikely.

Additional content:

NVIDIA vs. Oracle: Which AI Stock Is the Better Buy After Earnings?

Both NVIDIA Corporation and Oracle Corporation have benefited from the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, with strong demand for AI infrastructure and cloud driving their latest earnings results. But which AI stock looks like a better buy now? Let's explore –  

NVIDIA's Strong Earnings Cement Its AI Leadership

NVIDIA's revenues reached $96.2 billion in the fiscal second quarter of 2027, representing a 106% year-over-year increase and an 18% rise sequentially, according to the company's Aug. 26 press release. The Data Center segment remained NVIDIA's primary growth driver. Data Center revenues came in at $89 billion, up 117% year over year and 18% from the previous quarter. 

NVIDIA also maintained strong profitability alongside rapid revenue growth. During the quarter, the company's GAAP and non-GAAP gross margins both stood at 75%, up from 72.5% a year ago. The company continues to convert strong revenue growth into even stronger earnings growth, helped by ongoing gains in operating income. 

Looking ahead, NVIDIA expects revenues to reach approximately $108 billion, plus or minus 2%, in the fiscal third quarter of 2027, representing 12% sequential growth from the midpoint. With NVIDIA's growth momentum remaining strong, and the advanced Vera Rubin platform already in full production, the company is well-positioned to capitalize on the next wave of AI infrastructure spending. 

Oracle Delivers Exceptional Growth on Cloud and AI Demand

Given its size, Oracle's revenue growth has been impressive, reaching $19.3 billion in the fiscal first quarter of 2027, up 30% year over year, driven by ongoing customer migration to cloud-based solutions, according to the company's Sept. 10 press release.  

Oracle's Cloud Infrastructure (IaaS) revenues reached $7.4 billion, up 121% year over year, while Cloud Applications revenues rose 10% to $4.2 billion. The expanding IaaS business positions Oracle to benefit from the increasing demand for AI infrastructure, while the company gets a stable recurring-revenue base through SaaS. 

Oracle further expects revenues to grow 30-34% in the fiscal second quarter of 2027 and reach at least $90 billion for the full year. Additionally, the company's $664 billion in remaining performance obligations, up $209 billion from the previous year, provides strong visibility into future growth. At the same time, Oracle's rapid growth is accompanied by an increase in profitability. The company's non-GAAP operating income rose 31% to $8.2 billion in the fiscal first quarter. 

NVIDIA vs. Oracle: One AI Stock Looks Like a Better Buy Now

Explosive Data Center growth, strong margins, and a robust outlook reinforce NVIDIA's position as a top beneficiary of the continuing AI infrastructure boom. Similarly, strong cloud and AI demand is driving Oracle's growth, while its growing backlog and improving profitability support a positive outlook.  

However, Oracle's heavy capital spending to expand its Cloud Infrastructure business led to negative free cash flow of $5 billion in the first fiscal quarter and increased financial pressure on the company. Anyhow, Oracle's debt-to-equity ratio of 175.2% is significantly higher than NVIDIA's 14.1%, suggesting greater financial leverage and possibly greater downside risk during economic downturns.

Moreover, NVIDIA appears more efficient at generating profits from shareholders' equity than Oracle. This is because NVIDIA's return on equity (ROE) of 97.5% exceeds Oracle's ROE of 70.2%.???

Therefore, NVIDIA appears to be the better buy following earnings than Oracle, with lower financial leverage and higher profitability supporting a more favorable outlook. NVIDIA currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while Oracle has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 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 >>

Media Contact

Zacks Investment Research

800-767-3771 ext. 9339

https://www.zacks.com

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/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.