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Eni and Burlington Stores have been highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day
Read MoreHide Full Article
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – October 29, 2026 – Zacks Equity Research shares Eni (E - Free Report) as the Bull of the Day and Burlington Stores (BURL - Free Report) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Spotify Technology S.A. (SPOT - Free Report) , Equifax (EFX - Free Report) and ManpowerGroup (MAN - Free Report) .
Italian energy giant Eni is emerging as a compelling oil and gas stock to consider as surging crude oil prices and improving earnings expectations fuel optimism across the energy sector.
With geopolitical tensions and supply disruptions pushing crude prices higher, Eni's Zacks Oil and Gas – Integrated – International Industry currently ranks in the top 3% of more than 240 Zacks industries, highlighting strong momentum across the energy sector.
Furthermore, Eni's diversified portfolio spans oil and gas production, refining, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and renewable energy, offering investors multiple avenues for long-term growth.
Even after soaring nearly 70% year-to-date and trading near its 52-week high of $62 a share, Eni's valuation remains attractive, suggesting additional upside potential.
Eni's Earnings Estimates Are Surging
Most appealing is the sharp upward trend in Eni's earnings estimates, with analysts becoming increasingly bullish on the company's profitability.
Over the last 60 days, fiscal 2026 EPS estimates have jumped 15% from $5.77 to $6.65 per share and would equate to 90% year-over-year growth, while FY27 EPS projections have surged 25% in the last two months from $5.08 to $6.38 per share.
Near-term expectations are even more encouraging, with earnings estimates for the next two quarters rising 43% and 59%, respectively.
These substantial upward revisions reflect growing confidence in Eni's earnings outlook and suggest that its recent rally has been supported by improving fundamentals.
Eni's Attractive Valuation & Revenue Base
Despite its impressive performance, Eni stock still trades at just 9X forward earnings and less than 1X annual sales, representing an appealing valuation for a global integrated energy company.
Furthermore, Eni is expected to generate more than $100 billion in annual revenue for the foreseeable future, providing a substantial business foundation from which even modest margin improvements could translate into meaningful earnings growth.
Eni's Generous Dividend Has Plenty of Room to Grow
Adding to its appeal, Eni offers an attractive annual dividend of $1.68 per share, yielding 2.85% at current levels.
Eni has also increased its dividend at an annualized rate of 6.31% over the last five years, demonstrating its commitment to rewarding shareholders.
More importantly, Eni's modest 30% payout ratio suggests there is plenty of room for future dividend hikes, especially as improving earnings expectations strengthen the company's profitability outlook.
Bottom Line
Sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Eni stands out as an attractive energy stock as rising earnings estimates and industry strength reinforce its bullish outlook.
Although shares have rallied considerably, Eni's reasonable valuation, substantial revenue base, and improving earnings potential suggest there could still be more upside ahead.
Off-price retail giant Burlington Stores has struggled in 2026, with shares plunging almost 40% in the last three months and now down nearly 20% year-to-date as declining earnings expectations raise concerns about the retailer's near-term profitability.
Despite the selloff, BURL shares still trade well above $200, and unfavorable earnings estimate revisions suggest investors may want to remain cautious as the stock could face additional downside.
Burlington's Declining Earnings Estimates
Burlington's near-term profitability outlook has weakened with management expecting Q3 adjusted earnings of $1.60-$1.70 per share, down from $1.80 a year ago, as operating margins face pressure from merchandise pricing investments and softer consumer spending.
Furthermore, comparable-store sales growth most recently slowed to 2% in Q2 from 5% a year earlier, raising questions about underlying demand as inflation and elevated living costs weigh on budget-conscious shoppers.
Most concerning is the negative trend in Burlington's earnings estimate revisions, with analysts becoming increasingly cautious about the company's outlook.
Over the last 60 days, Burlington's current fiscal-year EPS estimate has fallen 5.5% from $12.61 to $11.92 per share, while next year's projection has declined 4.6% from $13.87 to $13.23 per share.
Near-term expectations have also weakened, with earnings estimates for the next two quarters falling roughly 7.6% and 3.2%, respectively.
Compounding these challenges, higher tariffs, elevated freight costs, and potential customer traffic slowdowns could pressure Burlington's margins.
Meanwhile, Burlington's transition toward smaller 25,000-27,000-square-foot stores is intended to improve sales productivity, but execution risks and rising costs remain potential headwinds, especially after the company has missed revenue expectations in two of its last four quarterly reports.
BURL Forms a Death Cross
Adding to its bearish outlook, Burlington's technical chart indicates mounting selling pressure, with BURL trading well below its 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages of approximately $262 and $306 a share, respectively.
More concerning, the 50-day SMA (green line below) has fallen below the 200-day SMA (red line), forming a bearish death cross pattern that suggests weakening momentum and the potential for further downside.
With BURL approaching its recent 52-week lows near $226, the stock could remain under pressure until buying interest returns and its technical trend improves.
Burlington's Mediocre Valuation
Even after falling nearly 20% year-to-date, Burlington shares still command a forward P/E multiple near 20X. This is roughly on par with, but not a discount to its Zacks Retail-Discount Stores industry average, which includes noteworthy peers such as Ross Stores () and The TJX Companies ().
While Burlington has opportunities to expand its store footprint and capture market share in the off-price retail segment, the trend of declining EPS revisions is taking away from its modest valuation and leaves shares vulnerable to further selling pressure if earnings expectations continue to decline.
Bottom Line
Burlington Stores stock currently lands a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), reflecting the unfavorable trend in earnings estimate revisions.
With profitability expectations weakening and shares offering little valuation discount to industry peers, BURL may be a stock investors want to avoid for now, particularly until earnings revisions stabilize.
Additional content:
Spotify Stock Rises +6% Despite Reporting Q3 Earnings Miss
Spotify Technology S.A. reported mixed third-quarter 2026 results, with adjusted earnings missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate while revenues beat expectations.
Despite the earnings miss, the stock has gained 5.7% since the earnings release on Oct. 22.
Adjusted earnings of $2.85 per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.10 by 8.1%. Higher marketing, cloud infrastructure and artificial intelligence spending weighed on profitability.
Revenues rose 16% year over year in euros and 14% at constant currency to $5.72 billion. The figure surpassed the consensus estimate of $5.70 billion by 0.35%. Premium subscribers reached 306 million, exceeding management's guidance by 1 million, while advertising growth accelerated.
SPOT's User Growth Remains Strong
Monthly active users, or MAUs, increased 11% year over year and 1% sequentially to 788 million. Spotify added 11 million MAUs during the quarter, matching management's guidance. Growth was recorded across all regions, led by sequential gains in Rest of World, Latin America, Europe and North America.
Premium subscribers rose 9% year over year and 2% sequentially. Net additions totaled 6 million, supported by global promotional campaigns and partnerships. Ad-supported MAUs increased 12% year over year to 499 million, reflecting continued audience expansion.
Spotify's Premium Revenues Gain Momentum
Premium revenues increased 17% year over year to €4.49 billion, or 15% at constant currency. Growth was supported by subscriber additions and higher average revenue per user, or ARPU, reflecting benefits from pricing actions.
Premium ARPU increased 9.3% year over year to €4.95, or 7.5% excluding currency movements. Price increases supported monetization, although product and geographic mix partially offset the benefits. Premium gross margin expanded 130 basis points to 34.5%, aided by revenue growth outpacing content costs.
SPOT's Margins Expand Despite Higher Costs
Gross profit increased 21% year over year to €1.64 billion. The gross margin expanded 136 basis points to 33%, exceeding management's guidance of 32.9%. Improvements across Premium and Ad-Supported operations supported the expansion.
Operating expenses increased 26% year over year to €967 million. Excluding currency movements and social charges, expenses rose 19%, primarily reflecting elevated marketing, cloud and AI investments. Operating income increased 15% to €672 million, while the operating margin declined to 13.5% from 13.6%.
Social charges totaled €22 million, exceeding management's forecast by €13 million due to share-price movements. Lower-than-expected marketing and personnel costs, alongside gross margin outperformance, partially offset the impact.
Spotify's Advertising Business Shows Recovery
Ad-supported revenues increased 10% year over year to €482 million, representing 9% growth at constant currency. This marked an improvement from the 3% constant-currency growth recorded in each of the first two quarters of 2026.
Music advertising benefited from higher impressions sold, partially offset by softer pricing. Podcast advertising gained from stronger sponsorship activity across Spotify's owned and licensed content portfolio. Automated sales channels remained the largest contributors to advertising growth.
Management highlighted continued progress in rebuilding its advertising infrastructure. Biddable channels accounted for approximately 40% of advertising revenues, supporting the company's efforts to improve monetization and advertising efficiency.
SPOT's Cash Flow Supports Share Repurchases
The free cash flow declined 9% year over year to €735 million, reflecting unfavorable working-capital movements and cash-tax timing. Trailing 12-month free cash flow totaled €3.2 billion, demonstrating the company's sustained cash-generation capacity.
Spotify ended the quarter with €9.9 billion in cash, restricted cash and short-term investments. From the start of 2026 through Oct. 21, the company repurchased 2.2 million shares for $1.1 billion, fully offsetting dilution from employee equity programs and returning additional excess cash to shareholders.
Spotify Guides for Continued Q4 Growth
For fourth-quarter 2026, Spotify expects 818 million MAUs, implying 30 million sequential additions. Premium subscribers are projected to reach 316 million, representing 10 million net additions.
Revenues are forecast at €5.2 billion, supported by pricing actions and audiobook add-on monetization. Management expects advertising growth to continue progressing toward double-digit levels, while operating expense growth moderates.
Spotify anticipates a gross margin of 33.8% and operating income of €820 million. Management expects continued benefits from AI-driven personalization, audiobook expansion to more than 180 markets and broader podcast monetization initiatives, while maintaining expense discipline into 2027.
Equifax's third-quarter 2026 earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate, while revenues met the same.
EFX's adjusted earnings were $2.26 per share, up 10.8% year over year. The figure topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.19 by 3.2%. Revenues increased 9.6% year over year to $1.69 billion, in line with the consensus estimate.
ManpowerGroup reported mixed third-quarter 2026 results, with adjusted earnings meeting the Zacks Consensus Estimate and revenues missing expectations.
MAN's adjusted earnings of $1.01 per share were in line with the consensus estimate and increased 22% year over year. Revenues of $4.84 billion lagged the consensus estimate of $4.91 billion by 1.4% but increased 4% year over year (5% in constant currency).
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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/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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Eni and Burlington Stores have been highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – October 29, 2026 – Zacks Equity Research shares Eni (E - Free Report) as the Bull of the Day and Burlington Stores (BURL - Free Report) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Spotify Technology S.A. (SPOT - Free Report) , Equifax (EFX - Free Report) and ManpowerGroup (MAN - Free Report) .
Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:
Bull of the Day:
Italian energy giant Eni is emerging as a compelling oil and gas stock to consider as surging crude oil prices and improving earnings expectations fuel optimism across the energy sector.
With geopolitical tensions and supply disruptions pushing crude prices higher, Eni's Zacks Oil and Gas – Integrated – International Industry currently ranks in the top 3% of more than 240 Zacks industries, highlighting strong momentum across the energy sector.
Furthermore, Eni's diversified portfolio spans oil and gas production, refining, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and renewable energy, offering investors multiple avenues for long-term growth.
Even after soaring nearly 70% year-to-date and trading near its 52-week high of $62 a share, Eni's valuation remains attractive, suggesting additional upside potential.
Eni's Earnings Estimates Are Surging
Most appealing is the sharp upward trend in Eni's earnings estimates, with analysts becoming increasingly bullish on the company's profitability.
Over the last 60 days, fiscal 2026 EPS estimates have jumped 15% from $5.77 to $6.65 per share and would equate to 90% year-over-year growth, while FY27 EPS projections have surged 25% in the last two months from $5.08 to $6.38 per share.
Near-term expectations are even more encouraging, with earnings estimates for the next two quarters rising 43% and 59%, respectively.
These substantial upward revisions reflect growing confidence in Eni's earnings outlook and suggest that its recent rally has been supported by improving fundamentals.
Eni's Attractive Valuation & Revenue Base
Despite its impressive performance, Eni stock still trades at just 9X forward earnings and less than 1X annual sales, representing an appealing valuation for a global integrated energy company.
Furthermore, Eni is expected to generate more than $100 billion in annual revenue for the foreseeable future, providing a substantial business foundation from which even modest margin improvements could translate into meaningful earnings growth.
Eni's Generous Dividend Has Plenty of Room to Grow
Adding to its appeal, Eni offers an attractive annual dividend of $1.68 per share, yielding 2.85% at current levels.
Eni has also increased its dividend at an annualized rate of 6.31% over the last five years, demonstrating its commitment to rewarding shareholders.
More importantly, Eni's modest 30% payout ratio suggests there is plenty of room for future dividend hikes, especially as improving earnings expectations strengthen the company's profitability outlook.
Bottom Line
Sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Eni stands out as an attractive energy stock as rising earnings estimates and industry strength reinforce its bullish outlook.
Although shares have rallied considerably, Eni's reasonable valuation, substantial revenue base, and improving earnings potential suggest there could still be more upside ahead.
Bear of the Day:
Off-price retail giant Burlington Stores has struggled in 2026, with shares plunging almost 40% in the last three months and now down nearly 20% year-to-date as declining earnings expectations raise concerns about the retailer's near-term profitability.
Despite the selloff, BURL shares still trade well above $200, and unfavorable earnings estimate revisions suggest investors may want to remain cautious as the stock could face additional downside.
Burlington's Declining Earnings Estimates
Burlington's near-term profitability outlook has weakened with management expecting Q3 adjusted earnings of $1.60-$1.70 per share, down from $1.80 a year ago, as operating margins face pressure from merchandise pricing investments and softer consumer spending.
Furthermore, comparable-store sales growth most recently slowed to 2% in Q2 from 5% a year earlier, raising questions about underlying demand as inflation and elevated living costs weigh on budget-conscious shoppers.
Most concerning is the negative trend in Burlington's earnings estimate revisions, with analysts becoming increasingly cautious about the company's outlook.
Over the last 60 days, Burlington's current fiscal-year EPS estimate has fallen 5.5% from $12.61 to $11.92 per share, while next year's projection has declined 4.6% from $13.87 to $13.23 per share.
Near-term expectations have also weakened, with earnings estimates for the next two quarters falling roughly 7.6% and 3.2%, respectively.
Rising Costs & Slowing Sales Threaten Burlington's Margins
Compounding these challenges, higher tariffs, elevated freight costs, and potential customer traffic slowdowns could pressure Burlington's margins.
Meanwhile, Burlington's transition toward smaller 25,000-27,000-square-foot stores is intended to improve sales productivity, but execution risks and rising costs remain potential headwinds, especially after the company has missed revenue expectations in two of its last four quarterly reports.
BURL Forms a Death Cross
Adding to its bearish outlook, Burlington's technical chart indicates mounting selling pressure, with BURL trading well below its 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages of approximately $262 and $306 a share, respectively.
More concerning, the 50-day SMA (green line below) has fallen below the 200-day SMA (red line), forming a bearish death cross pattern that suggests weakening momentum and the potential for further downside.
With BURL approaching its recent 52-week lows near $226, the stock could remain under pressure until buying interest returns and its technical trend improves.
Burlington's Mediocre Valuation
Even after falling nearly 20% year-to-date, Burlington shares still command a forward P/E multiple near 20X. This is roughly on par with, but not a discount to its Zacks Retail-Discount Stores industry average, which includes noteworthy peers such as Ross Stores () and The TJX Companies ().
While Burlington has opportunities to expand its store footprint and capture market share in the off-price retail segment, the trend of declining EPS revisions is taking away from its modest valuation and leaves shares vulnerable to further selling pressure if earnings expectations continue to decline.
Bottom Line
Burlington Stores stock currently lands a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), reflecting the unfavorable trend in earnings estimate revisions.
With profitability expectations weakening and shares offering little valuation discount to industry peers, BURL may be a stock investors want to avoid for now, particularly until earnings revisions stabilize.
Additional content:
Spotify Stock Rises +6% Despite Reporting Q3 Earnings Miss
Spotify Technology S.A. reported mixed third-quarter 2026 results, with adjusted earnings missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate while revenues beat expectations.
Despite the earnings miss, the stock has gained 5.7% since the earnings release on Oct. 22.
Adjusted earnings of $2.85 per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.10 by 8.1%. Higher marketing, cloud infrastructure and artificial intelligence spending weighed on profitability.
Revenues rose 16% year over year in euros and 14% at constant currency to $5.72 billion. The figure surpassed the consensus estimate of $5.70 billion by 0.35%. Premium subscribers reached 306 million, exceeding management's guidance by 1 million, while advertising growth accelerated.
SPOT's User Growth Remains Strong
Monthly active users, or MAUs, increased 11% year over year and 1% sequentially to 788 million. Spotify added 11 million MAUs during the quarter, matching management's guidance. Growth was recorded across all regions, led by sequential gains in Rest of World, Latin America, Europe and North America.
Premium subscribers rose 9% year over year and 2% sequentially. Net additions totaled 6 million, supported by global promotional campaigns and partnerships. Ad-supported MAUs increased 12% year over year to 499 million, reflecting continued audience expansion.
Spotify's Premium Revenues Gain Momentum
Premium revenues increased 17% year over year to €4.49 billion, or 15% at constant currency. Growth was supported by subscriber additions and higher average revenue per user, or ARPU, reflecting benefits from pricing actions.
Premium ARPU increased 9.3% year over year to €4.95, or 7.5% excluding currency movements. Price increases supported monetization, although product and geographic mix partially offset the benefits. Premium gross margin expanded 130 basis points to 34.5%, aided by revenue growth outpacing content costs.
SPOT's Margins Expand Despite Higher Costs
Gross profit increased 21% year over year to €1.64 billion. The gross margin expanded 136 basis points to 33%, exceeding management's guidance of 32.9%. Improvements across Premium and Ad-Supported operations supported the expansion.
Operating expenses increased 26% year over year to €967 million. Excluding currency movements and social charges, expenses rose 19%, primarily reflecting elevated marketing, cloud and AI investments. Operating income increased 15% to €672 million, while the operating margin declined to 13.5% from 13.6%.
Social charges totaled €22 million, exceeding management's forecast by €13 million due to share-price movements. Lower-than-expected marketing and personnel costs, alongside gross margin outperformance, partially offset the impact.
Spotify's Advertising Business Shows Recovery
Ad-supported revenues increased 10% year over year to €482 million, representing 9% growth at constant currency. This marked an improvement from the 3% constant-currency growth recorded in each of the first two quarters of 2026.
Music advertising benefited from higher impressions sold, partially offset by softer pricing. Podcast advertising gained from stronger sponsorship activity across Spotify's owned and licensed content portfolio. Automated sales channels remained the largest contributors to advertising growth.
Management highlighted continued progress in rebuilding its advertising infrastructure. Biddable channels accounted for approximately 40% of advertising revenues, supporting the company's efforts to improve monetization and advertising efficiency.
SPOT's Cash Flow Supports Share Repurchases
The free cash flow declined 9% year over year to €735 million, reflecting unfavorable working-capital movements and cash-tax timing. Trailing 12-month free cash flow totaled €3.2 billion, demonstrating the company's sustained cash-generation capacity.
Spotify ended the quarter with €9.9 billion in cash, restricted cash and short-term investments. From the start of 2026 through Oct. 21, the company repurchased 2.2 million shares for $1.1 billion, fully offsetting dilution from employee equity programs and returning additional excess cash to shareholders.
Spotify Guides for Continued Q4 Growth
For fourth-quarter 2026, Spotify expects 818 million MAUs, implying 30 million sequential additions. Premium subscribers are projected to reach 316 million, representing 10 million net additions.
Revenues are forecast at €5.2 billion, supported by pricing actions and audiobook add-on monetization. Management expects advertising growth to continue progressing toward double-digit levels, while operating expense growth moderates.
Spotify anticipates a gross margin of 33.8% and operating income of €820 million. Management expects continued benefits from AI-driven personalization, audiobook expansion to more than 180 markets and broader podcast monetization initiatives, while maintaining expense discipline into 2027.
SPOT currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Earnings Snapshot
Equifax's third-quarter 2026 earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate, while revenues met the same.
EFX's adjusted earnings were $2.26 per share, up 10.8% year over year. The figure topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.19 by 3.2%. Revenues increased 9.6% year over year to $1.69 billion, in line with the consensus estimate.
ManpowerGroup reported mixed third-quarter 2026 results, with adjusted earnings meeting the Zacks Consensus Estimate and revenues missing expectations.
MAN's adjusted earnings of $1.01 per share were in line with the consensus estimate and increased 22% year over year. Revenues of $4.84 billion lagged the consensus estimate of $4.91 billion by 1.4% but increased 4% year over year (5% in constant currency).
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/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.