Bull of the Day: Celestica (CLS)

Celestica, a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), is one of the largest electronics manufacturing companies in the world. This company provides supply chain solutions in North America, Europe, as well as Asia. The stock is displaying relative strength, breaking out to the upside amid a bullish move that pushed shares to new all-time highs.

The price movement is a sign of strength as we head deeper into the second half of the year. Increasing volume has attracted investor attention as buying pressure accumulates in this top-ranked stock.

Celestica is part of the Zacks Electronics – Manufacturing Services industry group, which currently ranks in the top 4% out of more than 250 industries. Because this group is ranked in the top half of all Zacks Ranked Industries, we expect it to outperform the market over the next 3 to 6 months, just as it has over the prior 3 months:

Historical research studies suggest that approximately half of a stock’s price appreciation is due to its industry grouping. In fact, the top 50% of Zacks Ranked Industries outperforms the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.

It’s no secret that investing in stocks that are part of leading industry groups can give us a leg up relative to the market. By focusing on leading stocks within the top industries, we can dramatically improve our stock-picking success.

Company Description

Celestica provides a range of services such as new product design and development, engineering and component sourcing, complex mechanical assembly, systems integration, and logistics.

The company has also been involved in the AI movement in terms of delivering platform solutions, which includes development of infrastructure platforms along with hardware and software design services.

Celestica offers their products and services to hyperscalers, cloud-based providers, and original equipment manufacturers. The company serves a variety of industries such as aerospace and defense, industrial, capital equipment, and communication markets.

Earnings Trends and Future Estimates

A leading electronics manufacturer, Celestica CLS has built up an impressive reporting history and hasn’t missed the earnings mark in many years. The company has delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings beat of 7.7%.

Earlier in the week, Celestica reported second-quarter earnings of $1.39 per share, a 12.1% surprise over the $1.24/share consensus estimate. Revenues of $2.89 billion also exceeded projections by 8.3%. Solid growth in the hardware platform solutions portfolio, backed by hyperscaler demand for networking products, buoyed the top line.

Analysts are bullish on the stock and have been raising earnings estimates lately. The full-year consensus EPS estimate has been revised upward in the past 60 days by 0.59% to $5.08 per share. If the company is able to achieve this, it would translate to a 30.9% growth rate versus the prior year.

Let’s Get Technical

This market leader has seen its stock advance nearly 200% off the April lows. Only stocks that are in extremely powerful uptrends are able to experience this type of outperformance. This is the kind of stock we want to include in our portfolio – one that is trending well and receiving positive earnings estimate revisions.

Notice how both the 50-day (blue line) and 200-day (red line) moving averages are sloping up. The stock has been making a series of higher highs throughout the past year. With both strong fundamental and technical indicators, CLS stock is poised to continue its outperformance.

Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. As we know, Celestica has recently witnessed positive revisions. As long as this trend remains intact (and CLS continues to deliver earnings beats), the stock will likely continue its bullish run.

Bottom Line

A growing proliferation of AI-based applications and generative AI tools across industries presents robust growth opportunities for Celestica. The company has offered a bullish outlook for 2025 and increased previous guidance, another sign that the bullish run can be sustained.

Backed by a leading industry group and history of earnings beats, it’s not difficult to see why Celestica stock is a compelling investment. Robust fundamentals combined with an appealing technical trend certainly justify adding shares to the mix.

Recent positive earnings estimate revisions should also serve to create a ‘floor’ in terms of any sudden or unexpected downside moves. If you haven’t already done so, be sure to put CLS on your shortlist.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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