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Chicago, IL – September 30, 2025 – Zacks Equity Research shares Zoom Communications ZM as the Bull of the Day and AutoZone AZO as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Micron Technology MU.
Here is a synopsis of all three stocks.
Zoom Communications is a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) that provides cloud-based video conferencing. Its flagship product is the Zoom Meetings platform, which lets people connect through video, audio, chat, and screen sharing on desktops, mobile devices, and conference room systems.
The stock was a high flyer during COVID as people utilized Zoom’s platform when they could not go into the office. But as the pandemic came to an end, the stock headed lower.
After trading sideways for the last three years, the stock is approaching 2025 highs and looking to start a new bullish trend.
Beyond meetings, Zoom offers a range of products that extend its platform into broader business communications.
Zoom Phone is a cloud-based business phone system designed to replace traditional office lines, while Zoom Rooms powers conference rooms and hybrid workspaces with easy-to-use software.
For larger audiences, Zoom Webinars and Zoom Events provide tools to host virtual events, town halls, and training.
The company has also integrated artificial intelligence through its AI Companion, which assists with meeting summaries, note-taking, and conversation insights.
In short, Zoom has evolved into a unified communications platform for businesses, schools, and individuals, best known for video calls but now expanding into a wider suite of enterprise solutions.
ZM is valued at $25 billion and has a Forward PE of 14. The stock has Zacks Style Scores of “C” in Growth, but “D” in Value and Momentum.
Zoom delivered a strong Q2, with earnings of $1.53 per share beating estimates of $1.37 and revenue of $1.22 billion topping expectations of $1.20 billion. The company raised its full-year outlook, now guiding FY26 EPS to $5.81–$5.84 versus $5.58 expected and revenue to $4.83–$4.84 billion versus $4.80 billion expected.
Free cash flow surged to $508 million from $449 million a year ago, while non-GAAP operating margin expanded to 41.3% from 39.2%. Large enterprise adoption remains a driver, with customers contributing over $100k in trailing revenue rising nearly 9% year over year to 4,274.
CEO Eric Yuan highlighted AI as a key growth catalyst, noting Zoom’s AI Companion has quadrupled its monthly active users and is increasingly integrated across the platform.
New wins included a major U.S. tech company deploying custom AI for 60,000 employees, HubSpot expanding to Zoom Workplace through AWS, and several large enterprise deals displacing legacy competitors.
With broad-based strength and accelerating AI adoption, Zoom enters the last quarter of the year with momentum.
Since reporting earnings, analysts have been raising estimates across all time frames.
For the current quarter, estimates have gone from $1.38 to $1.42 over the last 60 days. For next quarter, we see a similar movement, going from $1.40 to $1.44.
For the current year, estimates have gone from $5.59 to $5.81, a jump of 4%.
The longer-term trends look good, with estimates for next year going from $5.63 to $5.88, an increase of 4.5%.
Zoom Communications, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Zoom Communications, Inc. Quote
Many analysts lifted price targets with estimates. Stifel reiterated their Neutral rating, but lifted their target to $90 from $80. Benchmark reiterated their Buy rating and raised their target to $110 from $102.
Zoom recently held its 2025 Zoomtopia event, in which the company unveiled AI Companion 3.0. The upgraded AI system goes beyond being a simple assistant, acting instead as an intelligent, proactive layer across the entire Zoom platform and compatible third-party apps.
AI Companion 3.0 leverages agentic AI to transform conversations into action, synthesizing insights from internal knowledge like meeting transcripts and shared documents with external sources such as market research and industry data. New features include advanced note-taking that works across Zoom and rival platforms like Microsoft Teams and Google Meet, proactive skills to free up user time, personalized task management, and dynamic work surfaces that unify scattered information into actionable intelligence.
Zoom’s strategy is to build a unified workplace platform where AI seamlessly streamlines collaboration, reduces administrative burdens, and helps users deliver higher-quality results faster.
Since last October, the stock has made some attempts to push into the $100 area, but failed. Now in the mid-80s after a trip to $70, the bulls have control once again.
The February highs were $89, so if the stock breaks $90, there could be some short covering and new buyers. There is a Fibonacci extension target at $104 so the bulls looking for a breakout could be looking at a nice winner buying that $90 level.
For those looking to start a position before a breakout, some support levels are listed below:
21-day: $83.90
50-day: $78.30
200-day: $78.80
That 50-day is looking to rise above the 200-day MA soon, something that hasn’t happened for the stock since June. This could signal some “Golden Cross” buying that would help a possible break above that $90 level.
Zoom has rebuilt momentum with stronger fundamentals, rising estimates, and fresh AI-driven innovation. The company is no longer just a pandemic-era video call solution; it is evolving into a full-scale communications platform with enterprise adoption and next-generation AI at its core.
With improving technicals, raised guidance, and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Zoom looks positioned to break out of its multi-year consolidation and reward investors who step in ahead of the next leg higher.
AutoZone, a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), is a top specialty retailer and distributor of auto parts, serving both DIY and DIFM customers.
The company just posted earnings, with investors buying the dip and helping the stock trade near all-time highs. Despite strong price momentum, up more than 30% this year, earnings estimates have been trending lower. With valuation concerns starting to creep in, investors may want to think twice before chasing the rally.
As of August 30, 2025, the company operated 7,657 stores across the United States, Mexico, and Brazil, offering a broad assortment of new and remanufactured parts, maintenance items, accessories, and even select non-automotive products.
Its product range covers nearly every aspect of vehicle upkeep and repair, from batteries, brakes, and engines to fluids, filters, lighting, and wipers. In addition to retail, AutoZone runs commercial sales programs that deliver parts directly to garages, service stations, and repair shops, while also providing credit options for business customers.
Beyond its physical store presence, AutoZone maintains a strong digital footprint with platforms like autozone.com for retail customers and autozonepro.com for
The company has a market cap of $70B and holds Zacks Style Scores of “F” in Value and Momentum.
AutoZone’s quarter was mixed, with EPS of $48.71 missing the $50.52 consensus while revenue of $6.24 billion matched expectations. Same-store sales rose 4.5%, with U.S. comps up a solid 4.8% versus just 0.2% last year, but international comps of 2.1% fell short due to currency headwinds.
Gross margin slipped nearly 100 basis points to 51.5%, pressured by an $80 million non-cash LIFO charge.
Commercial sales remained a bright spot, with U.S. comps accelerating to 12.5% on a 16-week basis, while DIY trends showed modest improvement.
However, traffic declined 1.9% during the quarter, turning positive only late in the period. Inventory climbed to $7.03 billion from $6.16 billion a year ago, reflecting both inflation and store expansion.
Management expressed confidence heading into FY26, but the earnings miss, margin pressure, and inventory build suggest investors should be cautious with shares trading near record highs.
Since earnings, analyst estimates have taken a leg lower:
For the current quarter, estimates have fallen from $166.93 to $152.84, or 8%.
For next quarter, estimates have gone from $184.98 to $180.06, or 3%.
The drop from analysts reflects some of that margin and inventory pressure. Even so, the technicals are holding up for now.
The stock dropped on the headline release, but buyers stepped in. Only 3% off the all-time highs, the bulls look poised to resume the trend.
However, investors should take caution if the 21-day at $4200 losses support. Even more concern is warranted if the 50-day MA at $4080 is taken out.
This stock is one of the biggest winners over the last 5 years and if the earnings momentum turns bearish, selling could hit the stock.
AutoZone has been a long-term winner with impressive share price momentum, but the latest results highlight cracks beneath the surface. With earnings estimates trending lower, margin pressure building, and inventory swelling, investors face more risk chasing the stock near record highs.
The technicals still look supportive in the short term, but if key levels break, momentum could quickly shift. For now, with a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) and valuation concerns in play, this looks like a name better avoided until the earnings picture improves.
Micron Technology has been on fire in recent months, riding the wave of the AI infrastructure boom alongside leaders like Nvidiaand Vertiv. As demand for high-performance memory and storage surges for AI applications, Micron has reemerged as one of the most compelling opportunities in the market.
The fundamentals are backing up the momentum. Analysts have sharply revised earnings estimates higher, propelling the stock to a top Zacks Rank. Despite the rally, MU still trades at a very reasonable valuation compared to its growth outlook, making it an especially compelling investment candidate.
From a technical perspective, the setup is just as appealing. Shares are consolidating in a textbook bull flag formation. Below, I’ll break down the trading setup and what investors should watch for as Micron approaches a potential breakout.
The more I get into the details of these data center buildouts the more I am blown away. These buildouts are unfathomably large, at nearly half the landmass of Manhattan across the major disclosed campuses alone. Flagship projects like Stargate Abilene in Texas (1,000 acres, 1.2 GW), and hyperscale sites from Microsoft, Google, Meta, and CoreWeave are transforming entire regions into AI compute hubs. With several more Stargate sites already in permitting, the aggregate footprint could soon approach a full “Manhattan” worth of land, underscoring just how massive and capital-intensive the race for AI infrastructure has become.
The obvious winners of the AI infrastructure boom so far have been Nvidia, which supplies the core processing engines in the form of GPUs, and Vertiv, which delivers the critical hardware and software services to support data centers. But in just the past few months, Micron has emerged as another major beneficiary of the trend.
Analysts are now recognizing how essential Micron’s advanced memory solutions will be for AI applications, and earnings forecasts have been revised sharply higher. Current year estimates are up 35%, while next year’s projections have climbed 26%, with some of the biggest upward revisions coming in just the past week. This surge in analyst confidence has propelled Micron to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
The price action in Micron shares reflects the steady stream of opportunities tied to the AI boom. After a powerful run earlier this summer, MU has spent the last two weeks consolidating in a textbook bull flag pattern, a healthy pause that often sets the stage for the next leg higher.
From a technical standpoint, the $166 level has emerged as the key line in the sand. A decisive move above that threshold would confirm a breakout from the consolidation and likely propel the stock toward fresh record highs. With strong fundamental tailwinds and bullish revisions already in place, the chart setup suggests Micron may be gearing up for another powerful rally.
Micron has quickly shifted from an overlooked name to a central player in the AI infrastructure boom. With hyperscale data center buildouts accelerating, the need for high-performance memory is becoming just as critical as GPUs and power systems—areas already dominated by Nvidia and Vertiv. That dynamic puts Micron in the sweet spot of one of the most powerful growth stories in the market today.
The fundamentals back up the technical setup. Earnings estimates continue to trend sharply higher, and valuation remains attractive relative to its growth forecasts. Technically, the bull flag consolidation suggests that momentum is simply recharging before the next breakout.
For investors, it appears that Micron may still have substantial room to run. As AI adoption deepens and infrastructure spending scales to unprecedented levels, MU looks well-positioned to join the ranks of the sector’s most consistent winners.
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