Shopify and Bloomin' Brands have been highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 21, 2025 – Zacks Equity Research shares Shopify Inc. SHOP as the Bull of the Day and Bloomin' Brands BLMN as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc. KTOS, Textron Inc. TXT and L3Harris Technologies Inc. LHX.

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

Ottawa, Canada-based Shopify Inc. is a leading global traditional commerce and e-commerce platform that helps businesses of any size to start, scale, market, and manage their business. The Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) company is best-known for managing a platform and services engineered for simplicity and reliability, while delivering a better shopping experience for customers globally.

Merchants leverage Shopify's comprehensive multi-channel commerce platform to run businesses across various sales channels, including web and mobile storefronts, physical retail locations, social media storefronts, and marketplaces. The company offers an integrated back-end system that enables these merchants to effectively and efficiently manage products and inventory, process orders and payments, ship orders, build customer relationships, and leverage analytics.

Shopify's Best-in-Class Products Drive Growth

Merchant-friendly tools, aggressive international expansion, and increased penetration in the payments segment are driving Shopify's growth. Last quarter, merchant solutions revenues jumped 36.6% year-over-year. Additionally, 'Shop Pay' processed $27 billion in revenue in the second quarter (a 65% YoY increase) as the high-growth segment launched in 16 more countries. As a result, SHOP continues to be one of the most consistent double-digit growers on Wall Street.

Shopify Embraces AI, Lands E-commerce Deal with OpenAI

Though private, OpenAI is arguably the most important company on Earth currently. For instance, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) recently surged 43% in a single session after securing a deal with the 'ChatGPT' parent company. Meanwhile, earlier this month, SHOP shares gained more than 6% as volume swelled to double the norm after signing an agreement with OpenAI.

In the terms of the deal, Shopify will integrate with ChatGPT to allow chatbot users to discover and purchase products directly within a ChatGPT conversation, essentially creating a new business. Shopify's collaboration with the fastest-growing application essentially creates a new way to shop online, ensuring that Shopify continues to reach a vast audience.

Additionally, the deal solidifies Shopify as a go-to provider across all commerce platforms. Unlike many software laggards, Shopify is not taking any chances with missing out on new e-commerce avenues. Recently, Shopify integrated with Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, to support yet another direct payment option. Wall Street analysts anticipate that Shopify will generate double-digit revenue for the foreseeable future.

Shopify Delivers Consistent Bullish EPS Surprises

Although Wall Street expectations have been high, Shopify has delivered in recent quarters for bulls. Over the past four quarters, SHOP has beaten Zacks Consensus Analyst Estimates by an average of 13.62%.

Bottom Line

With its continued innovation, strategic partnerships, and consistent earnings outperformance, Shopify remains at the forefront of the global e-commerce revolution. By integrating cutting-edge technologies like AI and blockchain while expanding its payment and merchant solutions, the company is positioning itself for sustained long-term growth.

Bear of the Day:

Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) stock Bloomin' Brands is one of the world's largest casual and upscale dining restaurant operators. Founded in 1988, Bloomin' Brands manages and operates nearly 1,500 restaurants in the United States and internationally. BLMN's casual dining concepts include 'Outback Steakhouse,' an Australian themed steakhouse, and 'Carrabba's Italian Grill,' a casual Italian eatery. On the upscale side, Bloomin' Brand's operates 'Bonefish Grill,' a seafood restaurant, and 'Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar,' a fine dining steakhouse concept.

Bloomin' Suffers from Slowing Traffic

Although US inflation numbers are relatively normal currently, households with incomes under $100k have been splurging on restaurants less often and are remain in a tough financial position as excess COVID-19 savings runs out. Lower income families are not only cutting back on eating out, but also ordering less appetizers and desserts when they do. Meanwhile, Bloomin' Brands faces cutthroat competition in the casual dining arena. As a result, Zacks Conensus Analyst Estimates predict stagnant top-and-bottom line growth through 2026.

Bloomin' Brands Margins are Shrinking

To keep up with rising competition, BLMN has had to spend more on advertising. Additionally, rising labor costs, maintenance costs, and food-input inflation are squeezing BLMN's margins. In a troubling trend, BLMN gross margins have slid from nearly 50% in late 2024 to 37.15% currently.

BLMN: Relative Price Weakness

Despite the strong bull market in US equities, BLMN shares are down nearly 40% year-to-date – a troubling sign of relative weakness. In addition, BLMN shares are stuck below the 200-day moving average. As Paul Tudor Jones warns, "Nothing good happens below the 200-day moving average."

Health-Conscious Trends Pose Challenge for Bloomin' Brands

With the advent of health-conscious podcasts and more health information available than ever before, consumers are growing more health-conscious, avoiding indulgent items on Bloomin' Brands menu such as the deep fried 'Bloomin Onion.' Younger demographics increasingly favor lighter, cleaner menu options.

Bottom Line

Bloomin' Brands faces numerous challenges, from slowing traffic and shrinking margins to evolving consumer preferences.

Additional content:

A drone, also called an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), operates autonomously or through a remote control with no pilot on board. The technology has evolved over the years to graduate from basic civilian and military operations to highly advanced missions, making drones an indispensable tool in various industries.

We have narrowed our search to three drone-technology-centric bigwigs that provide the hardware and software to operate drones. These stocks will provide stability to your portfolio in 2026.

These stocks are: Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc., Textron Inc. and L3Harris Technologies Inc.. 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.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc.

Kratos Defense & Security's growth prospects are backed by America's stable funding provisions. Apart from manufacturing unmanned aerial drone systems, KTOS focuses on expanding its product portfolio with other products, especially in hypersonic.

KTOS' diverse product portfolio resulted in a backlog worth $1.41 billion at the end of the second quarter. President Donald Trump's proposal to boost the nation's fiscal 2026 defense budget by 13% should bode well for KTOS.

Kratos Defense & Security has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 15.7% and 4.8%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 2% over the past 90 days.

KTOS has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 19.1% and 40.9%, respectively, for the next year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for next-year earnings has improved 1.4% over the past seven days.

Textron Inc.

Textron has been benefiting from improving commercial air passenger traffic in its Aviation business unit. Apart from its strong presence in the commercial aerospace market, TXT enjoys solid demand for its defense products. TXT has been innovating products to capture more shares in the diverse markets it serves.

Apart from its strong presence in the commercial aerospace market, TXT enjoys solid demand for its defense products as well. To this end, it is imperative to mention that in the second quarter of 2025, TXT's Bell segment signed a contract with the Tunisian Air Force for 12 SUBARU Bell 412EPXs, while Textron Aviation partnered with Thai Aviation Industries to support the Royal Thai Air Force.

Textron has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 8% and 12.2%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.2% over the past seven days.

TXT has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 3.5% and 10.2%, respectively, for the next year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for next year's earnings has improved 0.1% over the past seven days.

L3Harris Technologies Inc.

L3Harris Technologies enjoys a strong presence in the U.S. defense industry. Solid U.S. defense budget funding provisions should bolster its revenues. LHX is poised to contribute to the U.S. administration's Golden Dome initiative through its missile warning sensors.

LHX also witnessed strong demand for its defensive solutions from Asia-Pacific, Latin America, South America, and the NATO allies of the United States. Positive synergies from acquisitions have been bolstering LHX's growth.

L3Harris Technologies has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 2.1% and -19.7%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.1% over the past seven days.

LHX has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 6.3% and 17.8%, respectively, for the next year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for next year's earnings has improved 0.2% over the past seven days.

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