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Chicago, IL – October 31, 2025 – Zacks Equity Research shares Vertiv Holdings Co VRT as the Bull of the Day and Lennar Corporation LEN as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Comstock Resources Inc. CRK, Williams WMB and Marathon Petroleum Corp. MPC.
Here is a synopsis of all five stocks.
Wall Street loves picks-and-shovels artificial intelligence stock Vertiv Holdings Co. Investors still have a great chance to buy one of the best-in-class AI infrastructure stocks for long-term upside after it confirmed its bullish outlook with strong Q3 results on October 22.
The digital infrastructure and continuity solutions company stands to be a long-term AI winner no matter which tech giants come out on top or how AI evolves.
VRT stock soared 1,250% in the past three years to blow away Tech’s 160% and every Mag 7 tech stock outside of Nvidia’s 1,400%.
It posted another solid beat-and-raise quarter as it benefits from the “fast-growing, AI-driven market.” Vertiv works directly with Nvidia to solve some of the biggest behind-the-scenes challenges in AI.
Vertiv is projected to double its revenue between 2022 and 2026 and nearly 10X its earnings (from $0.53 to $5.17 a share). And its recent upward earnings revisions land VRT a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Vertiv is a Must-Buy AI Stock for Long-Term Investors
The trite, but true saying about the gold rush was that many of the real winners were the people selling the prospectors the picks and shovels. Of course, people did strike gold, just like some AI companies will eventually successfully monetize various applications.
Vertiv is an AI tech stock that investors should buy because it will play a growing and significant role in future AI developments, regardless of how AI applications evolve and which AI hyperscalers might eventually grab more market share.
Vertiv’s hardware, software, analytics, and ongoing services portfolio is focused on power, cooling, and IT infrastructure, operating across AI data centers, communication networks, and commercial/industrial environments.
The Ohio-based firm’s growing portfolio helps make sure the high-density computing power that drives technological innovation and the economy is running as smoothly as possible 24/7. VRT also boasts a partnership with AI chip titan and the world’s largest tech company, Nvidia NVDA, to help solve critical challenges such as cooling.
The AI stock has a solid balance sheet, and 17 of the 24 brokerage recommendations Zacks has are “Strong Buys.”
Vertiv’s Recent Growth and Strong AI-Boosted Outlook
Vertiv averaged 16% revenue growth between 2021 and 2024. Vertiv expanded its adjusted earnings per share (EPS) from $0.76 in 2021 to $2.85 a share in FY24.
CEO Giordano Albertazzi said earlier this year that its “partnership with Nvidia and our reference designs for their GB200 and GB300 NVL72 platforms position Vertiv at the forefront of AI factory deployment at industrial scale.”
The company posted another beat-and-raise report on October 22 that cemented its AI bull case, with Q3 organic orders up ~60% and 20% sequentially.
VRT expanded its adjusted EPS by 63% to $1.24 a share, topping our estimate by 24% on 29% higher sales. Its growth was boosted by VRT's “increasingly strong competitive position and unique capabilities to enable our customers' most advanced infrastructure needs at scale.”
VRT’s upbeat outlook raised its FY25 consensus by 8% and its FY26 estimate by 7%, helping it land its Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and restarting its upward earnings revisions trends.
“We've built a durable foundation—one that's not easily replicated—and we're leveraging it to unlock value in a fast-growing, AI-driven market. The digital age is just beginning, and Vertiv is continuing to lead,” Executive Chairman Dave Cote said in Q3 remarks.
Vertiv is projected to grow its revenue by 27% in 2025 and 20% next year to reach $12.29 billion in FY26—more than doubling its sales from 2022 ($5.69 billion).
The company is projected to grow its adjusted EPS by 44% and 26%, respectively, following 60% growth in 2024 and 236% expansion in 2023—growing from $0.53 in 2022 to $5.17 in 2026.
Buy Soaring AI Stock Vertiv Now?
Vertiv stock has ripped 1,260% in the past three years, lagging not too far behind Nvidia’s 1,400% and blowing away the next closest Mag 7 stock, Meta’s 620%. VRT has slightly outperformed NVDA over the last two years and crushed Tech’s 100%.
VRT is up 20% in the past month, driven in part by its post-earnings release jump that pushed it to new all-time highs on October 29. That said, the AI stock’s recent run and the broader charge across tech and the AI-everything trade have left Vertiv and the market a bit overheated heading into November.
VRT is sitting at some of its most overbought RSI levels over the past three years. That said, there’s no telling how long the current rally will last. Investors playing the market-timing game could be left potentially watching Vertiv climb higher before its next significant pullback.
Some investors might want to buy some shares now and then buy more Vertiv stock the next time it falls to various technical support levels, such as the 21-day, 50-day, or its previous peak from January and August.
Vertiv’s valuation is a bit stretched, trading near its all-time highs (43.9X) at 40.9X forward 12-month earnings. That said, its price-to-earnings to growth (PEG) ratio, which factors in its huge EPS growth, sits at 1.37, marking a 20% discount to Tech.
Lennar Corporation stock has dropped around 7% since its latest disappointing earnings release on September 18.
The recent negative earnings revisions, which landed the U.S. homebuilding giant a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), extend a prolonged downward trend as Lennar struggles to navigate the slowing housing market and higher mortgages, and persistent inflation.
Time for Investors to Stay Away from Lennar Stock?
Lennar is a U.S. homebuilder powerhouse that’s been in business since the 1950s. The firm specializes in what it calls affordable, move-up, and active adult homes. LEN also develops multifamily rental properties across the country.
On top of that, Lennar offers financial services such as mortgage financing, title, closing services, and more for Lennar homebuyers. The homebuilder went on a massive run of revenue growth between 2012 and 2022, capped off by back-to-back years of over 20% sales growth in FY21 and FY22.
Lennar and the entire housing and homebuilder industry have suffered greatly since then. Mortgage rates surged off their lows, while housing prices and inflation have soared, drying up the housing market. LEN missed of our Q3 earnings estimate on September 18 and offered downbeat guidance.
The company’s “gross margins on home sales were $1.4 billion, or 17.5% in Q3, down from 22.5% in the year-ago period. Lennar’s consensus earnings estimates have dropped around 8.5% for 2025 and 2026 over the last two months, extending its downward trend and earning LEN its Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
Overall, LEN’s consensus earnings estimate for 2025 has tanked 49% over the past year from $16.04 to its current $8.25, while its 2026 estimate tumbled 47% from $16.81 to $9.01.
Lennar’s business will bounce back eventually since the U.S. housing market is in desperate need of more inventory. But it is difficult to say when the housing market will rebound even as the Fed cuts interest rates.
The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage in the U.S. hovers at around 6.17%, which is down from its 2023 highs of 7.8% and near 12-month lows. Still, mortgage rates sit roughly where they were in September 2024.
LEN stock is trying to hold its ground near its long-term 50-week and 200-week moving averages, which are converging. In fact, the chart above shows that Lennar is at risk of seeing its longer-term 200-week cross above its 50-week, which is a bearish sign for technical traders.
It’s likely best for investors to simply keep an eye on Lennar for now and wait for signs of a broader housing market turnaround before they consider buying the beaten-down stock or other homebuilders.
3 Energy Stocks Poised to Outshine Earnings Estimates in Q3
We have reached the middle of the third-quarter earnings season, with several energy giants yet to report results. Since the energy business environment was favorable in the September quarter, Comstock Resources Inc., Williams and Marathon Petroleum Corp. are likely to report better-than-expected earnings.
How Oil & Gas Prices Behave in Q3?
To have an idea of how oil and natural gas prices behave in the September quarter, let's analyze the commodity prices from the data provided by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (“EIA”). The average Cushing, OK, WTI spot prices for July, August and September of this year were $68.39 per barrel, $64.86 per barrel and $63.96 per barrel, respectively, per EIA data.
Commodity prices were $63.54 per barrel, $62.17 per barrel and $68.17 per barrel, respectively, in April, May and June, according to the EIA. Thus, in the first two months of the third quarter of 2025, the oil pricing environment was healthier sequentially.
However, the pricing environment was healthier in the year-ago months. Per EIA data, the average commodity prices were $81.80 per barrel, $76.68 per barrel and $70.24 per barrel, respectively, in July, August and September of 2024.
Given the backdrop, the third-quarter 2025 pricing environment was favorable for exploration and production activities, since the breakeven price in the shale resources is much lower.
For natural gas, the prices were higher than in the September quarter of 2024. According to EIA data, the Henry Hub average natural gas spot prices for July, August and September were $3.20 per million Btu, $2.91 per million Btu and $2.97 per million Btu, respectively, significantly higher than $2.07 per million Btu, $1.99 per million Btu and $2.28 per million Btu in year-ago months.
How to Pick the Right Stocks?
Given the backdrop, it is by no means an easy task for investors to arrive at picks that have the potential to deliver better-than-expected earnings from the vast universe of energy stocks.
While there is no fool-proof method of picking outperformers, our proprietary methodology — the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) — helps identify stocks that have high chances of delivering a surprise in their upcoming earnings announcement. Our research shows that for stocks with this combination, the chance of an earnings surprise is as high as 70%.
The Earnings ESP shows the percentage difference between the Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Our Choices
Comstock Resources, a leading producer of natural gas, is likely to have benefited from a favorable commodity pricing scenario.
Comstock Resourceshas an Earnings ESP of +2.86% and currently carries a Zacks Rank #3. It is scheduled to release its third-quarter results on Nov. 3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Comstock Resources, Inc. price-eps-surprise | Comstock Resources, Inc. Quote
Williams is a well-known name in the midstream business space and is expected to have benefited from stable cash flows generated from its vast pipeline network. Higher natural gas prices are likely to have backed upstream activities, which is expected to have aided WMB’s transportation operations. The firm, scheduled to report earnings on Nov. 3, has an Earnings ESP of +0.56% and a Zacks Rank of 3.
Williams Companies, Inc. (The) price-eps-surprise | Williams Companies, Inc. (The) Quote
Marathon Petroleum is a leading refiner. The company is likely to have gained from year-over-year lower oil prices. The firm, scheduled to release third-quarter earnings on Nov. 4, has an Earnings ESP of +8.68% and a Zacks Rank #3.
Marathon Petroleum Corporation price-eps-surprise | Marathon Petroleum Corporation Quote
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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