Advanced Energy and Boise Cascade have been highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 21, 2025 – Zacks Equity Research shares Advanced Energy Industries AEIS as the Bull of the Day and Boise Cascade Co. BCC as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Citigroup Inc. C, Bank of America BAC and JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM.

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks.

Bull of the Day:

Advanced Energy Industries is a leader in precision power conversion and beyond for artificial intelligence (AI) chips, data centers, and other critical growth areas of technology and the economy.

The tech firm’s growth outlook improved again after another big beat-and-raise quarter in early November, spurred by “increased demand for our AI data center solutions.”

Advanced Energy Industries grew its Data Center Computing segment revenue by 113% in Q3. Its recent AI data center infrastructure ramp-up makes AEIS a strong picks-and-shovels AI stock for investors to consider buying now and in 2026.

AEIS’s recent upward earnings revisions confirmed its bullish AI-boosted outlook and help Advanced Energy Industries earn a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

The stock has doubled the Tech sector (+1,500) over the last 15 years, including a Tech and Nvidia crushing 60% charge in 2025.

The recent AI-driven pullback offers investors a great opportunity to purchase Advanced Energy Industries stock nearly 20% below its highs.

Despite the drop on Thursday, Nvidia confirmed that the AI arms race remains full steam ahead. The selling marks a healthy recalibration to shake the froth off the top of an overheated market.

AEIS is attempting to hold its ground at a key moving average, with any larger pullback likely marking an even better entry point for long-term investors. Simply put, if investors were happy about buying AI stocks like AEIS several weeks ago, they should be even more excited now.

Buy Top-Ranked AEIS Stock and Hold for AI Upside

Advanced Energy Industries designs and makes precision power conversion, measurement, and control solutions. The firm’s various products and solutions serve customers across critical industries such as semiconductor equipment, energy, manufacturing, networking and telecommunications, and, more importantly, AI data centers.

AEIS’s largest market has traditionally been semiconductor manufacturing. Its power conversion systems enable some of the key processes needed to build advanced chips, including the current king of tech, AI GPUs like the ones Nvidia makes.

AEIS has recently experienced explosive growth in data center computing, helping supply the efficient, high-power-density power conversion tech used in massive AI server racks from AI hyperscalers like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon.

Demand for AEIS's newest ultra-efficient converters has surged amid the AI arms race. Its Data Center Computing revenue soared roughly 108% in the first three quarters of 2025.

Advanced Energy Industries has transformed into an AI infrastructure company and a classic picks and shovels investment to capture the AI data center boom, no matter who the forward-facing winners are.

The company is also well diversified, with an established track record of growth long before AI. On top of that, it pays a dividend, which is supported by its sturdy balance sheet.

The AI Infrastructure Company’s Growth Outlook

Advanced Energy Industries grew its Q3 revenue by 23% and its adjusted earnings by 78%. Its top and bottom lines were boosted by its data center segment, which skyrocketed 113% YoY and 21% sequentially.

The company topped our Q3 EPS estimate by 18% marking its fourth-straight 18% beat. “Third quarter results surpassed the high end of our guidance due to increased demand for our AI data center solutions,” CEO Steve Kelley said in a statement.

The company boosted its guidance on the back of its bullish AI runway. AEIS saw its Q4 consensus earnings estimate jump 16% since its November 4 release, with its 2026 estimate 14% higher.

The AI data center stock’s upbeat EPS outlook, which includes its Most Accurate estimates coming in well above consensus, helps it land a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) right now.

Buy this AI Data Center Stock On the Dip, Or Wait?

AEIS stock skyrocketed 1,500% over the past 15 years to double the Tech sector. This run includes a Tech and Nvidia crushing 60% charge in 2025 that saw it break out meaningfully above its previous trading range that it was stuck in between early 2021 until the summer of 2025.

The AI data center stock fell to its 50-day moving average on Thursday following the broader market selloff.

The downturn came despite Nvidia’s latest blockbuster quarter that confirmed the AI race remains in high gear. The selling is healthy and shows that the bulls are ready to finally take some profits after a huge run off the April lows.

Advanced Energy Industries' stock has no doubt cooled down in terms of RSI levels. Still, it might face more selling pressure if the broader selloff ramps up.

Of course, market timing is exceedingly difficult, meaning investors might want to dip their toes in now in case a near-term bottom is already in. If not, long-term investors can buy more AEIS shares at even lower prices down the road.

If its earnings growth holds up, AEIS stock looks cheap compared to Tech. It trades at a 30% discount to the Zacks Tech sector and 80% below its recent highs with a price/earnings-to-growth (PEG) ratio of 0.99 (vs. Tech’s 1.4 and its 5.6 highs).

Bear of the Day:

Boise Cascade Co. is an engineered wood products and plywood giant. BCC stock has tumbled 50% in the past 12 months as Wall Street dumps the stock based on a variety of industry-specific headwinds and macroeconomic challenges.

The engineered wood products maker provided disappointing guidance once again when it reported its third quarter 2025 results on November 3.

Boise Cascade’s negative earnings per share (EPS) revisions following its release earn the stock a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) and prolong its string of downward EPS revisions.

Should Investors Stay Away from BCC Stock for Now?

Boise Cascade is a leading producer of engineered wood products and plywood. The company is also a huge player in the wholesale distribution of building products in the U.S.

BCC posted an impressive stretch of top-line expansion between 2012 and 2022, highlighted by 18% growth in 2020 and 45% in 2021, driven by the wild Covid-driven housing and home improvement boom.

Boise Cascade followed that up with another 6% sales growth in 2022 before tumbling against a tough to compete against stretch and broader headwinds that are challenging the entire housing-related market.

Mortgage rates soared off their lows, while housing prices and inflation have skyrocketed as well, drying up the housing market, crushing demand. On top of that, commodity prices are hurting Boise Cascade. The massive Covid-era pull forward is also hard to overstate and overcome in the short run since it disrupted so much.

The company’s sales fell 19% in 2023 and 2% in 2024, while its earnings tanked roughly 40% and 20%, respectively. Most recently, Boise Cascade adjusted EPS plummeted 75% YoY in Q3 FY25 on 3% lower sales, as it faces “subdued demand and commodity pricing headwinds.”

BCC’s Q4 earnings estimate tanked 51% since its early November release, with its fiscal 2025 estimate 18% lower and its FY26 consensus down 18%. This backdrop lands Boise Cascade its Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), extending its nearly two-year run of plummeting earnings estimates.

The company did announce on November 18 that it reached an agreement to purchase “Humphrey Company, Inc., a leading two-step distributor of building materials located in Chicopee, Massachusetts, with approximately $145 million in revenue over the last 12 months.” The move helps BCC expand its reach and grow in the key northeast region.

The stock could also possibly benefit from a potential rotation out of tech. Investors high on Boise Cascade long-term might consider adding BCC to their watchlists instead of buying it right now amid all the headwinds and unknowns surrounding the housing market.

Additional content:

Citigroup's Card Metrics Improve Year Over Year: What It Means for Asset Quality

Citigroup Inc.’s subsidiary, Citibank N.A., reported mixed credit card performance for October 2025 in its latest SEC filing. For the period ending October 2025, the Citibank Credit Card Master Trust delinquency rate increased to 1.42% from 1.38% in September 2025. However, the figure decreased from 1.52% recorded in October 2024. It also declined from the 1.58% level posted in October 2019.

Meanwhile, the Credit Card Issuance Trustnet charge-off rate declined to 1.95% in October 2025 from 2.50% in the prior month. The figure also dropped from 2.36% in October 2024 and 2.61% in October 2019.

Citibank’s lending activity showed a slight slowdown. Principal receivables stood at $20.2 billion compared with $20.3 billion at the beginning of September 2025. On a year-over-year basis, receivables declined 6.9%.

While the improvement in net charge-offs and delinquencies on a year-over-year basis is encouraging and suggests near-term stability in repayment behavior, the continued slide in receivables highlights underlying consumer strain amid persistently high borrowing costs. Further, the company’s net credit losses (NCL) witnessed a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.3% over the past four years ended in 2024. In the first nine months of 2025, NCL rose 2.2% year over year. Also, the bank’s provisions for credit losses expanded at a CAGR of 38.9% from 2022 to 2024, and the rising trend continued in the first nine months of 2025.

Looking ahead, Citigroup’s profitability may face headwinds from the continued rise in credit losses in its Branded Cards portfolio. Management expects Branded Cards' NCL between 3.50% and 4% in 2025. Retail Services NCL is projected to be between 5.75% and 6.25%. In 2024, Branded Cards and Retail Services reported net credit losses of 3.64% and 6.27%, respectively.

Should economic conditions weaken further, losses may accelerate, prompting higher loan-loss provisions and pressuring earnings. Also, with interest rates expected to stay elevated for longer, borrowers’ repayment capacity will remain under strain. These dynamics suggest that Citigroup’s asset quality is likely to remain under pressure in the near term.

How Citigroup Compares with Peers in Credit Card Performance

Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase & Co. also reported the October 2025 card delinquency rate and charge-off.

Bank of America’s BA Master Credit Card Trust II reported a delinquency rate of 1.38% in October, down from 1.52% a year earlier. Bank of America’s net charge-off rate fell to 2.11% from 2.41% in October 2024.

JPMorgan Issuance Trust's delinquency rate edged up to 0.88% in October from 0.87% in the prior year, indicating a slight increase in past-due accounts. Further, JPMorgan’s net charge-off rate declined to 1.44% from 1.62% in October 2024.

C’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Shares of Citigroup have gained 36% over the past six months compared with the industry’s growth of 18.8%.

From a valuation standpoint, C trades at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 10.35X, below the industry’s average of 14.06X.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for C’s 2025 and 2026 earnings implies year-over-year rallies of 27.4% and 31.2%, respectively. The estimates for 2025 and 2026 have been revised upward over the past 30 days.

Estimates Revision Trend

Currently, C carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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