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Chicago, IL – December 2, 2025 – Zacks Equity Research shares Cirrus Logic CRUS as the Bull of the Day and F5 FFIV as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on RTX Corp. RTX, General Dynamics Corp. GD and Northrop Grumman Corp. NOC.
Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:
Cirrus Logic is a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) that has a C for Value and a D for Growth. This company is a fabless semiconductor supplier and the chip sector remains very hot. The Zacks Style Score for Value is only a C, but I think that grade is rather low as most of the metrics investors typically look to are very good. Let's learn more about why this stock is the Bull of the Day.
Cirrus Logic, Inc. engages in the development of mixed-signal processing solutions. Its product lines include audio and High-Performance Mixed-Signal (HPMS) products. It operates through the following geographical segments: China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, South Korea, India, United States, and Rest of World. The company was founded by Suhas S. Patil and Michael L. Hackworth in 1984 and is headquartered in Austin, TX.
When I look at a stock, the first thing I do is look to see if the company is beating the number. This tells me right away where the market's expectations have been for the company and how management has communicated to the market. A stock that consistently beats has management communicating expectations to Wall Street that can be achieved. That is what you want to see.
Cirrus Logic (CRUS) has topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters. The company most recently posted EPS of $2.83 per shar when the Zacks Consensus Estimate was calling for $2.40. That 43 cent beat translates into a 17.9% positive earnings surprise.
Over the last four quarters the average positive surprise works out to be 31%.
Estimates are moving higher for Cirrus Logic (CRUS).
The full year 2025 has increased from $7.07 to $7.73 over the last 60 days.
2026 has increased from $7.05 to $7.32 over the same time period.
The valuation for Cirrus Logic (CRUS) is interesting given the growth prospects. Forward earnings multiple of 15.5x is pretty low due to the fact that this fiscal year revenue is projected to contract by 1.65%. Next fiscal year the company is expected to see revenue growth of 1.2%. The price to book multiple comes in just a hair over 3x and that is the level that will keep value investors interested in this stock.
Operating margins have increased from 17.9% to 18.5% to 19.8% over the last three quarters.
F5 is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) despite recently beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The stock has a Zacks Style Score for Value of F and a B for Growth. This article will look at why this stock is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) as it is the Bear of the Day.
F5, Inc. engages in the business of multi-cloud application services. The firm's products include F5 distributed cloud services, F5 NGINX, F5 BIG-IP, and F5 Systems. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, EMEA, and APAC. The company was founded on February 26, 1996 and is headquartered in Seattle, WA.
When I look at a stock, the first thing I do is look to see if the company is beating the number. This tells me right away where the market's expectations have been for the company and how management has communicated to the market. A stock that consistently beats has management communicating expectations to Wall Street that can be achieved. That is what you want to see.
In the case F5, I see the company has beaten the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters. This alone does not make the stock a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and it doesn't make it a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) either.
The Zacks Rank does care about the earnings history, but it is much more heavily influenced by the movement of earnings estimates.
The most recent quarter saw the company report EPS of $4.39 when the consensus was calling for $3.96.
The Zacks Rank tells us which stocks are seeing earnings estimates move higher or in this case lower. For F5 I see annual estimates for next year moving lower of late.
The current fiscal year consensus number has slid from $16.00 to $14.99 over the last 90 days.
The next fiscal year has moved from $16.94 to $16.10 over the last 90 days.
Negative movement in earnings estimates like that is why this stock is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
It should be noted that a lot of stocks in the Zacks universe are seeing negative earnings estimate revisions. That means that the stocks that are seeing small but negative earnings estimate revisions are falling to a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
Renewed great-power competition in the Pacific and protracted wars in Europe and the Middle East have pushed defence budgets and investor interest sharply higher, creating a powerful tailwind for aerospace and defence contractors. Governments are not only replenishing ammunition and missile stocks but also accelerating investment in missiles, air defence, space and autonomous systems.
This policy backdrop helps explain why many large U.S. defence names have outperformed the broader market this year. Defence programs are long-term in nature, often funded through multi-year appropriations, and benefit from higher unit volumes and renewed focus on domestic supply chains. Recent regional moves, such as Taiwan's large supplemental defence proposal, underline how specific flashpoints have turned into durable procurement programs.
Earnings and order books have generally reinforced that narrative. Several contractors reported expanded backlogs and upgraded guidance in 2025 after stronger-than-expected missile and space demand, while others faced program-specific boosts that tempered returns. This showed that the sector is a mix of steady government cashflows and project execution risk. Investors have therefore tended to reward firms with clean execution, growing missile/space franchises and exposure to allied rearmament.
Three major stocks from the Zacks Aerospace – Defense industry that have done well in 2025 are RTX Corp., General Dynamics Corp. and Northrop Grumman Corp. which have jumped 54%, 32.3% and 23.6% year to date, respectively, as of Nov. 28. RTX, GD and NOC carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Strong demand for missile systems, air-defense platforms, space technologies and classified programs has boosted RTC's backlog, while GD has gained from robust shipbuilding orders and steady demand for military vehicles and aerospace services. NOC has advanced on increased investment in strategic deterrence, autonomous systems and space-based defense assets. Reliable execution, rising multi-year contracts and improved supply-chain stability have helped all three outperform the broader market this year.
This year, geopolitics and policy have driven tangible spending decisions, and investors have rewarded companies that convert that demand into bookable orders and reliable execution. That said, program risk and supply-chain friction remain real constraints, so the sector's winners this year will need to prove they can sustain margin and gains into 2026.
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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss.This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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