Zacks.com featured highlights include Jabil, Ciena, Commercial Metals and Plains All American Pipeline

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – January 6, 2026 – Stocks in this week’s article are Jabil Inc. JBL, Ciena Corp. CIEN, Commercial Metals Co. CMC and Plains All American Pipeline LP PAA.

Why Relative Price Strength Matters More Heading into 2026

U.S. stocks are entering the new year with strong momentum after several years of solid gains. The rally has matured, but has not broken. Inflation has eased, growth expectations are improving, and earnings forecasts still point higher. Add in the ongoing push from artificial intelligence (AI), and 2026 is beginning with optimism rather than fear as investors remain focused on the bigger trend.

That said, the ride has not been smooth. Trade concerns, policy uncertainty, and shifting rate expectations created sharp swings along the way. Even so, cooling inflation, resilient consumers, and better-than-feared earnings have helped stocks recover quickly. Heavy investment in AI, data centers, and cloud infrastructure continues to provide a strong underlying tailwind.

As the calendar turns, relative price strength stands out as a smart strategy. Stocks already leading the market often continue to rule, making strength a useful guide in a still-constructive market.

At this stage, investors would be wise to consider stocks such as Jabil Inc., Ciena Corp., Commercial Metals Co. and Plains All American Pipeline LP.

Relative Price Strength Strategy

Whether a stock has the potential to offer considerable returns is determined primarily by its earnings and valuation ratios. Simultaneously, it is essential to check whether its price performance exceeds its peers or the industry average.

Upon such comparison, if we find that a stock is unable to match up to wider sectoral growth despite having impressive earnings momentum or valuation multiples, it may be better to avoid it.

However, those outperforming their respective industries or benchmarks should be included in your portfolio since they have a higher chance of securing significant returns. Picking a stock that outperforms its peers ensures a winning option on your hands.

Then again, it is imperative that you determine whether or not an investment has relevant upside potential when considering stocks with significant relative price strength. Stocks delivering better than the S&P 500 for 1 to 3 months, at least, and having solid fundamentals, indicate room for growth and the best way to go about this strategy.

Finally, it is crucial to find out whether analysts are optimistic about the upcoming earnings of these companies. In order to do this, we have added positive estimate revisions for the current quarter’s (Q1) earnings to our screen. When a stock undergoes an upward revision, it leads to additional price gains.

Here are four of the eight stocks that made it through the screen:

Jabil Inc.: Based in Saint Petersburg, FL, it is one of the largest global suppliers of electronic manufacturing services. JBL has a market capitalization of more than $25 billion. The company has a VGM Score of A.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Jabil’s fiscal 2026 earnings per share indicates 18.5% year-over-year growth. Over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its fiscal 2026 earnings has moved up 4.5%. JBL shares have surged 58% in a year.

Ciena Corp.: Based in Hanover, MD, the company a leading provider of optical networking equipment, software and services. Ciena’s expected EPS growth rate for three to five years is currently 41.8%, which compares favorably with the industry's growth rate of 30%. CIEN has a VGM Score of B.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ciena’s fiscal 2026 earnings per share indicates 97.7% year-over-year growth. Over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its fiscal 2026 earnings has moved up from $4.36 per share to $5.22. CIEN shares have gone up 191.2% in a year.

Commercial Metals Co.: It manufactures, recycles and markets steel and metal products, related materials and services. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 earnings of the company indicates 125.2% growth. Headquartered in Irving, TX, CMC has a VGM Score of A.

The firm has a market capitalization of $8 billion. Notably, over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Commercial Metals’ fiscal 2026 earnings has moved up 21.3%. CMC’s shares have gained 42.4% in a year.

Plains All American Pipeline LP: Headquartered in Houston, TX, Plains All American Pipeline is focused on moving and storing crude oil and natural gas liquids across North America. PAA has a market capitalization of nearly $13 billion. It has a VGM Score of A.

Notably, over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Plains All American Pipeline’s 2026 earnings has moved up 6.8%. PAA beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in two of the last four quarters and missed in the other two, with the average being 4.2%. Plains All American Pipeline units have gained 3.6% in a year.

You can get the rest of the stocks on this list by signing up now for your 2-week free trial to the Research Wizard and start using this screen in your own trading. Further, you can also create your own strategies and test them first before taking the investment plunge.

The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your Research Wizard trial today. And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out.

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For the rest of this Screen of the Week article please visit Zacks.com at: https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2811777/why-relative-price-strength-matters-more-heading-into-2026

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