Plexus (PLXS) shares soared 7.5% in the last trading session to close at $172.35. The move was backed by solid volume with far more shares changing hands than in a normal session. This compares to the stock's 0.4% gain over the past four weeks.
The increase in share price can be attributed to broader strength in electronics manufacturing services (EMS) tied to AI and industrial demand. It is gaining from program ramps and ended fiscal 2025 with 141 manufacturing wins totaling $941 million of annualized revenues. The company expects new ramps across all three segments to aid fiscal 2026 revenue growth, assuming a modest improvement in end-market demand.
Elevated global geopolitical tensions have pushed governments to increase defense budgets. This supports long-cycle demand for mission-critical electronics, a core strength of Plexus.
This electronic manufacturing services company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.77 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +2.3%. Revenues are expected to be $1.07 billion, up 9.7% from the year-ago quarter.
Earnings and revenue growth expectations certainly give a good sense of the potential strength in a stock, but empirical research shows that trends in earnings estimate revisions are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements.
For Plexus, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. And a stock's price usually doesn't keep moving higher in the absence of any trend in earnings estimate revisions. So, make sure to keep an eye on PLXS going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.
The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>
Plexus is part of the Zacks Electronics - Manufacturing Services industry. Celestica (CLS), another stock in the same industry, closed the last trading session 4.4% higher at $328.56. CLS has returned 3.9% in the past month.
Celestica's consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has changed +1.2% over the past month to $1.73. Compared to the company's year-ago EPS, this represents a change of +55.9%. Celestica currently boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
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Plexus Corp. (PLXS): Free Stock Analysis Report Celestica, Inc. (CLS): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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