Celestica Margin Pressure Likely to Continue on Macro Woes

Celestica Inc. CLS remains skeptical of the dynamic macro environment owing to trade policy uncertainty. While the business environment remains fluid with frequent policy adjustments, recent announcements have provided near-term clarity with the U.S. government offering temporary exemptions for key data center IT hardware, including servers and networking switches, which comprise the majority of its Connectivity & Cloud Solutions (CCS) segment. 

Moreover, Celestica’s products are highly sophisticated and typically based on the latest technological innovations, which have historically led to high research and development costs. High operating expenses have pressed margins. 

With more than two decades of experience in manufacturing backed by a simplified and global network, Celestica is committed to delivering next-generation, cloud-optimized data storage and industry-leading networking AI (artificial intelligence) solutions to help customers balance performance, power efficiency and space as technologies evolve. Operating primarily as a behind-the-scenes partner for other electronics businesses, it is among the lesser-known winners of the AI revolution. Celestica is collaborating with its customers to evaluate the evolving policy landscape and take necessary actions, which may cloud its near-term growth prospects.

Other Peers Marred By Margin Issues

Jabil Inc.’s JBL profitability is hurt by supply chain disruptions and elevated variable costs. The tense geopolitical situation between the United States and China and the wars in Europe and the Middle East remain additional headwinds. Against the backdrop of this global uncertainty, low demand in some consumer-centric markets is negatively impacting Jabil’s margins. Moreover, Jabil has been witnessing a slowdown in multiple end markets owing to demand softness in connected living, network and communications verticals. Fluctuating demand patterns in the electric vehicle (EV) market induced by changes in EV tariffs and government incentives in some regions are hurting net sales.

Sanmina Corporation SANM has been heavily affected by supply-chain disruptions over the past few years. Owing to current geopolitical events, the company is experiencing delays and shortages of critical components, including capacitors, resistors and other components. The lack of availability of such components is piling up the inventory, as Sanmina cannot manufacture the finished goods without all the related parts. This has led to a delay in customer delivery. Moreover, Sanmina’s reliance on a limited number of key suppliers further heightened the problem. Management expects supply chain issues will likely persist in the short to medium term.

CLS' Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates

Celestica has surged 125.8% over the past year compared with the industry’s growth of 56.4%.

From a valuation standpoint, CLS trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 1.26, above the industry.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CLS’ earnings for 2025 has been on the rise over the past 60 days.

Celestica currently 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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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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