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Chicago, IL – June 25, 2025 – Zacks Equity Research shares Limbach Holdings, Inc. LMB as the Bull of the Day and Robert Half Inc. RHI as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on NIKE, Inc. NKE, lululemon athletica inc. LULU and adidas AG ADDYY.
Here is a synopsis of all five stocks.
Limbach Holdings, Inc. remains a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stock after a huge triple digit earnings beat in the first quarter of 2025. Earnings are expected to grow doubled digits this year.
Limbach is a building systems solutions firm that partners with building owners and facilities managers who have mission critical mechanical, which includes heating, ventilation and air conditioning, electrical and plumbing infrastructure.
It works in six vertical markets: healthcare, industrial and manufacturing, data centers, life science, higher education and cultural and entertainment.
Limbach has 20 offices across the eastern United States with 1,400 team members.
On May 5, 2025, Limbach reported its first quarter results and blew by the Zacks Consensus Estimate by $0.82, or 273.3%. Limbach posted earnings of $1.12 compared to the Zacks Consensus of just $0.30.
It was the 10th earnings surprise in a row.
Revenue rose 11.9% to $133.1 million from $119 million a year ago.
The company has a strategy of growing its higher margin Owner Direct Relationships (“ODR”) business. The ODR revenue was up 21.7% to $90.4 million in the quarter. That was 67.9% of total revenue up from 62.4% last year.
Typically, the first quarter is the company’s softest due to weather and customer budget seasonality, but Limbach still found momentum in March.
Total gross profit percentage rose to 27.6% from 26.1% in the quarter mainly driven by the mix of higher margin ODR segment work and the company being more selective when pursuing General Contractor Relationships (“GCR”) work.
Limbach gained traction in key end markets like healthcare.
As of Mar 31, 2025, cash and cash equivalents were $38.1 million. Also as of Mar 31, 2025, current assets were $204.5 million and current liabilities were $131.7 million, representing a current ratio of 1.55x.
Limbach expects its ODR mix shift for the year to be between 70% and 80%.
ODR revenue growth is expected to be between 23% and 46% with total growth margins between 28% and 29%.
Analysts are bullish on Limbach. 2 earnings estimates were raised after the earnings report in May which pushed the Zacks Consensus Estimate up to $4.39 from $3.45. That’s earnings growth of 21.9% as the company made $3.60 last year.
2 estimates are also higher for 2026 in the last 60 days, but analysts aren’t looking too far ahead. They are projecting earnings growth of just 3.5% to $4.54 for 2026.
With double digit earnings growth expected, and Limbach being in the mission critical building systems solutions industry when data centers are hot, it’s not surprising that the shares have soared.
Limbach is not a cheap stock. It now has a forward P/E of 32. But you are investing in it for the strong growth.
Earnings growth for the next 3 to 5 years is forecast at 12%.
If you’re looking for a growth and momentum stock in the building systems solutions industry, Limbach should be on your short list.
Robert Half Inc. is expected to see both a sales and earnings decline in 2025 as the job market remains weak. This Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) has also fallen to a five-year low.
Robert Half is a specialized talent solutions and business consulting firm. It helps people find a job.
It offers contract talent and permanent placement solutions in the fields of finance and accounting, technology, marketing and creative, legal, and administrative and customer support. It also provides executive search services.
On Apr 23, 2025, Robert Half reported its first quarter 2025 results and it missed on earnings by $0.19. It reported $0.17 versus the consensus of $0.36.
It was the second miss in a row and the third miss out of the last four quarters.
It compares to $0.61 a share for the prior year’s quarter.
Global enterprise revenues were down 8% on a reported basis, and 6% on an adjusted basis, to $1.352 billion from $1.476 billion a year ago.
Business is headed in the wrong direction.
“Business confidence levels moderated during the quarter in response to heightened economic uncertainty over U.S. trade and other policy developments,” said M. Keith Waddell, CEO.
“Client and job seeker caution continues to elongate decision cycles and subdue hiring activity and new project starts,” he added.
Earnings have fallen in the prior two years, in 2023 and 2024.
Analysts don’t see a turnaround in the business in 2025 with earnings falling for the third year as well. 1 estimate was cut in the last 60 days for 2025 which pushed the Zacks Consensus down to $1.78 from $2.02.
They do expected a rebound in 2026, with the Zacks Consensus rising back to $2.58.
Wall Street abandoned Robert Half in 2025. Shares of Robert Half have fallen to 5-year lows.
They’re down 18.3% over the last 5 years compared to the S&P 500, which has gained 101% during that same time.
And it isn’t cheap. Robert Half trades with a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 22.7. A P/E ratio under 15 is usually considered a value stock.
However, it is paying a dividend in 2025 so you will get rewarded for your patience. Last quarter, it paid $0.59 per share, which is $2.36 annualized. That’s a yield of 5.9%.
But be warned. The 2025 Zacks Consensus is only looking for earnings of $1.78. Will it continue to pay out that level of dividend with earnings on the decline?
Investors might want to wait on the sidelines until Robert Half reports its second quarter 2025 results in late July. Will there be a light at the end of the tunnel?
NIKE, Inc. has been grappling with sustained margin pressures for a while. Margins, a critical barometer of profitability, have been under strain for Nike, due to factors including aggressive discounting to clear excess inventory, rising product and logistics costs, elevated tariffs, currency volatility and changes in channel mix.
In third-quarter fiscal 2025, NKE’s gross profit fell 16% year over year, whereas gross margin contracted 330 basis points (bps) to 41.5%. The gross margin decline was caused by higher markdowns on Nike Direct, higher wholesale discounts, inventory obsolescence, elevated product costs and headwinds in channel mix.
Persistent margin pressures are expected to continue, as management had predicted the gross margin to decline nearly 400-500 bps in fourth-quarter fiscal 2025, inclusive of the prior-year restructuring charges and anticipated tariff impacts on imports from China and Mexico. Our model predicts gross margin contraction of 450 bps for the fiscal fourth quarter.
Nevertheless, management is confident that the fiscal fourth quarter is likely to reflect higher benefits from NKE’s Win Now strategy, with headwinds to revenues and margin likely to moderate thereafter. It continues to manage through external factors, ranging from geopolitical dynamics and tariffs to foreign exchange, tax policies and uncertainty to consumer confidence.
In addition, initiatives like full-price selling in digital channels, inventory liquidation, maintaining a full-price orderbook with the wholesale partners, easing tariff-cost pressures, supply-chain diversification, strategic pricing and forward-looking innovations might restore margins on the growth trajectory in the long haul.
lululemon athletica inc. and adidas AG are the key companies competing with Nike.
lululemon is focused on driving margins through strategic pricing, innovations, supply-chain diversification and geographic expansion. The company is introducing modest price hikes on high-demand items and launching differentiated products to reinforce its brand. Contrary to Nike, lululemon has been witnessing improved margin trends for a while now, buoyed by improvement in product margin, supported by lower product costs, reduced damages and better markdowns.
These factors led to 60-bps gross margin expansion in first-quarter fiscal 2025 and 100 bps in the preceding quarter. Broad-based gains across channels, categories and key markets, particularly the United States, underscore continued strength and adaptability of its business model. Positive response to its product innovations, newness and brand activations further bolster its margins.
adidas is another sporting goods titan vying for a larger slice of the global sportswear industry. The company has implemented several margin-growth initiatives to boost profitability. These include cutting down on product and freight costs, optimizing product mix, streamlining operations and managing discounting.
These efforts have driven gross margin expansion of 0.9 percentage points in first-quarter 2025, backed by reduced product and freight costs and fewer markdowns. The year-over-year rise in adidas brand’s gross margin was even more pronounced, increasing 1.6 percentage points. adidas’ brand strength including a diversified product portfolio, along with a sharper focus on local consumer preferences and strengthened relationships with retail partners, will continue to serve as the catalysts for growth.
Shares of Nike have lost 17.6% year to date compared with the industry’s decline of 18.1%.
From a valuation standpoint, NKE trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 31.28X compared with the industry’s average of 24.76X.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NKE’s fiscal 2025 and 2026 earnings implies a year-over-year plunge of 45.8% and 12.1%, respectively. The company’s EPS estimate for fiscal 2025 has been stable and that of fiscal 2026 has moved down in the past 30 days.
Nike stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
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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