For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – July 22, 2026 – Zacks Equity Research shares Kronos Worldwide KRO as the Bull of the Day and Baidu BIDU as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Freeport-McMoRan Inc. FCX, Southern Copper Corp. SCCO and BHP Group Ltd. BHP.
Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:
Bull of the Day:
Sometimes the best opportunities emerge in industries that investors have all but forgotten. While everyone is so engrossed in the AI trade and all the suppliers around it, there are plenty of names that have fallen by the wayside. Among them is today's Bull of the Day, a stock with solid earnings growth that's flying under the radar.
I'm talking about Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) Kronos Worldwide. Kronos Worldwide is one of the world's leading producers of titanium dioxide, the white pigment found in everything from paint and plastics to paper and coatings. After enduring several difficult years of weak industrial demand and pricing pressure, the cycle appears to be turning, and Kronos is well positioned to benefit.
The biggest catalyst is improving demand across key end markets. As manufacturing activity stabilizes globally and housing-related demand gradually recovers, customers are beginning to rebuild inventories after an extended period of destocking. Titanium dioxide pricing has also shown signs of firming, giving Kronos the opportunity to expand margins after several quarters of compressed profitability. For a cyclical business like KRO, even modest pricing improvements can have an outsized impact on earnings.
Lower raw material and energy costs provide another tailwind. Kronos has spent the past few years navigating elevated input costs that squeezed margins despite relatively stable sales volumes. As those inflationary pressures ease, more revenue should flow directly to the bottom line. The company doesn't need explosive sales growth to generate meaningful earnings leverage.
The reason for the favorable Zacks Rank is earnings estimates from analysts are coming in to the upside. Over the last sixty days, analysts have upped the ante for the current year and next year. That's put our Zacks Consensus Estimate for this year to a 33-cent loss while next year's number swings to a profit of 17 cents. That's on revenue growth forecasts of 8.8% this year to $2.02 billion. That puts Price-to-Sales down at just 0.40x, a discount to the industry average closer to 0.80x.
Bear of the Day:
Today's Bear of the Day is a stock that actually looks great on paper. The problem is, for whatever reason, there has been a continued discount priced into the stock due to risks far beyond the company's control. It operates in a high-margin, high-growth area of the market but because it's in China, the US investor simply has not gotten on board.
I'm talking about Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) Baidu. Baidu is in the Internet – Services industry that actually ranks in the Top 40% of our Zacks Industry Rank. Baidu has long been viewed as China's answer to Google, but that comparison has become increasingly difficult to justify.
While the company remains dominant in Chinese search, the business that once generated dependable cash flow is no longer the growth engine it used to be. China's advertising market remains sluggish, businesses continue to spend cautiously, and competition from short-form video platforms and AI-powered search alternatives is steadily eroding Baidu's core franchise. Investors hoping AI would reignite growth have instead watched revenue remain largely stagnant while margins come under pressure.
The company's AI ambitions are substantial, but they're also expensive. Baidu has poured billions into its ERNIE large language model, autonomous driving platform Apollo, and AI cloud infrastructure. Unfortunately, those investments have yet to generate the kind of returns that justify the spending. Meanwhile, rivals including Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, and DeepSeek continue to intensify the AI arms race, making it increasingly difficult for Baidu to establish a durable competitive advantage. In AI, being first doesn't necessarily mean winning.
Over the course of the last week alone, two analysts have dropped their earnings estimates for the current year and next year. The bearish moves have pushed down our Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year from $8.37 to $6.82 while next year's number is off from $10.63 to $9.29.
Additional content:
Watch These 3 Copper Stocks Amid Massive Global AI Data Center Boom
Copper prices started 2026 on a strong note, supported by demand from electric vehicles, renewable energy projects, data center growth and grid modernization. At present, data centers account for a mere 1% of global copper demand. However, the astonishing growth of the artificial intelligence (AI)-powered data centers could change the entire landscape dramatically in the near future.
Copper is an essential component of the AI ecosystem including electrical wiring in data centers, power grids, transformers and transmission infrastructure. An AI-led data center consumes 10 times more copper than a conventional data center.
The four major hyperscalers raised their AI capital expenditure budget to $750 billion for 2026. This figure is set to cross $1 trillion next year and is likely to rise further beyond 2027. Moody's estimated more than $3 trillion in capital investment for AI data centers by these four giant hyperscalers in the next five years.
At this stage, we have narrowed our search to three big copper producers for investment with a long term approach. The companies are: Freeport-McMoRan Inc., Southern Copper Corp. and BHP Group Ltd.. Each of these stocks currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Freeport-McMoRan Inc.
Freeport-McMoRan is conducting exploration activities near existing mines to expand reserves. It is expected to gain from progress in exploration activities that will boost production capacity.
FCX is executing several smelter projects in Indonesia. FCX is also well-positioned to benefit from automotive electrification, which is a positive for copper, as electric vehicles are copper-intensive. The company's efforts to reduce debt are also encouraging. FCX's solid financial health also bodes well.
Freeport-McMoRan has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 9.5% and 51.4%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year's earnings has improved 7.6% in the last 30 days.
Southern Copper Corp.
Southern Copper's investment case is strengthened by its industry-leading copper reserves, expanding project pipeline and favorable long-term demand for copper and key by-products. SCCO is advancing more than $20.5 billion of investments across Peru and Mexico, creating a visible path to higher production over the next decade.
An expected grade recovery, continued progress at Tía María and a tight copper market support an optimistic outlook, with SCCO positioned to deliver sustained growth and attractive shareholder returns.
Southern Copper has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 26.6% and 46.6%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year's earnings has improved 3.9% in the last 30 days.
BHP Group Ltd.
BHP Group remains a high-quality diversified miner with leadership in iron ore and growing leverage to copper and potash. Recent updates point to resilient iron ore volumes despite weather disruption, strong execution at Escondida and Copper South Australia, as well as progress on Jansen logistics ahead of production.
BHP's strategic shift toward future-facing commodities like copper and potash positions it well to benefit from global decarbonization and trends. Strong cash generation, efforts to lower debt and portfolio actions support funding flexibility.
BHP's technology partnerships in haulage, conveyors, copper leaching and renewable energy support efficiency, safety and decarbonization efforts. BHP's low-cost iron ore base, an expanding copper pipeline and long-life Jansen potash project provide durable growth avenues.
BHP Group has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 12.6% and 43.7%, respectively, for the current year (ending June 2027). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year's earnings has improved 1.2% in the last 60 days.
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