Take the Zacks Approach to Beat the Markets: Bloom Energy, Microsoft & Amgen in Focus

2026.09.28 12:12 (GMT+0)

Take the Zacks Approach to Beat the Markets: Bloom Energy, Microsoft & Amgen in Focus

Last week, major U.S. stock indexes ended lower, with the Nasdaq Composite, the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declining by 0.20%, 0.27% and 0.42%, respectively. Persistent U.S.-Iran tensions, elevated oil prices and Treasury yields, and concerns over inflation and interest rates weighed on investor sentiment.

Consumer sentiment remained weak, with the University of Michigan’s final September index at 48.1, down from 51.7 in August. Initial weekly jobless claims fell to 197,000 for the week ended September 19, while continuing claims edged up to 1.719 million. Housing also offered a bright spot, with new home sales jumping 6.4% in August to an annualized 684,000 units, the highest level since December 2025. August durable goods orders were unchanged, beating expectations for a 0.5% decline, while core capital goods orders rose 1.6%, pointing to continued corporate spending.

However, inflation and geopolitical risks remained key concerns. One-year inflation expectations climbed to 4.6% from 4%. The 10-year Treasury yield briefly reached 5.20%, while the 30-year yield climbed to 5.48%, reaching a multi-decade high. Meanwhile, oil prices stayed elevated amid Middle East tensions, though crude declined toward the end of the week on hopes of progress in U.S.-Iran talks.

Regardless of market conditions, we, here at Zacks, provide investors with unbiased guidance on how to beat the market.

As usual, Zacks Research guided investors over the past three months with its time-tested methodologies. Given the prevailing market uncertainty, you may want to look at our forecasts to better prepare for your next action.

Here are some of our key achievements:

Celestica and Amkor Technology Following Zacks Rank Upgrade

Shares of Celestica Inc. CLS have gained 19.7% (versus the S&P 500’s 4.4% increase) since it was upgraded to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) on July 27.

Another stock, Amkor Technology, Inc. AMKR, which was upgraded to a Zacks Rank #1 on July 29, has returned 17.3% (versus the S&P 500’s 4.1% increase) since then.

Zacks Rank, our short-term rating system, has earnings estimate revisions at its core. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.

A portfolio of Zacks # 1 Rank stocks has outperformed the S&P 500 index by 2.3 percentage points this year. Through August 3 this year, the Zacks # 1 Rank portfolio returned +12.08%, which compares to a +9.78% gain for the S&P 500 index and a +10.41% gain for the equal-weight version of the index in the same time period.

Since its inception in 1988, this portfolio of Zacks # 1 Rank stocks has outperformed the market by 12.4 percentage points. The average annual return for this portfolio of Zacks # 1 Rank stocks since inception in 1988 was +23.9% through August 3, which compares to a +11.5% gain for the S&P 500 index and a +11.3% gain for the equal-weight version of the index.

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 stocks here >>>

Check Celestica's historical EPS and Sales here>>>

Check Amkor Technology’s historical EPS and Sales here>>>

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Zacks Recommendation Upgrades Bloom Energy & Seagate Technology

Shares of Bloom Energy Corporation BE and Seagate Technology Holdings plc STX have advanced 53.4% and 12.2% (versus the S&P 500’s 4.4% increase), respectively, since their Zacks Recommendation was upgraded to Outperform on July 28.

While the Zacks Rank is our short-term rating system that is most effective over the one- to three-month holding horizon, the Zacks Recommendation aims to predict performance over the next 6 to 12 months. However, just like the Zacks Rank, the foundation for the Zacks Recommendation is trends in earnings estimate revisions.

The Zacks Recommendation classifies stocks into three groups — Outperform, Neutral and Underperform. While these recommendations are determined quantitatively, our analysts have the flexibility to override them for the 1100+ stocks they closely follow based on their better judgment of factors such as valuation, industry conditions and management effectiveness than the quantitative model.

To access our research reports with Zacks Recommendations for the 1100+ stocks we cover, click here>>>

Zacks Focus List Stocks Microsoft, CACI International Shoot Up

Shares of Microsoft Corporation MSFT, which belongs to the Zacks Focus List, have gained 38.4% over the past 12 weeks. The stock was added to the Focus List on February 1, 2016. Another Focus-List holding, CACI International Inc CACI, which was added to the portfolio on December 2, 2015, has returned 36.2% over the past 12 weeks. The S&P 500 has advanced by 6.1% over this period.

The 50-stock Focus List portfolio has returned +19.86% in the year-to-date period (through August 31, 2026) vs. +13.14% for the S&P 500 index and +15.59% for the equal-weight version of the index.

The portfolio returned +22.1% in 2025 vs. +17.9% for the S&P 500 index and +11.4% for the equal-weight version of the index.

The Zacks Focus List portfolio returned +18.41% in 2024 vs. +25.04% for the S&P 500 index and +13% for the equal-weight S&P 500 index. The portfolio had returned +29.54% in 2023 vs. +26.28% for the S&P 500 index and +13.61% for the equal-weight S&P 500 index. In 2022, the portfolio returned -15.2% vs. the S&P 500 index’s -17.96%.

Through August 31, 2026, the portfolio’s rolling returns on a one-year, three-year, five-year, ten-year, and since 2004 have been +28.7% (vs. +20.4% for the S&P 500 index), +24.1% (vs. +21.1%), +13.6% (vs. +12.8%), +17.1% (vs. +15.4%) and +12.7% vs. (+11%), respectively.

Unlock all of our powerful research, tools and analysis, including the Focus List, Zacks #1 Rank List, Equity Research Reports, Zacks Earnings ESP Filter, Premium Screener and more, as part of Zacks Premium. Gain full access now >>

Zacks ECAP Stocks Accenture & Mettler-Toledo International Make Significant Gains

Accenture plc ACN, a component of our Earnings Certain Admiral Portfolio (ECAP), has jumped 36.5% over the past 12 weeks. Mettler-Toledo International Inc. MTD has followed Accenture with 19.6% returns.

The Zacks Earnings Certain Admiral Portfolio (ECAP), which consists of 30 concentrated, ultra-defensive, long-term Buy-and-Hold stocks, returned -9.4% in the first half of 2026 (through June 30) vs. +10.2% for the S&P 500 index.

For 2025, the portfolio returned -1.67% vs. a +17.9% gain for the S&P 500 index. For the year 2024, the portfolio returned +16.26% vs. +24.89% for the S&P 500 index (SPY ETF). In 2023, the portfolio returned +12.17% vs. +26.28% for the S&P 500 index. The portfolio returned -4.7% in 2022 vs. the S&P 500 index’s -17.96%.

The ECAP and many other model portfolios are available as part of Zacks Advisor Tools, a cloud-based solution to access Zacks award-winning stock, mutual fund and ETF research. Click here to schedule a demo.

Zacks ECDP Stocks Amgen and Coca-Cola Outperform Peers

Amgen Inc. AMGN, which is part of our Earnings Certain Dividend Portfolio (ECDP), has returned 15.7% over the past 12 weeks. Another ECDP stock, Coca-Cola Company KO, has increased 6.3% over the same time frame. Of course, the inclination of investors toward quality dividend stocks to secure an income stream amid heightened market volatility contributed to this performance.

Check Amgen's dividend history here>>>

Check Coca-Cola’s dividend history here>>>

With an extremely low beta and a history of minimum earnings variability over the last 20+ years, this 25-stock portfolio helps to significantly mitigate risk.

The Zacks Earnings Certain Dividend Portfolio (ECDP) returned -1.7% in the first half of 2026 (through June 30^th) vs. +10.2% for the S&P 500 index and +9.03% for the Dividend Aristocrats ETF ( NOBL).

The portfolio returned -0.6% in 2025 vs. a +6.8% gain for the Dividend Aristocrats ETF. For the full year 2024, the portfolio returned +6.95% vs. +24.89% for the S&P 500 index and +6.72% for NOBL. The portfolio returned -0.9% in 2023 vs. +26.28% for the S&P 500 index and +8.11% for NOBL. The portfolio returned -2.3% in 2022 vs. -17.96% for the S&P 500 index and -8.34% for NOBL.

Click here to access this portfolio on Zacks Advisor Tools.

Zacks Top 10 Stock Stride Delivers Solid Returns

Stride, Inc. LRN, from the Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2026, has jumped 21.6% since the list was released on January 5, 2026, compared with the S&P 500 index’s 12.9% increase during this period.

The Top 10 portfolio has returned +15% in the year-to-date period (through August 31) vs. +12.9% for the S&P 500 index and +14.8% for the equal-weight version of the index.

The Top 10 portfolio returned +22.6% in 2025 vs. +17.9% for the S&P 500 index and +11.4% for the equal-weight version of the index.

The Top 10 portfolio returned +62.98% in 2024, vs. +25.04% for the S&P 500 index and +13% for the equal-weight version of the index. The portfolio had returned +25.15% in 2023 vs. +26.28% for the S&P 500 index.

Through the end of August 2026, the Top 10 portfolio has produced a cumulative return of +2,881.3% since 2012 vs. +648.5% for the S&P 500 index and +481.7% for the equal-weight version of the index. The portfolio has produced an average annual return of +25.8% in the period 2012 through August 31, 2026, vs. +13.6% for the S&P 500 index and +11.3% for the equal-weight version of the index.

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

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