Jabil, Inc. JBL is scheduled to report fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings on Sept. 30. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for sales and earnings is pegged at $9.61 billion and $4.05 per share, respectively. Earnings estimates for JBL in 2026 have remained unchanged over the past 60 days, while for 2027 it has moved upward.
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Earnings Surprise History
The leading electronics manufacturing services firm has had a solid earnings surprise history in the trailing four quarters, exceeding earnings expectations on all occasions. It delivered a four-quarter earnings surprise of 5.88%, on average.
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Earnings Whispers
Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Jabil for the fourth quarter. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy), or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. That is not the case here.
You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Jabil currently has an ESP of 0.00% with a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Factors Shaping Upcoming Results
During the quarter, Jabil announced several initiatives that could support its long-term growth. The company expanded its manufacturing footprint in India by opening a new facility in Pune. The move increased its India manufacturing footprint from 500,000 square feet to 1.2 million square feet over the past year. The expanded facility will boost Jabil’s capability to serve several industries such as telecommunications, AI cloud data centers, automotive and digital commerce in India.
The company announced an intent to form a strategic alliance with Adani Enterprises to build a vertically integrated AI and data center infrastructure manufacturing platform in India. The planned platform would cover high-density liquid-cooled AI racks, servers, storage, networking systems and other power and thermal-management equipment.
In the quarter under review, Jabil opened a 417,000-square-foot intelligent logistics hub in Penang, Malaysia, designed to improve inventory management, traceability and material flow through AI-enabled systems, automated storage and retrieval, and robotics. The facility supports Jabil's efforts to scale its operations while improving supply-chain efficiency. These factors bode well for sustainable growth.
However, weakness in consumer-centric products is expected to hinder growth in the Connected Living & Digital Commerce segment. Revenues from Connected Living & Digital Commerce are projected to remain flat at $1.39 billion compared to $1.38 billion in the year-ago quarter.
In the fourth quarter, per the Zacks Consensus Estimate, revenues in the Regulated Industries are pegged at $3.31 billion, indicating growth from $3.12 billion a year ago quarter. Revenues from the Intelligent Infrastructure segment for the fourth quarter are pegged at $4.91 billion, indicating growth from $3.74 billion.
Price Performance
Over the past year, JBL has surged 47.6% compared with the industry’s growth of 56.5%. It has underperformed its peers, Flex Ltd. FLEX and Celestica Inc. CLS. Flex has gained 99.2%, while Celestica has surged 48.5% during this period.
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Key Valuation Metric
From a valuation standpoint, Jabil appears to be trading at a discount relative to the industry. Going by the price/earnings ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 18.67 forward earnings, lower than 19.99 for the industry and its mean of 21.53.
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Investment Considerations
Jabil’s management expects fiscal 2026 AI-related revenues of approximately $13.6 billion, up from $9 billion in fiscal 2025. The company is expected to benefit from strength in the Intelligent Infrastructure business backed by strong demand from AI infrastructure, cloud and data centers, capital equipment and networking. In the AI infrastructure space, the company faces competition from other electronics manufacturing services companies such as Celestica, Flex and Sanmina.
The company also benefits from a broad manufacturing and engineering footprint. JBL is adding capacity in India, North Carolina, Memphis and other locations to support customer ramps. Its expansion in Pune and the new logistics hub in Penang further strengthen its manufacturing and supply-chain capabilities.
At the same time, the business remains exposed to uneven demand. Connected Living & Digital Commerce is expected to remain broadly flat in the fourth quarter, reflecting a mixed consumer environment. Management has also remained cautious regarding its automotive business.
End Note
Jabil continues to benefit from sustained demand in AI data center infrastructure, capital equipment and warehouse automation. The company’s worldwide manufacturing footprint and connected factory network provide meaningful scale advantages. Strong free cash flow growth underscores efficient capital management. Jabil’s diversified business and growing AI exposure are helping support a more consistent earnings trajectory. Its diverse end market presence also protects the company from cyclicality and weakness in some sectors. Owing to these factors, with a favorable valuation and a Zacks Rank 2, Jabil is a good investment option at present.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).