Market Overview - U.S. stocks traded mostly lower, with the Dow Jones falling 0.06% to 42,400.42, NASDAQ down 0.40% to 19,381.93, and S&P 500 decreasing 0.27% to 5,954.96 [1] - Communication services shares increased by 0.4%, while consumer discretionary stocks fell by 1.5% [1] Company Earnings - Ciena Corp reported a quarterly revenue growth of 23.6% year-on-year to $1.13 billion, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.09 billion, but adjusted EPS of 42 cents missed the consensus estimate of 52 cents [2] Stock Movements - Planet Labs PBC shares surged 51% to $6.03 after a first-quarter sales beat and raised FY26 sales guidance [8] - Liminatus Pharma, Inc shares increased 64% to $20.86 after regaining Nasdaq compliance [8] - Owens & Minor, Inc shares rose 17% to $7.78 following the termination of its Rotech Healthcare acquisition [8] - ChargePoint Holdings, Inc shares dropped 23% to $0.6829 after a first-quarter sales miss and lower second-quarter sales guidance [8] - REGENXBIO Inc shares fell 16% to $8.49 after announcing new data from a clinical trial [8] - PVH Corp shares decreased 17% to $66.92 after cutting FY25 guidance and issuing lower second-quarter adjusted EPS guidance [8] Commodity Prices - Oil prices increased by 0.8% to $63.34, while gold prices decreased by 0.8% to $3,373.80 [5] - Silver prices rose 3.1% to $35.735, and copper prices increased by 0.7% to $4.9215 [5] International Markets - European shares were mostly higher, with the eurozone's STOXX 600 rising 0.16% and Spain's IBEX 35 Index increasing by 0.73% [6] - Asian markets closed higher, with Japan's Nikkei down 0.51%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index up 1.07%, China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.23%, and India's BSE Sensex increasing by 0.55% [7]

Core Insights - Nebius Group N.V. (NBIS) shares have increased by 57.3% over the past month, significantly outperforming the Zacks Computer & Technology sector and the Zacks Internet Software Services industry's growth of 10.1% and 10.6% respectively [1] - The company announced a private placement of $1 billion in convertible notes to enhance its global AI infrastructure and revenue opportunities by 2026, resulting in a 9.4% stock rise since the announcement [4] - Despite the recent surge, NBIS stock is still trading 22.6% below its 52-week high, closing at $39.39 [5] Revenue Growth - Nebius reported a remarkable 385% year-over-year revenue growth in Q1 2025, driven by strong demand for its AI infrastructure services [6] - The annualized run-rate revenue (ARR) saw a 700% increase, with April ARR reaching $310 million, indicating a robust start for Q2 [6][7] - The company is confident in achieving its full-year ARR guidance of $750 million to $1 billion and reaffirmed its overall revenue guidance of $500 million to $700 million for 2025 [7] AI Cloud Differentiation - To capture a larger share of the AI cloud compute market, Nebius is focusing on technical enhancements to improve reliability and reduce downtime, thereby increasing customer retention [8] - Significant upgrades to its AI cloud infrastructure have been made, including automatic recovery for failed nodes and proactive system health checks, leading to a 5% improvement in node availability for commercial use [9][10] Strategic Partnerships and Global Expansion - Nebius is strengthening its ties with NVIDIA, becoming one of the first AI cloud infrastructure platforms to offer the NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra AI Factory Platform and supporting the DGX Cloud Lepton marketplace [13] - The company is expanding its global footprint with new capacity in the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East, including a strategic data center in Israel, which helps reduce latency and diversify risk [14] Diversified Business Model - In addition to its core cloud platform, Nebius has notable offerings such as Toloka (an AI development platform), TripleTen (an edtech service), and Avride (an autonomous vehicle platform) [15] - The company holds a stake in Toloka, which is now backed by notable investors, and has partnerships with major players for Avride [16] Challenges and Financial Outlook - Despite impressive revenue growth, Nebius remains unprofitable, with adjusted EBITDA projected to be negative for the full year 2025, although management expects it to turn positive in the second half of 2025 [18] - The company has raised its 2025 capital expenditure forecast to approximately $2 billion, which could pose a concern if revenue does not keep pace [18] - Analysts have revised their earnings estimates downward for NBIS over the past 60 days, indicating potential challenges ahead [19] Valuation - Valuation-wise, NBIS is considered overvalued, reflected by a Zacks Value Score of F, with shares trading at a Price/Book ratio of 2.94X, lower than the industry average of 4 [20][21]

Investment Rating - The report maintains a "Buy" rating for Kingsoft Corporation (03888.HK) [1] Core Views - The report highlights the importance of the upcoming launch of the game "Limitless Machine" and the company's focus on AI, collaboration, and internationalization in its office software segment [1][8] - Kingsoft's revenue for Q1 2025 was 2.338 billion yuan, showing a year-on-year increase of 9.41% but a quarter-on-quarter decrease of 16.28% [8] - The gaming segment's revenue was 1.037 billion yuan, contributing 44.33% to total revenue, with expectations for continued performance from existing titles and the upcoming launch of "Limitless Machine" [8] - The office software segment generated 1.301 billion yuan, accounting for 55.67% of total revenue, driven by growth in WPS personal and WPS 365 services [8] Financial Projections - Total revenue projections for Kingsoft are as follows: 10.318 billion yuan in 2024, 11.669 billion yuan in 2025, 13.149 billion yuan in 2026, and 14.721 billion yuan in 2027, with year-on-year growth rates of 20.91%, 13.09%, 12.68%, and 11.96% respectively [1] - Net profit projections are 1.552 billion yuan in 2024, 1.867 billion yuan in 2025, 2.304 billion yuan in 2026, and 2.735 billion yuan in 2027, with year-on-year growth rates of 220.94%, 20.32%, 23.41%, and 18.70% respectively [1] - The report forecasts EPS of 1.33 yuan for 2025, 1.65 yuan for 2026, and 1.95 yuan for 2027, corresponding to P/E ratios of 24, 20, and 17 times respectively [1][8]

Core Viewpoint - ePlus reported quarterly earnings of $1.11 per share, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.87 per share, marking a 27.59% earnings surprise [1]. Financial Performance - The company posted revenues of $498.11 million for the quarter ended March 2025, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.91% and down from $554.46 million year-over-year [2]. - Over the last four quarters, ePlus has surpassed consensus EPS estimates only once [2]. Stock Performance - ePlus shares have declined approximately 11.5% since the beginning of the year, contrasting with the S&P 500's decline of -0.6% [3]. - The current Zacks Rank for ePlus is 4 (Sell), indicating expected underperformance in the near future [6]. Earnings Outlook - The consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming quarter is $1.01 on revenues of $527.4 million, and for the current fiscal year, it is $4.61 on revenues of $2.17 billion [7]. - The trend for estimate revisions ahead of the earnings release was unfavorable, which may impact future stock performance [6]. Industry Context - The Business - Software Services industry, to which ePlus belongs, is currently in the top 9% of over 250 Zacks industries, suggesting a favorable industry outlook [8].

Nebius Group N.V. (NBIS) will report its first-quarter 2025 results on May 20, before market open.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the bottom line in the to-be-reported quarter is pegged at a loss of 45 cents. The estimate has remained unchanged in the past seven days but has been revised downward by 4 cents in the past 60 days. The consensus estimate for total revenues is pinned at $63.8 million.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchBased in Amsterdam, Nebius is positioning itself as a specialized AI infr ...

Core Insights - Epam reported revenue of $1.3 billion for the quarter ended March 2025, reflecting an 11.7% increase year-over-year [1] - The company's EPS was $2.41, slightly down from $2.46 in the same quarter last year [1] - Revenue exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.28 billion, resulting in a surprise of +1.37% [1] - The EPS also surpassed expectations with a surprise of +6.17%, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.27 [1] Revenue Breakdown - Revenue from the Americas was $780.29 million, above the average estimate of $770.59 million [4] - Revenue from APAC was $24.29 million, below the average estimate of $26.43 million [4] - Revenue from EMEA reached $497.12 million, exceeding the estimated $481.40 million [4] - Financial Services generated $313.97 million, significantly above the average estimate of $277.80 million [4] - Software & Hi-Tech revenues were $190.07 million, slightly above the estimate of $189.54 million [4] - Life Sciences & Healthcare revenues were $154.95 million, in line with the estimate of $154.86 million [4] - Emerging Verticals generated $220.64 million, surpassing the estimate of $216.61 million [4] - Consumer Goods, Retail & Travel revenues were $255.51 million, below the estimate of $270.07 million [4] Contract Type Performance - Time-and-material revenues were $1.04 billion, slightly below the average estimate of $1.08 billion, with a year-over-year change of +6.1% [4] - Fixed-price revenues were $252.16 million, significantly above the estimate of $191.62 million, representing a +43% change year-over-year [4] - Licensing and other revenues were $7.82 million, below the estimate of $10.48 million, with a +2.7% change year-over-year [4] Stock Performance - Epam's shares returned +22.8% over the past month, outperforming the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +13.7% change [3] - The stock currently holds a Zacks Rank 4 (Sell), indicating potential underperformance in the near term [3]

Nebius Group N.V. (NBIS) shares have lost 24.2% over the past three months, underscoring broader and company-specific challenges.  The broader market volatility over the past month has been due to the tariff and trade tensions between the United States and other countries, especially China. Though President Trump’s announcement of a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs and hinting at a possible de-escalation with China cheered investors, the volatility is far from over. Apart from that, company-specific facto ...