W.W. Grainger, Inc. (GWW), headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois, distributes maintenance, repair, and operating products and services. Valued at $45.3 billion by market cap, the company's products include motors, HVAC equipment, lighting, hand and power tools, pumps, packaging, material handling, adhesives, safety, janitorial, electrical, and metalworking equipment. Shares of this MRO giant have underperformed the broader market over the past year. GWW has declined 22.9% over this time frame, while the ...

J P M O R G A N Asia Pacific Equity Research 19 November 2025 This material is neither intended to be distributed to Mainland China investors nor to provide securities investment consultancy services within the territory of Mainland China. This material or any portion hereof may not be reprinted, sold or redistributed without the written consent of J.P. Morgan. We are raising our FY25-27E forecasts for Sanhua by 20% on average, factoring in the 3Q25 beat and lift in management guidance. Our Global TMT confe ...

Investors seek growth stocks to capitalize on above-average growth in financials that help these securities grab the market's attention and produce exceptional returns. But finding a great growth stock is not easy at all.In addition to volatility, these stocks carry above-average risk by their very nature. Also, one could end up losing from a stock whose growth story is actually over or nearing its end.However, the Zacks Growth Style Score (part of the Zacks Style Scores system), which looks beyond the trad ...

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Consolidated adjusted EBITDA for Q3 2025 was $9.2 million, up 35% from the prior year, driven by strong performance in the Air and Liquid segment [4] - Adjusted earnings per share for Q3 2025 were $0.04, an increase of $0.14 from the prior year [4][25] - Net sales for Q3 2025 were $108 million, a 12% increase compared to Q3 2024 [20] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - In the Forged and Cast Engineered Products (FCEP) segment, net sales were $71.5 million, $6.4 million lower than Q2 2025 but $4.3 million higher than Q3 2024 [6] - FCEP segment-adjusted EBITDA was $7.1 million, $0.3 million higher than both Q2 and Q3 2024 [6] - Air & Liquid Systems Corporation reported a 26% increase in Q3 revenue compared to the prior year, with year-to-date revenue nearly 7% above the prior year [13] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - Tariffs on imports from Europe are expected to have a neutral impact on roll demand in North America, while negatively affecting Canadian and Mexican customers [8] - The cast roll market in North America continues to exceed domestic capacity, indicating strong long-term demand [9] - Construction spending, automotive production, and canned sheet demand are expected to grow at mid-single-digit rates over the next five years [9] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is accelerating its exit from the U.K. facility, which is expected to improve full-year adjusted EBITDA by $7-$8 million [5][19] - The decision to wind down the Alloys Unlimited steel distribution business is aimed at improving profitability [10] - The company is focusing on addressing underperforming assets to enhance overall profitability [41] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed confidence in the strong underlying performance and the strategic actions taken to transform the company [4] - The exit from the U.K. facility is expected to position the company for improved profitability moving forward [5] - Management highlighted the positive long-term growth potential in the nuclear market and strong demand from the U.S. Navy [14][16] Other Important Information - The company recorded charges totaling $3.1 million in Q3 2025 related to the exit of the U.K. cast roll business and Alloys Unlimited [18] - The liquidity position at September 30, 2025, included cash on hand of $15 million and undrawn availability on the revolving credit facility of $28.2 million [25] Q&A Session Summary Question: Clarification on U.K. closure and debt implications - Management confirmed that the insolvency process is exclusively related to the subsidiary and does not affect other segments of the company [27] Question: Pension plan evaluation - Management indicated that an evaluation of the pension plan will be conducted annually [30] Question: Capacity expansion and demand from pharmaceutical companies - Management stated that they can significantly increase throughput and are addressing this through various improvements [31] Question: Monetization from liquidation of properties - Management expects to receive approximately $8-$9 million in net proceeds from the liquidation process, which will reduce bank debt [35][36]

Core Viewpoint - Momentum investing focuses on following a stock's recent price trends, aiming to buy high and sell higher, with the expectation that established trends will continue [1] Company Overview: Flowserve (FLS) - Flowserve currently holds a Momentum Style Score of A, indicating strong momentum characteristics [3] - The company has a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy), suggesting it is positioned for potential outperformance in the market [4] Price Performance - Over the past week, Flowserve shares increased by 1.45%, while the Zacks Manufacturing - General Industrial industry declined by 1.08% [6] - In a longer timeframe, Flowserve's monthly price change is 41.05%, significantly outperforming the industry's 0.18% [6] - Over the last quarter, Flowserve shares rose by 31.58%, and over the past year, they gained 15.63%, compared to the S&P 500's increases of 6.44% and 13.97%, respectively [7] Trading Volume - Flowserve's average 20-day trading volume is 2,606,989 shares, which serves as a bullish indicator when combined with rising stock prices [8] Earnings Outlook - In the past two months, four earnings estimates for Flowserve have been revised upwards, with no downward revisions, leading to an increase in the consensus estimate from $3.37 to $3.45 [10] - For the next fiscal year, five estimates have also moved higher without any downward revisions [10] Conclusion - Given the strong momentum indicators and positive earnings outlook, Flowserve is recommended as a stock to consider for near-term investment opportunities [12]

Core Viewpoint - Growth stocks are appealing due to their potential for above-average financial growth, but identifying strong candidates can be challenging due to inherent volatility and risks [1] Group 1: Company Overview - Flowserve (FLS) is currently highlighted as a recommended growth stock by the Zacks Growth Style Score system, which evaluates a company's growth prospects beyond traditional metrics [2] - Flowserve has a favorable Growth Score and a top Zacks Rank, indicating strong potential for performance [2][10] Group 2: Earnings Growth - Historical EPS growth for Flowserve stands at 19.6%, but projected EPS growth for this year is expected to be 30.4%, significantly surpassing the industry average of 7.6% [5] Group 3: Asset Utilization - Flowserve's asset utilization ratio (sales-to-total-assets ratio) is 0.83, indicating that the company generates $0.83 in sales for every dollar in assets, which is higher than the industry average of 0.79 [6] Group 4: Sales Growth - The company's sales are projected to grow by 4.9% this year, compared to an industry average of 0% [7] Group 5: Earnings Estimate Revisions - There has been a positive trend in earnings estimate revisions for Flowserve, with the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year increasing by 2.5% over the past month [8]

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Novanta reported record revenue of $248 million for Q3 2025, surpassing guidance, with a reported revenue growth of +1% and organic revenue declines of 4% [5][6] - Adjusted gross margins were 46.5%, up 30 basis points year over year, and adjusted EBITDA margins were above 23% [5][17] - Non-GAAP adjusted earnings per share was $0.87, up 2% year over year and up 14% sequentially [18] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Medical markets accounted for 53% of year-to-date revenue, intelligent subsystems contributed nearly 30%, and medical consumables represented about 15% of sales, with the latter growing at a high teens rate [8][10] - Advanced surgery business revenue grew 17% year over year, while precision medicine business sales declined 4% year over year but grew sequentially by 3% [24][25] - Robotics and automation applications saw revenue growth driven by demand for products supporting physical AI applications [12] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - Customer bookings grew 17% year over year and 4% sequentially, indicating a stronger backlog and positive outlook [20] - Sales to China increased by 11% sequentially, with strong design win activity and new product revenue growth [25][26] - The advanced industrial markets showed continued improvement, with normalized order patterns leading to sequential growth in precision manufacturing [13] Company Strategy and Development Direction - Novanta's long-term growth strategy focuses on markets with secular tailwinds such as AI-driven robotics, advanced minimally invasive surgery, and precision medicine [6][9] - The company is investing in regionalized manufacturing and a new ERP system to build a strong foundation for growth and resilience [10] - Novanta aims to deliver sustainable mid-to-high single-digit organic revenue growth with less cyclicality [9] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed confidence in returning to positive organic growth and double-digit profit growth in Q4 2025, with expectations for mid-single-digit organic growth for the full year of 2026 [6][31] - The company noted strong momentum in growth platforms, design wins, and new product launches, positioning it well for future performance [15][31] - Management highlighted the importance of customer partnerships and proprietary technology solutions in driving growth [8][10] Other Important Information - Novanta's adjusted gross profit for Q3 2025 was $115 million, with R&D expenses at $24 million and SG&A expenses at $44 million [17] - The company ended Q3 with gross debt of $457 million and a net leverage ratio of approximately 1.7 times [19] - An additional $200 million share buyback program was authorized by the board of directors [19] Q&A Session Summary Question: Update on robotics retail customer contracts - Management confirmed ongoing excitement about a major design win with a large e-commerce player, with deployment expected to start in 2026 [32][33] Question: Potential for revenue and scaling in humanoid robotics - The combined physical AI market opportunity is estimated at $1 billion by 2030, with current deployments still in early stages [34] Question: Progress on regional manufacturing footprint - Management indicated that the transition to regional manufacturing is expected to be completed by the end of Q1 2026, with potential for 100 basis points of margin expansion [36][37] Question: Growth expectations for 2026 across business units - Advanced surgery and robotics are expected to be the higher growth categories, while precision manufacturing is anticipated to return to growth [38][40] Question: Update on tariff-related revenue dynamics - Management noted that solid growth in China and strong design win activity are contributing to the recovery of revenue previously impacted by tariffs [44][45] Question: Outlook for DNA sequencing and EUV business - The DNA sequencing business is not expected to grow, while the EUV business is anticipated to gain momentum in 2026 [46][47] Question: Recognition of the $50 million warehouse automation opportunity - Management confirmed that bookings and revenue from the warehouse automation opportunity are expected to materialize in 2026 [49][50]

Financial Performance Highlights - Total revenue grew by 13% to $999 million in Q3 2025[7, 16] - Organic growth reached 6% in Q3 2025[7, 8] - Adjusted EPS grew by 21% to $1.78 in Q3 2025[8, 19] - Free cash flow increased by 77% in Q3 2025[8] - Year-to-date free cash flow reached $368 million, a 46% increase[20] Segment Performance - Industrial Process (IP) organic revenue grew by 11%[9, 31] - Connect & Control Technologies (CCT) organic revenue grew by 6%[9, 31] - Motion Technologies (MT) adjusted operating margin reached 20.2%, a 210 bps increase[9, 31] Orders and Backlog - Orders grew by 19% in total[11] - Svanehøj orders increased by 59% year-to-date[13] - kSARIA orders increased by 58% year-to-date[13] Guidance - The company is raising its full-year adjusted EPS range to $6.62 - $6.68[7, 25] - The company expects approximately $500 million in free cash flow for the full year[9, 25]

Core Insights - Flowserve Corporation reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.90, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.80, representing a 12.50% earnings surprise and a significant improvement from the $0.62 EPS reported in the same quarter last year [2][6] - The company's revenue for the quarter was $1.17 billion, slightly below the estimated $1.21 billion, but an increase from the $1.13 billion reported in the previous year [3][6] - Flowserve's third-quarter bookings reached $1.2 billion, with aftermarket bookings increasing by 6%, surpassing $650 million [3] Financial Metrics - Flowserve has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of approximately 23.63, indicating the price investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings [4] - The price-to-sales ratio is about 1.48, suggesting that investors are paying $1.48 for every dollar of Flowserve's sales [4] - The enterprise value to sales ratio is around 1.40 [4] Financial Health - The company maintains a strong financial position with a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, indicating a low level of debt compared to its equity [5][6] - Flowserve's current ratio of 2.10 suggests a robust ability to cover its short-term liabilities with its short-term assets [5][6]

Core Viewpoint - Flowserve Corporation is set to report its third-quarter 2025 earnings on October 28, 2025, with expectations of an EPS of $0.80 and revenue of approximately $1.21 billion, following a previous quarter where it exceeded EPS estimates but fell short on revenue expectations [1][2][6] Financial Performance - In the previous quarter, Flowserve reported an EPS of $0.91, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.78, while its revenue was $1.19 billion, below the expected $1.22 billion [2][6] - The company achieved a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 6.28%, indicating strong profitability and efficient equity utilization [2][6] Stock Metrics - Flowserve's stock recently increased by 1.4%, opening at $53.39, with a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of approximately 23.57 and a price-to-sales ratio of about 1.48 [3] - The enterprise value to sales ratio is around 1.39, and the enterprise value to operating cash flow ratio is approximately 13.47, reflecting the market's valuation of the company's earnings and sales [3] Financial Health - The company has a low debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, suggesting a manageable level of debt relative to its equity [4][6] - Flowserve's current ratio is 2.10, indicating a strong ability to cover short-term liabilities with short-term assets, showcasing effective financial management [4][6] Future Projections - Analysts project Flowserve to achieve earnings of $3 per share for the current fiscal year and $4 per share for the next fiscal year, with the upcoming earnings report expected to significantly influence the stock price [5]