Zacks Equity Research has spotlighted five stocks in its latest Analyst Blog, covering major names and under-the-radar micro-cap plays across multiple sectors.
The featured stocks include Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT), American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP), Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. (NASDAQ: NGVC), and Ampco-Pittsburgh Corp. (NYSE: AP).
Amazon shares have outperformed the Zacks Internet – Commerce industry over the past year, rising 12.8% compared to the industry’s 2.5% gain.
The company’s international expansion and diversification across e-commerce, AWS cloud services, advertising, and streaming create multiple revenue streams while reducing concentration risk.
For the second quarter of 2026, Amazon guided net sales of $194 to $199 billion and operating income of $20 to $24 billion.
However, capital expenditure requirements for AI infrastructure and data centers have strained financial resources, with trailing-12-month free cash flow decreasing to $1.2 billion, while intensifying competition from Walmart, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud remains an overhang.
Walmart shares have outperformed the Zacks Retail – Supermarkets industry over the past year, climbing 17% against the industry’s 12.9% gain, supported by its scale, value proposition, and expanding omnichannel ecosystem.
Marketplace, advertising, and membership are becoming increasingly important profit drivers, helping diversify earnings beyond traditional retail, while investments in automation and AI are expected to enhance customer experience and long-term productivity.
American Express shares have outperformed the Zacks Financial – Miscellaneous Services industry over the past year by a wide margin, gaining 13.4% versus the industry’s decline of 22%.
The company is benefiting from strong spending growth, particularly from Millennials and Gen Z, and returned $2.3 billion to shareholders in Q1 2026 through dividends and buybacks, though Zacks reiterates a Neutral stance on the stock.
Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, with a market capitalization of $765.18 million, has outperformed the Zacks Food – Natural Foods Products industry over the past six months, rising 38.5% against the industry’s 23.2% gain.
The company offers a long-term growth story through disciplined store expansion, a flexible small-format model, a targeted 4-5% annual unit growth rate, and a portfolio of more than 900 exclusive private-label products, with the stock trading at 0.56X trailing 12-month EV/sales.
Ampco-Pittsburgh, with a market capitalization of $162.21 million, has outperformed the Zacks Metal Products – Procurement and Fabrication industry over the past six months, surging 39.8% against the industry’s decline of 2.3%.
The company’s investment thesis is supported by its shift toward higher-value infrastructure markets, with sustained demand across nuclear energy, defense, power generation, and mission-critical industrial applications, though elevated leverage and asbestos liabilities remain ongoing overhangs.
