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How to Boost Your Portfolio with Top Consumer Discretionary Stocks Set to Beat Earnings

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Two factors often determine stock prices in the long run: earnings and interest rates. Investors can't control the latter, but they can focus on a company's earnings results every quarter.

Life and the stock market are both about expectations, and rising above what is expected is often rewarded, while falling short can come with negative consequences. Investors might want to try to capture stronger returns by finding positive earnings surprises.

Hunting for 'earnings whispers' or companies poised to beat their quarterly earnings estimates is a somewhat common practice. But that doesn't make it easy. One way that has been proven to work is by using the Zacks Earnings ESP tool.

The Zacks Earnings ESP, Explained

The Zacks Expected Surprise Prediction, or ESP, works by locking in on the most up-to-date analyst earnings revisions because they can be more accurate than estimates from weeks or even months before the actual release date. The thinking is pretty straightforward: analysts who provide earnings estimates closer to the report are likely to have more information.

Now that we understand the basic idea, let's look at how the Expected Surprise Prediction works. The ESP is calculated by comparing the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate, with the percentage difference between the two giving us the Zacks ESP figure.

Bringing together a positive earnings ESP alongside a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better has helped stocks report a positive earnings surprise 70% of the time. Furthermore, by using these parameters, investors have seen 28.3% annual returns on average, according to our 10 year backtest.

Stocks with a #3 (Hold) ranking, which is most stocks covered at 60%, are expected to perform in-line with the broader market. But stocks that fall into the #2 (Buy) and #1 (Strong Buy) ranking, or the top 15% and top 5% of stocks, respectively, should outperform the market. Strong Buy stocks should outperform more than any other rank.

Should You Consider AMC Entertainment?

Now that we understand what the ESP is and how beneficial it can be, let's dive into a stock that currently fits the bill. AMC Entertainment (AMC - Free Report) earns a #1 (Strong Buy) right now and its Most Accurate Estimate sits at -$0.27 a share, just 16 days from its upcoming earnings release on November 8, 2023.

AMC Entertainment's Earnings ESP sits at +13.82%, which, as explained above, is calculated by taking the percentage difference between the -$0.27 Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of -$0.31. AMC is also part of a large group of stocks that boast a positive ESP. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.

AMC is one of just a large database of Consumer Discretionary stocks with positive ESPs. Another solid-looking stock is Las Vegas Sands (LVS - Free Report) .

Las Vegas Sands, which is readying to report earnings on January 24, 2024, sits at a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) right now. It's Most Accurate Estimate is currently $0.66 a share, and LVS is 93 days out from its next earnings report.

For Las Vegas Sands, the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.63 is +4.22%.

Because both stocks hold a positive Earnings ESP, AMC and LVS could potentially post earnings beats in their next reports.

Find Stocks to Buy or Sell Before They're Reported

Use the Zacks Earnings ESP Filter to turn up stocks with the highest probability of positively, or negatively, surprising to buy or sell before they're reported for profitable earnings season trading. Check it out here >>


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


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Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS) - free report >>

AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (AMC) - free report >>

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