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These 2 Finance Stocks Could Beat Earnings: Why They Should Be on Your Radar

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Wall Street watches a company's quarterly report closely to understand as much as possible about its recent performance and what to expect going forward. Of course, one figure often stands out among the rest: earnings.

We know earnings results are vital, but how a company performs compared to bottom line expectations can be even more important when it comes to stock prices, especially in the near-term. This means that investors might want to take advantage of these earnings surprises.

The ability to identify stocks that are likely to top quarterly earnings expectations can be profitable, but it's no simple task. Here at Zacks, our Earnings ESP filter helps make things easier.

The Zacks Earnings ESP, Explained

The Zacks Earnings ESP, or Expected Surprise Prediction, aims to find earnings surprises by focusing on the most recent analyst revisions. The basic premise is that if an analyst reevaluates their earnings estimate ahead of an earnings release, it means they likely have new information that could possibly be more accurate.

With this in mind, the Expected Surprise Prediction compares the Most Accurate Estimate (being the most recent) against the overall Zacks Consensus Estimate. The percentage difference provides the ESP figure. The system also utilizes our core Zacks Rank to provide a stronger system for identifying stocks that might beat their next quarterly earnings estimate and possibly see the stock price climb.

In fact, when we combined a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better and a positive Earnings ESP, stocks produced a positive surprise 70% of the time. Perhaps most importantly, using these parameters has helped produce 28.3% annual returns on average, according to our 10 year backtest.

Stocks with a ranking of #3 (Hold), or 60% of all stocks covered by the Zacks Rank, are expected to perform in-line with the broader market. Stocks with rankings of #2 (Buy) and #1 (Strong Buy), 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 NNN REIT?

The last thing we will do today, now that we have a grasp on the ESP and how powerful of a tool it can be, is to quickly look at a qualifying stock. NNN REIT (NNN - Free Report) holds a #3 (Hold) at the moment and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $0.83 a share nine days away from its upcoming earnings release on February 8, 2024.

NNN REIT's Earnings ESP sits at +1.02%, which, as explained above, is calculated by taking the percentage difference between the $0.83 Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.82. NNN 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.

NNN is one of just a large database of Finance stocks with positive ESPs. Another solid-looking stock is American Express (AXP - Free Report) .

American Express is a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock, and is getting ready to report earnings on April 18, 2024. AXP's Most Accurate Estimate sits at $3.02 a share 79 days from its next earnings release.

For American Express, the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.99 is +1.24%.

Because both stocks hold a positive Earnings ESP, NNN and AXP 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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American Express Company (AXP) - free report >>

NNN REIT, Inc. (NNN) - free report >>

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