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How to Find Strong Retail and Wholesale Stocks Slated for Positive Earnings Surprises

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Earnings are arguably the most important single number on a company's quarterly financial report. Wall Street clearly dives into all of the other metrics and management's input, but the EPS figure helps cut through all the noise.

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.

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 is more formally known as the Expected Surprise Prediction, and it aims to grab the inside track on the latest analyst estimate revisions ahead of a company's report. The idea is relatively intuitive as a newer projection might be based on more complete information.

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 Cava Group?

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. Cava Group (CAVA - Free Report) holds a #2 (Buy) at the moment and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $0.04 a share 27 days away from its upcoming earnings release on May 27, 2024.

CAVA has an Earnings ESP figure of +55.56%, which, as explained above, is calculated by taking the percentage difference between the $0.04 Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.03. Cava Group is one of a large database of stocks with positive ESPs. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.

CAVA is just one of a large group of Retail and Wholesale stocks with a positive ESP figure. AutoZone (AZO - Free Report) is another qualifying stock you may want to consider.

AutoZone, which is readying to report earnings on May 28, 2024, sits at a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) right now. It's Most Accurate Estimate is currently $35.85 a share, and AZO is 28 days out from its next earnings report.

For AutoZone, the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $35.75 is +0.26%.

Because both stocks hold a positive Earnings ESP, CAVA and AZO 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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AutoZone, Inc. (AZO) - free report >>

CAVA Group, Inc. (CAVA) - free report >>

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