V.F. Corporation (VFC Quick QuoteVFC - Free Report) is scheduled to release fourth-quarter 2016 results on Feb 17. Last quarter, the company delivered a negative earnings surprise of -0.9%, following two straight positive surprises.

Overall, the company underperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by an average of nearly 3% in the trailing four quarters. Also, its shares have underperformed the Consumer Discretionary sector in the past one year, as the company tanked 11.6%, compared with the sector's growth of 31.9%.

Well, let’s see how things are shaping up prior to this announcement.

Factors Influencing This Quarter

V.F. Corp. has been troubled by a difficult global economic environment, foreign currency headwinds and volatile consumer trends for nearly a year now. These factors largely weighed upon the company’s results in the last reported quarter.

Among these hurdles, currency headwinds, in particular, have been a major obstacle for the company, given its significant global presence. These woes not only hurt the top and bottom line, but also had an adverse impact on the gross margin in the third quarter.

Further, these challenges are expected to persist, as the company projected currency translations to have a 70 and 60 basis points (bps) negative impact on gross and operating margins respectively in 2016. Moreover, currency neutral earnings are expected to increase 7%, while reported earnings are projected to improve 3%. Taking this, along with the persistence of other headwinds into consideration, the company has also lowered its revenue and earnings guidance for 2016, thus making us apprehensive of the upcoming results.

However, V.F. Corp.’s solid brand portfolio and opportunities with regard to distribution bode well. Further, the company’s focus on strategic buyouts and expansion of global operations emphasize its growth prospects. Hence, let’s wait and see if this apparel retailer’s growth endeavors can help it counter the hurdles this time.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model does not conclusively show that V.F. Corp. is likely to beat estimates this quarter. This is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen. This is not the case here, as you will see below:

Zacks ESP: Earnings ESP for V.F. Corp. is currently pegged at -3.06%. This is because the Most Accurate estimate of 95 cents stands below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 98 cents. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: V.F. Corp. carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). We caution against Sell-rated stocks (#4 or 5) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.

Stocks Poised to Beat Earnings Estimates

Here are some companies you may want to consider as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat:

Papa John's International, Inc. (PZZA Quick QuotePZZA - Free Report) , expected to release earnings on Feb 21, currently has an Earnings ESP of +4.55% and a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Dean Foods Company , slated to release earnings on Feb 16, currently has an Earnings ESP of +2.44% and a Zacks Rank #3.

Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST Quick QuoteCOST - Free Report) , scheduled to report earnings on Mar 2, currently has an Earnings ESP of +0.74% and a Zacks Rank #3.

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