Danaher Corporation ( DHR - Analyst Report ) is set to report its fourth quarter 2012 results on Jan 29. The company reported a negative surprise of 1.3% in the last quarter. Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.

Growth Factors This Past Quarter

Danaher was affected by the economic downturn, lower demand for some of its core products and negative currency translation in the previous quarter. The company’s sales growth rates in the quarter were down 3% on a year-over-year basis.

The company reported revenue declines in three (Test & Measurement, Life Sciences and Diagnostics and Dental) of its five operating segments and was also hurt by weak demand in its Instruments business. The Communications business also disappointed due to the lack of large carrier projects.

Earnings Whispers?

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

Zacks ESP: Danaher has a Zacks Earnings ESP of 0.00%

Zacks Rank #3 (Hold): Danaher’s Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) lowers the predictive power of ESP because the Zacks Rank #3 when combined with a 0.00% ESP makes surprise prediction difficult. We caution against stocks with Zacks #4 and #5 Ranks (Sell rated stocks) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions momentum.

Other Stocks to Consider

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

Idex Corp. ( IEX - Snapshot Report ) Earnings ESP of 1.49% and Zacks Rank #2 (Buy)

Broadcom Corp. ( BRCM - Analyst Report ) Earnings ESP of 1.9% and Zacks #2 Rank (Buy)

Geospace Technology Corporation ( GEOS - Snapshot Report ) Earnings ESP of 21.2% and Zacks Rank # 2 (Buy)