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Investing Like a Pro: The One Trigger That Predicts Explosive Gains

The price action in the stock market this year has illustrated how important it is to remain disciplined and follow a rule-based strategy. A strategy that is mainly mechanical can free investors from emotional decision-making. Emotions can prevent investors from making sound decisions and are one of the biggest threats to achieving an acceptable rate of return on our investments.

Rule-based strategies remove the reliance of making decisions based on predictions or guesswork. Investing using a clear set of rules allows investors to follow a disciplined approach. And here at Zacks, we provide our members with a rule-based strategy that has consistently outperformed the market year after year.

How to Predict Explosive Gains

At the heart of this strategy is the Zacks Rank, which analyzes earnings estimate revisions. These earnings revisions have been shown to be the most powerful force impacting stock prices.

Stocks with rising estimates have significantly outperformed the S&P 500. In fact, based on a recent 36-year study, a portfolio of Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks beat the market with an average annual return of nearly 24% per year – more than double that of the S&P 500.

That’s why it is so crucial to keep an eye on which stocks are ranked favorably by the Zacks Rank system. Let’s take a look at a current example in today’s investment climate.

A Zacks ‘Buy’ and Consistent Outperformer

Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM - Free Report) sells gold, silver, palladium, and cobalt deposits. The company boasts a portfolio of interests in 23 operating mines and 13 development projects. Wheaton Precious Metals is one of the largest precious metals streaming companies in the world.

Wheaton has exceeded earnings estimates in each of the past eight quarters. The metals company has delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 9.5%, aiding the stock’s 57.5% return in the past year. The stock is also up more than 45% in 2025 while the market has been in correction mode.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

What the Zacks Model Unveils

The Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) seeks to find companies that have recently seen positive earnings estimate revision activity. The idea is that this recent information can serve as a more accurate predictor of the future, which can give investors a leg up during earnings season.

The technique has proven to be quite useful in finding positive surprises. In fact, when combining a Zacks Rank #3 or better with a positive Earnings ESP, stocks delivered a positive surprise 70% of the time according to our 10-year backtest.

WPM is a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and has a +1.4% Earnings ESP. Another beat may be in the cards when the company reports its Q2 results later this week on Thursday after the close.

Analysts have raised second-quarter estimates by 16.28% in the past 60 days. The Q2 Zacks Consensus Estimate now stands at $0.50 per share, reflecting potential growth of 38.9% versus the same quarter last year. Revenues are anticipated to climb nearly 40% to $415 million.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Bottom Line

A mechanical system like the Zacks Rank enables investors to remove emotion and hone in on the top stocks. History has shown that stocks witnessing positive earnings estimate revisions tend to outperform the market over time.

With metal prices soaring this year, it’s not difficult to understand why WPM is leading stock in this environment. Make sure to keep an eye on this company ahead of its upcoming earnings announcement.


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