Back to top

Image: Bigstock

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

Read MoreHide Full Article

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.

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.

Hunting for 'earnings whispers' or companies poised to beat their quarterly earnings estimates is a somewhat common practice. But that doesn't make it easy. One way that has been proven to work is by using the Zacks Earnings ESP tool.

The Zacks Earnings ESP, Explained

The Zacks Expected Surprise Prediction, or ESP, works by locking in on the most up-to-date analyst earnings revisions because they can be more accurate than estimates from weeks or even months before the actual release date. The thinking is pretty straightforward: analysts who provide earnings estimates closer to the report are likely to have more information.

Now that we understand the basic idea, let's look at how the Expected Surprise Prediction works. The ESP is calculated by comparing the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate, with the percentage difference between the two giving us the Zacks ESP figure.

Bringing together a positive earnings ESP alongside a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better has helped stocks report a positive earnings surprise 70% of the time. Furthermore, by using these parameters, investors have seen 28.3% annual returns on average, according to our 10 year backtest.

Most stocks, about 60%, fall into the #3 (Hold) category, and they are expected to perform in-line with the broader market. Stocks with a #2 (Buy) and #1 (Strong Buy) rating, or the top 15% and top 5% of stocks, respectively, should outperform the market, with Strong Buy stocks outperforming more than any other rank.

Should You Consider Lululemon?

The final step today is to look at a stock that meets our ESP qualifications. Lululemon (LULU - Free Report) earns a #2 (Buy) 28 days from its next quarterly earnings release on September 7, 2023, and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $2.55 a share.

LULU has an Earnings ESP figure of +0.91%, which, as explained above, is calculated by taking the percentage difference between the $2.55 Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.52. Lululemon 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.

LULU is part of a big group of Consumer Discretionary stocks that boast a positive ESP, and investors may want to take a look at Crocs (CROX - Free Report) as well.

Crocs, which is readying to report earnings on November 2, 2023, sits at a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) right now. It's Most Accurate Estimate is currently $3.11 a share, and CROX is 84 days out from its next earnings report.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Crocs is $3.10, and when you take the percentage difference between that number and its Most Accurate Estimate, you get the Earnings ESP figure of +0.42%.

Because both stocks hold a positive Earnings ESP, LULU and CROX 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


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


lululemon athletica inc. (LULU) - free report >>

Crocs, Inc. (CROX) - free report >>

Published in