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Looking for Stocks with Positive Earnings Momentum? Check Out These 2 Retail and Wholesale Names

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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.

We know earnings results are vital, but how a company performs compared to bottom line expectations can be even more important when it comes to stock prices, especially in the near-term. This means that investors might want to take advantage of these 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.

The core of the ESP model is comparing the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate, where the resulting percentage difference between the two equals the Expected Surprise Prediction. The Zacks Rank is also factored into the ESP metric to better help find companies that appear poised to top their next bottom-line consensus estimate, which will hopefully help lift the stock price.

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 O'Reilly Automotive?

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. O'Reilly Automotive (ORLY - Free Report) holds a #2 (Buy) at the moment and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $9.02 a share 30 days away from its upcoming earnings release on February 7, 2024.

O'Reilly Automotive's Earnings ESP sits at +0.34%, which, as explained above, is calculated by taking the percentage difference between the $9.02 Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $8.99. ORLY is also part of a large group of stocks that boast a positive ESP. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.

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

Darden Restaurants, which is readying to report earnings on March 28, 2024, sits at a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) right now. It's Most Accurate Estimate is currently $2.64 a share, and DRI is 80 days out from its next earnings report.

For Darden Restaurants, the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.64 is +0.14%.

ORLY and DRI's positive ESP figures tell us that both stocks have a good chance at beating analyst expectations in their next earnings report.

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:


Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI) - free report >>

O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. (ORLY) - free report >>

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