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These 2 Retail and Wholesale Stocks Could Beat Earnings: Why They Should Be on Your Radar

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Quarterly financial reports play a vital role on Wall Street, as they help investors see how a company has performed and what might be coming down the road in the near-term. And out of all of the metrics and results to consider, earnings is one of the most important.

The earnings figure itself is key, of course, but a beat or miss on the bottom line can sometimes be just as, if not more, important. Therefore, investors should consider paying close attention to these earnings surprises, as a big beat can help a stock climb and vice versa.

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 Earnings ESP, or Expected Surprise Prediction, aims to find earnings surprises by focusing on the most recent analyst revisions. The basic premise is that if an analyst reevaluates their earnings estimate ahead of an earnings release, it means they likely have new information that could possibly be more accurate.

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.

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 Cava Group?

Now that we understand what the ESP is and how beneficial it can be, let's dive into a stock that currently fits the bill. Cava Group (CAVA - Free Report) earns a #2 (Buy) right now and its Most Accurate Estimate sits at $0.02 a share, just 15 days from its upcoming earnings release on February 27, 2024.

CAVA has an Earnings ESP figure of +50%, which, as explained above, is calculated by taking the percentage difference between the $0.02 Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.01. Cava Group 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.

CAVA is part of a big group of Retail and Wholesale stocks that boast a positive ESP, and investors may want to take a look at Foot Locker (FL - Free Report) as well.

Foot Locker is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock, and is getting ready to report earnings on March 6, 2024. FL's Most Accurate Estimate sits at $0.52 a share 23 days from its next earnings release.

For Foot Locker, the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.33 is +56%.

Because both stocks hold a positive Earnings ESP, CAVA and FL 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


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Foot Locker, Inc. (FL) - free report >>

CAVA Group, Inc. (CAVA) - free report >>

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