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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.

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.

The ability to identify stocks that are likely to top quarterly earnings expectations can be profitable, but it's no simple task. Here at Zacks, our Earnings ESP filter helps make things easier.

The Zacks Earnings ESP, Explained

The Zacks Earnings ESP is more formally known as the Expected Surprise Prediction, and it aims to grab the inside track on the latest analyst estimate revisions ahead of a company's report. The idea is relatively intuitive as a newer projection might be based on more complete 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.

When we join a positive earnings ESP with a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or stronger, stocks posted a positive bottom-line surprise 70% of the time. Plus, this system saw investors produce roughly 28% 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 Booking Holdings?

The final step today is to look at a stock that meets our ESP qualifications. Booking Holdings (BKNG - Free Report) earns a #3 (Hold) one day from its next quarterly earnings release on February 22, 2024, and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $30.30 a share.

Booking Holdings' Earnings ESP sits at +2.07%, which, as explained above, is calculated by taking the percentage difference between the $30.30 Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $29.69. BKNG 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.

BKNG is one of just a large database of Retail and Wholesale stocks with positive ESPs. Another solid-looking stock is Shake Shack (SHAK - Free Report) .

Slated to report earnings on May 2, 2024, Shake Shack holds a #2 (Buy) ranking on the Zacks Rank, and it's Most Accurate Estimate is $0.09 a share 71 days from its next quarterly update.

For Shake Shack, the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.07 is +23.08%.

BKNG and SHAK'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:


Shake Shack, Inc. (SHAK) - free report >>

Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) - free report >>

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