Earnings are arguably the most important single number on a company's quarterly financial report. Wall Street clearly dives into all of the other metrics and management's input, but the EPS figure helps cut through all the noise.

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 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.

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.

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 Toronto-Dominion Bank?

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. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD Quick QuoteTD - Free Report) holds a #3 (Hold) at the moment and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $1.22 a share 15 days away from its upcoming earnings release on May 22, 2025.

Toronto-Dominion Bank's Earnings ESP sits at +1.1%, which, as explained above, is calculated by taking the percentage difference between the $1.22 Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.21. TD 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.

TD is one of just a large database of Finance stocks with positive ESPs. Another solid-looking stock is Reinsurance Group (RGA Quick QuoteRGA - Free Report) .

Reinsurance Group, which is readying to report earnings on August 7, 2025, sits at a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) right now. It's Most Accurate Estimate is currently $5.66 a share, and RGA is 92 days out from its next earnings report.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Reinsurance Group is $5.63, and when you take the percentage difference between that number and its Most Accurate Estimate, you get the Earnings ESP figure of +0.46%.

TD and RGA's positive ESP metrics may signal that a positive earnings surprise for both stocks is on the horizon.

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 >>