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.

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 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.

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 Crown Castle?

The final step today is to look at a stock that meets our ESP qualifications. Crown Castle (CCI Quick QuoteCCI - Free Report) earns a #3 (Hold) 30 days from its next quarterly earnings release on July 16, 2025, and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $1.04 a share.

CCI has an Earnings ESP figure of +3.56%, which, as explained above, is calculated by taking the percentage difference between the $1.04 Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1. Crown Castle 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.

CCI is part of a big group of Finance stocks that boast a positive ESP, and investors may want to take a look at Rithm (RITM Quick QuoteRITM - Free Report) as well.

Rithm, which is readying to report earnings on July 30, 2025, sits at a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) right now. It's Most Accurate Estimate is currently $0.54 a share, and RITM is 44 days out from its next earnings report.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Rithm is $0.52, and when you take the percentage difference between that number and its Most Accurate Estimate, you get the Earnings ESP figure of +3.85%.

CCI and RITM'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 >>