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 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.

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 #3 (Hold) ranking, which is most stocks covered at 60%, are expected to perform in-line with the broader market. But stocks that fall into the #2 (Buy) and #1 (Strong Buy) ranking, 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 Agnico Eagle Mines?

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. Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM Quick QuoteAEM - Free Report) holds a #1 (Strong Buy) at the moment and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $1.80 a share nine days away from its upcoming earnings release on July 30, 2025.

AEM has an Earnings ESP figure of +8.77%, which, as explained above, is calculated by taking the percentage difference between the $1.80 Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.66. Agnico Eagle Mines 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.

AEM is just one of a large group of Basic Materials stocks with a positive ESP figure. Cameco (CCJ Quick QuoteCCJ - Free Report) is another qualifying stock you may want to consider.

Slated to report earnings on July 31, 2025, Cameco holds a #3 (Hold) ranking on the Zacks Rank, and its Most Accurate Estimate is $0.44 a share 10 days from its next quarterly update.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Cameco is $0.35, and when you take the percentage difference between that number and its Most Accurate Estimate, you get the Earnings ESP figure of +25.71%.

AEM and CCJ'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 >>