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.

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 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.

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 #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 Comfort Systems?

The final step today is to look at a stock that meets our ESP qualifications. Comfort Systems (FIX Quick QuoteFIX - Free Report) earns a #3 (Hold) 14 days from its next quarterly earnings release on October 23, 2025, and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $6.47 a share.

Comfort Systems' Earnings ESP sits at +8.92%, which, as explained above, is calculated by taking the percentage difference between the $6.47 Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.94. FIX 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.

FIX is part of a big group of Construction stocks that boast a positive ESP, and investors may want to take a look at CRH (CRH Quick QuoteCRH - Free Report) as well.

CRH is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock, and is getting ready to report earnings on November 6, 2025. CRH's Most Accurate Estimate sits at $2.21 a share 28 days from its next earnings release.

For CRH, the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.18 is +1.38%.

Because both stocks hold a positive Earnings ESP, FIX and CRH 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 >>