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.

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.

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 Arista Networks?

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. Arista Networks (ANET Quick QuoteANET - Free Report) holds a #2 (Buy) at the moment and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $0.92 a share 13 days away from its upcoming earnings release on August 4, 2026.

Arista Networks' Earnings ESP sits at +3.08%, which, as explained above, is calculated by taking the percentage difference between the $0.92 Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.89. ANET 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.

ANET is one of just a large database of Computer and Technology stocks with positive ESPs. Another solid-looking stock is Seagate (STX Quick QuoteSTX - Free Report) .

Seagate, which is readying to report earnings on July 28, 2026, sits at a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) right now. Its Most Accurate Estimate is currently $5.19 a share, and STX is six days out from its next earnings report.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Seagate is $5.10, and when you take the percentage difference between that number and its Most Accurate Estimate, you get the Earnings ESP figure of +1.75%.

Because both stocks hold a positive Earnings ESP, ANET and STX 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 >>