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Want Better Returns? Don't Ignore These 2 Consumer Discretionary Stocks Set to Beat Earnings
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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.
Life and the stock market are both about expectations, and rising above what is expected is often rewarded, while falling short can come with negative consequences. Investors might want to try to capture stronger returns by finding positive 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 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.
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 Royal Caribbean?
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. Royal Caribbean (RCL - Free Report) holds a #3 (Hold) at the moment and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $6.38 a share eight days away from its upcoming earnings release on October 27, 2026.
By taking the percentage difference between the $6.38 Most Accurate Estimate and the $6.37 Zacks Consensus Estimate, Royal Caribbean has an Earnings ESP of +0.20%. Investors should also know that RCL is one of a large group 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.
RCL is just one of a large group of Consumer Discretionary stocks with a positive ESP figure. Carnival (CCL - Free Report) is another qualifying stock you may want to consider.
Slated to report earnings on December 18, 2026, Carnival holds a #3 (Hold) ranking on the Zacks Rank, and its Most Accurate Estimate is $0.23 a share 60 days from its next quarterly update.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Carnival is $0.22, and when you take the percentage difference between that number and its Most Accurate Estimate, you get the Earnings ESP figure of +1.05%.
RCL and CCL'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 >>
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
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Want Better Returns? Don't Ignore These 2 Consumer Discretionary Stocks Set to Beat Earnings
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.
Life and the stock market are both about expectations, and rising above what is expected is often rewarded, while falling short can come with negative consequences. Investors might want to try to capture stronger returns by finding positive 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 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.
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 Royal Caribbean?
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. Royal Caribbean (RCL - Free Report) holds a #3 (Hold) at the moment and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $6.38 a share eight days away from its upcoming earnings release on October 27, 2026.
By taking the percentage difference between the $6.38 Most Accurate Estimate and the $6.37 Zacks Consensus Estimate, Royal Caribbean has an Earnings ESP of +0.20%. Investors should also know that RCL is one of a large group 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.
RCL is just one of a large group of Consumer Discretionary stocks with a positive ESP figure. Carnival (CCL - Free Report) is another qualifying stock you may want to consider.
Slated to report earnings on December 18, 2026, Carnival holds a #3 (Hold) ranking on the Zacks Rank, and its Most Accurate Estimate is $0.23 a share 60 days from its next quarterly update.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Carnival is $0.22, and when you take the percentage difference between that number and its Most Accurate Estimate, you get the Earnings ESP figure of +1.05%.
RCL and CCL'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 >>