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5 Top-Ranked Stocks Likely to Deliver Earnings Beats
It is not surprising that before an earnings season, every investor looks for stocks that can beat market expectations. This is because investors always try to position themselves ahead of time and look to tap stocks that are high-quality in nature.
In this regard, we ran a screener that identified stocks such as The Estee Lauder Companies, IMAX, Stanley Black & Decker, Sterling Infrastructure Inc. and PBF Energy as likely winners on earnings-beat potential.
Why Is a Positive Earnings Surprise So Important?
Historically, stocks of companies with solid quarterly earnings (on a nominal basis) tank if they miss or merely meet market expectations. After all, a 20% earnings rise (though apparently looks good) doesn't tell you if earnings growth has been exhibiting a decelerating trend.
Also, seasonal fluctuations come into play sometimes. If a company's first quarter is seasonally weak and its fourth quarter strong, then it is likely to report a sequential earnings decline. In such cases, growth rates are misleading when judging the true health of a company.
On the other hand, after much brainstorming and analysis of companies' financials and initiatives, Wall Street analysts project companies' earnings. They, in fact, combine their insights and a company's guidance when deriving an earnings estimate.
Thus, outperforming that estimate is almost equivalent to beating the company's own expectation as well as the market perception. And if the margin of earnings surprise is big, it typically drives the stock higher right after the release. Thus, more than anything else, an earnings surprise can push a stock higher.
How to Find Stocks That Can Beat?
Now, finding stocks that have the potential to beat on the bottom line may be investors' dream but not an easy job. One way to do this is to look at the earnings surprise history of the company.
An impressive track record in this regard generally acts as a catalyst in sending a stock higher. It indicates the company's ability to surpass estimates. And investors generally believe that the company will apply the same secret sauce to execute yet another earnings beat in its next release.
Here are five out of the 15 stocks:
The Estee Lauder Companies: This Zacks Rank #2 company is one of the world's leading manufacturers and marketers of skin care, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The average earnings surprise for EL in the past four quarters is 41.43%.
IMAX: This Zacks Rank #1 company is a leading global entertainment technology company specializing in motion picture technologies and presentations.
The average earnings surprise for IMAX in the past four quarters is 31.37%.
Stanley Black & Decker: This Zacks Rank #2 company manufactures and provides tools (power and hand tools) and related accessories, engineered fastening systems, and several other items and services.
The average earnings surprise for SWK in the past four quarters is 23.29%.
Sterling Infrastructure Inc.: The company is a diversified U.S. infrastructure services company. The stock has a Zacks Rank #2.
The average earnings surprise of STRL in the past four quarters is 27.21%.
PBF Energy: The company is a leading independent refiner of crude oil. The stock has a Zacks Rank #1.
The average earnings surprise for PBF in the past four quarters is 123.38%.
Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.
About Screen of the Week
Zacks.com created the first and best screening system on the web earning the distinction as the "#1 site for screening stocks" by Money Magazine. But powerful screening tools is just the start. That is why Zacks created the Screen of the Week to highlight profitable stock picking strategies that investors can actively use.
Strong Stocks that Should Be in the News
Many are little publicized and fly under the Wall Street radar. They're virtually unknown to the general public. Yet today's 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" were generated by the stock-picking system that has more than doubled the market from 1988 through 2016. Its average gain has been a stellar +25% per year. See these high-potential stocks free >>.
Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.
Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
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Zacks.com featured highlights include Estee Lauder, IMAX, Stanley Black & Decker, Sterling Infrastructure and PBF Energy
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – October 27, 2026 – Stocks in this week’s article are The Estee Lauder Companies (EL - Free Report) , IMAX (IMAX - Free Report) , Stanley Black & Decker (SWK - Free Report) , Sterling Infrastructure Inc. (STRL - Free Report) and PBF Energy (PBF - Free Report) .
5 Top-Ranked Stocks Likely to Deliver Earnings Beats
It is not surprising that before an earnings season, every investor looks for stocks that can beat market expectations. This is because investors always try to position themselves ahead of time and look to tap stocks that are high-quality in nature.
In this regard, we ran a screener that identified stocks such as The Estee Lauder Companies, IMAX, Stanley Black & Decker, Sterling Infrastructure Inc. and PBF Energy as likely winners on earnings-beat potential.
Why Is a Positive Earnings Surprise So Important?
Historically, stocks of companies with solid quarterly earnings (on a nominal basis) tank if they miss or merely meet market expectations. After all, a 20% earnings rise (though apparently looks good) doesn't tell you if earnings growth has been exhibiting a decelerating trend.
Also, seasonal fluctuations come into play sometimes. If a company's first quarter is seasonally weak and its fourth quarter strong, then it is likely to report a sequential earnings decline. In such cases, growth rates are misleading when judging the true health of a company.
On the other hand, after much brainstorming and analysis of companies' financials and initiatives, Wall Street analysts project companies' earnings. They, in fact, combine their insights and a company's guidance when deriving an earnings estimate.
Thus, outperforming that estimate is almost equivalent to beating the company's own expectation as well as the market perception. And if the margin of earnings surprise is big, it typically drives the stock higher right after the release. Thus, more than anything else, an earnings surprise can push a stock higher.
How to Find Stocks That Can Beat?
Now, finding stocks that have the potential to beat on the bottom line may be investors' dream but not an easy job. One way to do this is to look at the earnings surprise history of the company.
An impressive track record in this regard generally acts as a catalyst in sending a stock higher. It indicates the company's ability to surpass estimates. And investors generally believe that the company will apply the same secret sauce to execute yet another earnings beat in its next release.
Here are five out of the 15 stocks:
The Estee Lauder Companies: This Zacks Rank #2 company is one of the world's leading manufacturers and marketers of skin care, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The average earnings surprise for EL in the past four quarters is 41.43%.
IMAX: This Zacks Rank #1 company is a leading global entertainment technology company specializing in motion picture technologies and presentations.
The average earnings surprise for IMAX in the past four quarters is 31.37%.
Stanley Black & Decker: This Zacks Rank #2 company manufactures and provides tools (power and hand tools) and related accessories, engineered fastening systems, and several other items and services.
The average earnings surprise for SWK in the past four quarters is 23.29%.
Sterling Infrastructure Inc.: The company is a diversified U.S. infrastructure services company. The stock has a Zacks Rank #2.
The average earnings surprise of STRL in the past four quarters is 27.21%.
PBF Energy: The company is a leading independent refiner of crude oil. The stock has a Zacks Rank #1.
The average earnings surprise for PBF in the past four quarters is 123.38%.
For the rest of this Screen of the Week article please visit Zacks.com at: https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/3014671/5-top-ranked-stocks-that-are-likely-to-deliver-earnings-beats
Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.
About Screen of the Week
Zacks.com created the first and best screening system on the web earning the distinction as the "#1 site for screening stocks" by Money Magazine. But powerful screening tools is just the start. That is why Zacks created the Screen of the Week to highlight profitable stock picking strategies that investors can actively use.
Strong Stocks that Should Be in the News
Many are little publicized and fly under the Wall Street radar. They're virtually unknown to the general public. Yet today's 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" were generated by the stock-picking system that has more than doubled the market from 1988 through 2016. Its average gain has been a stellar +25% per year. See these high-potential stocks free >>.
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Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.
Contact: Jim Giaquinto
Company: Zacks.com
Phone: 312-265-9268
Email: pr@zacks.com
Visit: https://www.zacks.com/
Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.