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, or Expected Surprise Prediction, aims to find earnings surprises by focusing on the most recent analyst revisions. The basic premise is that if an analyst reevaluates their earnings estimate ahead of an earnings release, it means they likely have new information that could possibly be more accurate.

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 Energy Transfer LP?

The final step today is to look at a stock that meets our ESP qualifications. Energy Transfer LP (ET Quick QuoteET - Free Report) earns a #3 (Hold) six days from its next quarterly earnings release on November 3, 2026, and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $0.44 a share.

By taking the percentage difference between the $0.44 Most Accurate Estimate and the $0.41 Zacks Consensus Estimate, Energy Transfer LP has an Earnings ESP of +8.46%. Investors should also know that ET 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.

ET is just one of a large group of Oils and Energy stocks with a positive ESP figure. PBF Energy (PBF Quick QuotePBF - Free Report) is another qualifying stock you may want to consider.

Slated to report earnings on October 29, 2026, PBF Energy holds a #1 (Strong Buy) ranking on the Zacks Rank, and its Most Accurate Estimate is $11.15 a share one day from its next quarterly update.

For PBF Energy, the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $11.12 is +0.34%.

ET and PBF'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 >>