Third quarter earnings season is upon us.

Buckle up. It could be a wild ride.

While it starts off quietly, with just about 80 companies expected to report this week, the opening week includes many of the large banks and companies in a host of important industries and sectors.

The other sectors will move into the spotlight as the week goes on, including energy, medical products, retail and the rails.

Some have excellent earnings surprise track records, with beats nearly every quarter for years.

That’s not easy to do, especially with a recession and pandemic thrown in.

Can they keep up their earnings surprise streak this quarter?

5 Important Earnings Charts to Watch This Week

1.    Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA Quick QuoteWBA - Free Report) has been going the wrong way all year. Shares are down 39% year-to-date and near 5-year lows. It’s only missed 3 times in the last 5 years but the last miss was last quarter. It’s dirt cheap, with a forward P/E of 7.2. Is it too cheap to pass up?

2.    Intuitive Surgical (ISRG Quick QuoteISRG - Free Report) has a good earnings surprise track record with just 2 misses since 2017. It has beat 5 quarters in a row. Shares are up 27% year-to-date and are testing the 5-year highs again. It’s got a forward P/E of 86, so it’s not exactly cheap. How much more is there in the tank?

3.    Schlumberger (SLB Quick QuoteSLB - Free Report) has a good track record of beating. It has only missed once in the last 5 years and it was back in 2016. That’s impressive given what has gone on over the last few years in the energy industry. Yet, shares are still near 5-year lows and are down 60% year-to-date. Is it a value trap?

4.    V.F. Corporation (VFC Quick QuoteVFC - Free Report) has beat 3 out of the last 4 quarters. The owner of North Face, Timberland and Vans, will be the first major retailer to report since Nike. Shares are down 24% year-to-date, but have rallied 26% over the last 3 months. Are the apparel retailers a deal here?

5.    Kansas City Southern has a good track record of beating. It has put together a 7-quarter winning streak. Shares are near 5-year highs, up 20% year-to-date. They trade with a forward P/E of 26. Are the railroads still hot going into the end of the year?

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