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How to Find Strong Consumer Discretionary Stocks Slated for Positive Earnings Surprises

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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.

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.

The ability to identify stocks that are likely to top quarterly earnings expectations can be profitable, but it's no simple task. Here at Zacks, our Earnings ESP filter helps make things easier.

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.

When we join a positive earnings ESP with a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or stronger, stocks posted a positive bottom-line surprise 70% of the time. Plus, this system saw investors produce roughly 28% 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 AMC Entertainment?

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. AMC Entertainment (AMC - Free Report) holds a #3 (Hold) at the moment and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at -$0.13 a share 25 days away from its upcoming earnings release on May 5, 2023.

AMC Entertainment's Earnings ESP sits at +25.71%, which, as explained above, is calculated by taking the percentage difference between the -$0.13 Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of -$0.18. AMC 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.

AMC is one of just a large database of Consumer Discretionary stocks with positive ESPs. Another solid-looking stock is PVH (PVH - Free Report) .

PVH, which is readying to report earnings on June 7, 2023, sits at a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) right now. It's Most Accurate Estimate is currently $1.93 a share, and PVH is 58 days out from its next earnings report.

For PVH, the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.91 is +1.1%.

AMC and PVH'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 >>


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


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PVH Corp. (PVH) - free report >>

AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (AMC) - free report >>

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