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How to Boost Your Portfolio with Top Auto, Tires and Trucks Stocks Set to Beat Earnings

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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.

The earnings figure itself is key, of course, but a beat or miss on the bottom line can sometimes be just as, if not more, important. Therefore, investors should consider paying close attention to these earnings surprises, as a big beat can help a stock climb and vice versa.

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 is more formally known as the Expected Surprise Prediction, and it aims to grab the inside track on the latest analyst estimate revisions ahead of a company's report. The idea is relatively intuitive as a newer projection might be based on more complete information.

Now that we understand the basic idea, let's look at how the Expected Surprise Prediction works. The ESP is calculated by comparing the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate, with the percentage difference between the two giving us the Zacks ESP figure.

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.

Most stocks, about 60%, fall into the #3 (Hold) category, and they are expected to perform in-line with the broader market. Stocks with a #2 (Buy) and #1 (Strong Buy) rating, or the top 15% and top 5% of stocks, respectively, should outperform the market, with Strong Buy stocks outperforming more than any other rank.

Should You Consider Polaris Inc?

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. Polaris Inc (PII - Free Report) holds a #3 (Hold) at the moment and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $1.80 a share 14 days away from its upcoming earnings release on April 25, 2023.

PII has an Earnings ESP figure of +3.85%, which, as explained above, is calculated by taking the percentage difference between the $1.80 Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.73. Polaris Inc is one of a large database 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.

PII is just one of a large group of Auto, Tires and Trucks stocks with a positive ESP figure. Mobileye Global (MBLY - Free Report) is another qualifying stock you may want to consider.

Slated to report earnings on April 27, 2023, Mobileye Global holds a #3 (Hold) ranking on the Zacks Rank, and it's Most Accurate Estimate is $0.15 a share 16 days from its next quarterly update.

For Mobileye Global, the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.13 is +11.94%.

PII and MBLY'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 >>


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