Back to top

Image: Bigstock

These 2 Retail and Wholesale Stocks Could Beat Earnings: Why They Should Be on Your Radar

Read MoreHide Full Article

Earnings are arguably the most important single number on a company's quarterly financial report. Wall Street clearly dives into all of the other metrics and management's input, but the EPS figure helps cut through all the noise.

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.

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.

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 BJ's Restaurants?

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. BJ's Restaurants (BJRI - Free Report) holds a #1 (Strong Buy) at the moment and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $0.36 a share six days away from its upcoming earnings release on July 27, 2023.

By taking the percentage difference between the $0.36 Most Accurate Estimate and the $0.35 Zacks Consensus Estimate, BJ's Restaurants has an Earnings ESP of +1.91%. Investors should also know that BJRI 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.

BJRI is part of a big group of Retail and Wholesale stocks that boast a positive ESP, and investors may want to take a look at Yum China Holdings (YUMC - Free Report) as well.

Yum China Holdings, which is readying to report earnings on July 31, 2023, sits at a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) right now. It's Most Accurate Estimate is currently $0.42 a share, and YUMC is 10 days out from its next earnings report.

Yum China Holdings' Earnings ESP figure currently stands at +7.69% after taking the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.39.

BJRI and YUMC's positive ESP figures tell us that both stocks have a good chance at beating analyst expectations in their next earnings report.

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


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (BJRI) - free report >>

Yum China (YUMC) - free report >>

Published in