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

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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.

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.

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 Casey's General Stores?

The final step today is to look at a stock that meets our ESP qualifications. Casey's General Stores (CASY - Free Report) earns a #3 (Hold) seven days from its next quarterly earnings release on September 4, 2024, and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $4.51 a share.

By taking the percentage difference between the $4.51 Most Accurate Estimate and the $4.50 Zacks Consensus Estimate, Casey's General Stores has an Earnings ESP of +0.21%. Investors should also know that CASY 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.

CASY is one of just a large database of Retail and Wholesale stocks with positive ESPs. Another solid-looking stock is O'Reilly Automotive (ORLY - Free Report) .

Slated to report earnings on October 23, 2024, O'Reilly Automotive holds a #3 (Hold) ranking on the Zacks Rank, and it's Most Accurate Estimate is $11.58 a share 56 days from its next quarterly update.

O'Reilly Automotive's Earnings ESP figure currently stands at +0.1% after taking the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $11.57.

CASY and ORLY'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:


O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. (ORLY) - free report >>

Casey's General Stores, Inc. (CASY) - free report >>

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