Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Want Better Returns? Don?t Ignore These 2 Retail and Wholesale Stocks Set to Beat Earnings

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.

Now that we know how important earnings and earnings surprises are, it's time to show investors how to take advantage of these events to boost their returns by utilizing the Zacks Earnings ESP filter.

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.

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.

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 American Eagle Outfitters?

The final step today is to look at a stock that meets our ESP qualifications. American Eagle Outfitters (AEO - Free Report) earns a #3 (Hold) 16 days from its next quarterly earnings release on March 12, 2025, and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $0.51 a share.

American Eagle Outfitters' Earnings ESP sits at +1%, which, as explained above, is calculated by taking the percentage difference between the $0.51 Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.50. AEO 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.

AEO is one of just a large database of Retail and Wholesale stocks with positive ESPs. Another solid-looking stock is Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) .

Amazon, which is readying to report earnings on April 29, 2025, sits at a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) right now. It's Most Accurate Estimate is currently $1.39 a share, and AMZN is 64 days out from its next earnings report.

For Amazon, the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.38 is +1.03%.

Because both stocks hold a positive Earnings ESP, AEO and AMZN could potentially post earnings beats in their next reports.

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:


Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) - free report >>

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (AEO) - free report >>

Published in