Quarterly financial reports play a vital role on Wall Street, as they help investors see how a company has performed and what might be coming down the road in the near-term. And out of all of the metrics and results to consider, earnings is one of the most important.
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.
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 PENN Entertainment?
The final step today is to look at a stock that meets our ESP qualifications. PENN Entertainment (PENN) earns a #3 (Hold) seven days from its next quarterly earnings release on August 7, 2025, and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at -$0.03 a share.
By taking the percentage difference between the -$0.03 Most Accurate Estimate and the -$0.04 Zacks Consensus Estimate, PENN Entertainment has an Earnings ESP of +23.32%. Investors should also know that PENN 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.
PENN is part of a big group of Consumer Discretionary stocks that boast a positive ESP, and investors may want to take a look at Hasbro (HAS) as well.
Hasbro, which is readying to report earnings on October 23, 2025, sits at a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) right now. Its Most Accurate Estimate is currently $1.64 a share, and HAS is 84 days out from its next earnings report.
Hasbro's Earnings ESP figure currently stands at +0.63% after taking the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.63.
Because both stocks hold a positive Earnings ESP, PENN and HAS 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 >>
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PENN Entertainment, Inc. (PENN): Free Stock Analysis Report Hasbro, Inc. (HAS): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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