4 Business Services Firms Poised to Beat Estimates This Earnings Season

Reflecting on the fourth quarter of 2025, the U.S. services sector continued its expansion. In December, the Services PMI, as reported by the Institute for Supply Management, came in at 54.4%, closing out 2025 on a strong note with its 10th month of expansion and the highest reading recorded during the year.

According to the latest data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, real GDP increased at an annual rate of 4.4% during July-September compared with 3.8% growth recorded in the second quarter. This improvement highlighted the economy’s resilience despite a backdrop of persistent inflationary pressures, trade policy uncertainty and high fiscal debt. 

The services sector’s steady performance underscores the U.S. economy’s adaptability, supported by sustained consumer demand. Service industries, including transportation and warehousing, retail and wholesale trade, utilities, finance, insurance, health care and social assistance, demonstrated resilience and healthy activity by the end of the quarter. Nevertheless, not all segments moved in unison. Construction, management of companies and support services, as well as professional, scientific, and technical services, exhibited relative weakness.

Overall, the mixed momentum suggests that while the U.S. services sector continues to anchor economic growth, underlying disparities between industries highlight the economy’s ongoing transition toward a more balanced and sustainable expansion.

Some service providers are set to report their earnings results over the next few weeks. We have picked four stocks, Gartner IT, Coherent COHR, Exponent EXPO and TransUnion TRU, which are well-positioned to beat earnings estimates this season.

Stocks Poised to Beat This Season

With the existence of several players in the sector, finding the right business services stocks that have the potential to beat on earnings can be daunting. Our proprietary methodology, however, makes it fairly simple.

You could narrow down the list of choices by looking at stocks that have the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Earnings ESP is our proprietary methodology for determining stocks that have the best chances to surprise with their next earnings announcement. It is the percentage difference between the Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

Our research shows that for stocks with this combination, the chance of an earnings surprise is as high as 70%.

Here are our picks.

Other Stocks to Consider

Here are a few stocks from the broader Business Services sector, which, according to our model, also have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this season.

Gartner IT has an Earnings ESP of +0.80% and a Zacks Rank of 3. The company is scheduled to declare its fourth-quarter 2025 results on Feb. 03. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $1.74 billion, indicating year-over-year growth of 1.7%. For earnings, the consensus mark is pegged at $3.50 per share, implying a 35.8% decline from the year-ago quarter’s actual. Gartner beat the consensus estimate inthe trailing four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 24.4%.

Gartner, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Gartner, Inc. price-eps-surprise | Gartner, Inc. Quote

Coherent COHR has an Earnings ESP of +1.03% and a Zacks Rank of 3. The company is scheduled to declare its second-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Feb. 4.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for COHR’s revenues is pegged at $1.63 billion, indicating a 13.9% year-over-year growth. The consensus estimate for earnings is pegged at $1.22 per share, implying a year-over-year increase of 28.4%. Coherent beat the consensus estimate in the trailing four quarters, delivering an average earnings surprise of 15.2%.

Coherent Corp. Price and EPS Surprise

Coherent Corp. price-eps-surprise | Coherent Corp. Quote

Exponent EXPO: The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter 2025 revenues is pinned at $128.3 million, indicating growth of 3.6% from the year-ago quarter’s actual. For earnings, the consensus mark is pegged at 47 cents per share, indicating 2.1% growth from the year-ago quarter’s reported number. EXPO surpassed the consensus estimate in the trailing four quarters, with an average beat of 10.4%.

It has an Earnings ESP of +0.53% and a Zacks Rank of 3 at present. EXPO is scheduled to declare results on Feb. 5.

Exponent, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Exponent, Inc. price-eps-surprise | Exponent, Inc. Quote

TransUnion TRU: The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter 2025 revenues is pinned at $1.1 billion, indicating a 9.6% increase from the year-ago quarter’s actual. For earnings, the consensus mark is pegged at $1.03 per share, suggesting a 6.2% rise from the year-ago quarter’s reported number. TRU surpassed the consensus estimate in the trailing four quarters, with an average beat of 5.8%.

It has an Earnings ESP of +1.80% and a Zacks Rank of 3 at present. TRU is scheduled to declare results on Feb. 12.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research