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.

2 Stocks to Add to Your Watchlist

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 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.

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

CASY has an Earnings ESP figure of 0.21%, which, as explained above, is calculated by taking the percentage difference between the $4.51 Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.50.

CASY is just one of a large group of Retail-Wholesale stocks with a positive ESP figure. O'Reilly Automotive (ORLY) is another qualifying stock you may want to consider.

O'Reilly Automotive, which is readying to report earnings on October 23, 2024, sits at a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) right now. It's Most Accurate Estimate is currently $11.58 a share, and ORLY is 56 days out from its next earnings report.

For O'Reilly Automotive, the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $11.57 is 0.1%.

CASY and ORLY's positive ESP metrics may signal that a positive earnings surprise for both stocks is on the horizon.

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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Casey's General Stores, Inc. (CASY) : Free Stock Analysis Report

O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. (ORLY) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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