How to Boost Your Portfolio with Top Consumer Staples Stocks Set to Beat Earnings

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.The earnings figure itself is key, of course, but a beat or miss on the bottom line can sometimes be just as, if not more, important. Therefore, investors should consider paying close attention to these earnings surprises, as a big beat can help a stock climb and vice versa.The ability to identify stocks that are likely to top quarterly earnings expectations can be profitable, but it's no simple task. Here at Zacks, our Earnings ESP filter helps make things easier.The Zacks Earnings ESP, ExplainedThe 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 ranking of #3 (Hold), or 60% of all stocks covered by the Zacks Rank, are expected to perform in-line with the broader market. Stocks with rankings of #2 (Buy) and #1 (Strong Buy), 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 Mondelez?Now that we understand what the ESP is and how beneficial it can be, let's dive into a stock that currently fits the bill. Mondelez (MDLZ) earns a #3 (Hold) right now and its Most Accurate Estimate sits at $0.85 a share, just six days from its upcoming earnings release on October 29, 2024.By taking the percentage difference between the $0.85 Most Accurate Estimate and the $0.84 Zacks Consensus Estimate, Mondelez has an Earnings ESP of +0.8%. Investors should also know that MDLZ 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.MDLZ is part of a big group of Consumer Staples stocks that boast a positive ESP, and investors may want to take a look at Colgate-Palmolive (CL) as well.Colgate-Palmolive is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock, and is getting ready to report earnings on October 25, 2024. CL's Most Accurate Estimate sits at $0.89 a share two days from its next earnings release.Colgate-Palmolive's Earnings ESP figure currently stands at +0.96% after taking the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.88.Because both stocks hold a positive Earnings ESP, MDLZ and CL could potentially post earnings beats in their next reports.Find Stocks to Buy or Sell Before They're ReportedUse 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 >>Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.This top pick is among the most innovative financial firms. With a fast-growing customer base (already 50+ million) and a diverse set of cutting edge solutions, this stock is poised for big gains. Of course, all our elite picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpWant 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 Mondelez International, Inc. (MDLZ): Free Stock Analysis Report Colgate-Palmolive Company (CL): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks