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.
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.
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.
In fact, when we combined a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better and a positive Earnings ESP, stocks produced a positive surprise 70% of the time. Perhaps most importantly, using these parameters has helped produce 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 United Rentals?
The final step today is to look at a stock that meets our ESP qualifications. United Rentals (URI) earns a #2 (Buy) nine days from its next quarterly earnings release on July 22, 2026, and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $11.79 a share.
URI has an Earnings ESP figure of +0.94%, which, as explained above, is calculated by taking the percentage difference between the $11.79 Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $11.68. United Rentals is one of a large database 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.
URI is just one of a large group of Construction stocks with a positive ESP figure. SPX Technologies (SPXC) is another qualifying stock you may want to consider.
SPX Technologies, which is readying to report earnings on July 30, 2026, sits at a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) right now. Its Most Accurate Estimate is currently $1.88 a share, and SPXC is 17 days out from its next earnings report.
For SPX Technologies, the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.85 is +1.53%.
URI and SPXC'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 >>
Should You Invest in United Rentals, Inc. (URI)?
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United Rentals, Inc. (URI): Free Stock Analysis Report
SPX Technologies, Inc. (SPXC): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).