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.
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. Eaton (ETN) earns a Zacks Rank #3 29 days from its next quarterly earnings release on August 7, 2025, and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $2.93 a share.
By taking the percentage difference between the $2.93 Most Accurate Estimate and the $2.92 Zacks Consensus Estimate, Eaton has an Earnings ESP of +0.28%.
ETN is just one of a large group of Industrial Products stocks with a positive ESP figure. Oshkosh (OSK) is another qualifying stock you may want to consider.
Slated to report earnings on August 1, 2025, Oshkosh holds a #3 (Hold) ranking on the Zacks Rank, and its Most Accurate Estimate is $3 a share 23 days from its next quarterly update.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Oshkosh is $2.98, and when you take the percentage difference between that number and its Most Accurate Estimate, you get the Earnings ESP figure of +0.72%.
ETN and OSK’s positive ESP metrics may signal that a positive earnings surprise for both stocks is on the horizon.
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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Eaton Corporation, PLC (ETN) : Free Stock Analysis Report