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

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.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.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, ExplainedThe Zacks Earnings ESP, or Expected Surprise Prediction, aims to find earnings surprises by focusing on the most recent analyst revisions. The basic premise is that if an analyst reevaluates their earnings estimate ahead of an earnings release, it means they likely have new information that could possibly be more accurate.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.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.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 FMC?The final step today is to look at a stock that meets our ESP qualifications. FMC (FMC) earns a #3 (Hold) 29 days from its next quarterly earnings release on July 30, 2025, and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $0.67 a share.FMC has an Earnings ESP figure of +11.98%, which, as explained above, is calculated by taking the percentage difference between the $0.67 Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.60. FMC 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.FMC is part of a big group of Consumer Staples stocks that boast a positive ESP, and investors may want to take a look at Anheuser-Busch Inbev (BUD) as well.Anheuser-Busch Inbev, which is readying to report earnings on August 7, 2025, sits at a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) right now. It's Most Accurate Estimate is currently $0.97 a share, and BUD is 37 days out from its next earnings report.For Anheuser-Busch Inbev, the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.89 is +8.99%.Because both stocks hold a positive Earnings ESP, FMC and BUD 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 >>Should You Invest in FMC Corporation (FMC)?Before you invest in FMC Corporation (FMC), want to know the best stocks to buy for the next 30 days? Check out Zacks Investment Research for our free report on the 7 best stocks to buy.Zacks Investment Research has been committed to providing investors with tools and independent research since 1978. For more than a quarter century, the Zacks Rank stock-rating system has more than doubled the S&P 500 with an average gain of +24.08% per year. (These returns cover a period from January 1, 1988 through May 6, 2024.)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 FMC Corporation (FMC): Free Stock Analysis Report Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (BUD): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks