Investors looking to play stocks around corporate earnings reports are generally looking for companies that have a solid track record of beating expectations and seeing shares rise on results. Halfway through the third-quarter earnings season, the record has been mixed. Of the 53% of S & P 500 companies that have reported results so far, 73% have exceeded expectations and 5% have matched them, according to a report from The Earnings Scout. So far, that’s lagging second-quarter results, but only slightly. To find companies that have a history of beating the Street, CNBC Pro used data from Bespoke Investment Group to screen for names that beat per-share earnings estimates at least 75% of the time and then notched an average gain of at least 1% on earnings day. The stocks to watch Two notable companies are slated to report results early in the week. XPO Logistics will release its quarterly report ahead of its Monday morning earnings call. The company has beat earnings per share estimates 77% of the time, and sales 63% of the time. While it has a track record of slipping slightly from market open to close on its reporting day, its average one-day movement is 1.1%, according to Bespoke data. Of course, XPO Logistics stock slipped earlier in October when the company announced that it expected its quarterly revenue would be below Wall Street’s expectations . However, the trucking logistics company also said it expected earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to be higher than analysts expect. NXP Semiconductors will report its earnings on Monday after market close. The company has a solid track record of beating earnings and sales expectations, which it’s done 64% and 79% of the time, according to Bespoke. Its average one-day gain is slightly more than 1%. Estee Lauder , the beauty company, reports on Tuesday. It has outpaced earnings 80% and sales 77% of the time, respectively. Its stock tends to move more than 2% in the day after earnings, per Bespoke. In September, Goldman Sachs upgraded Estee Lauder to buy from neutral, citing the stock’s recent pullback. Generac , which will report the same day, beats earnings and sales expectations 88% and 85% of the time. In addition, 46% of analysts covering the stock have raised guidance, according to Bespoke. The company has a one-day average move of 2.39%. The maker of backup power generators is trading at a relative discount after shedding 25% earlier in the month when it cut is full-year forecast and issued disappointing preliminary third-quarter results. The name on the list with the largest average one-day move is HubSpot . Bespoke data shows it could jump nearly 4.5% when results come out. The marketing software developer also has a 100% earnings expectations beat rate, according to Bespoke. Media company Roku and Burger King parent Restaurant Brands International round out the list.
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