Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Key Takeaways Intuitive Surgical kept full-year procedure growth guidance despite slower U.S. da Vinci procedures.ISRG expanded operating margin and raised gross margin outlook on cost cuts and manufacturing efficiencies.Intuitive Surgical's advanced AI software, robotics and international expansion will support long-term growth. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG - Free Report) continues to command a valuation premium over the medical technology industry, though that premium has narrowed significantly. The stock currently trades at 9.89X forward 12-month sales, its lowest level in the past 18 months compared with a historical median of 15.89X, while the industry trades at 3.77X. The compressed multiple reflects investor concerns over moderating U.S. procedure growth, but the company's latest results suggest its long-term competitive advantages remain intact.

The key overhang is slowing procedure growth. U.S. da Vinci procedures rose 12% in the second quarter, below recent trends, as management cited deferred benign surgeries due to changes in ACA premium subsidies and the law of large numbers. However, the company maintained its full-year procedure growth guidance of 13.5-15.5%, expecting results near the midpoint, indicating confidence that deferred demand will eventually return.

Meanwhile, profitability continues to strengthen. Second-quarter adjusted gross margin expanded 30 basis points (bps) to 70% and adjusted operating margin expanded 330 bps to 42%, supported by product cost reductions, operating leverage and robust adoption of da Vinci 5. Management also raised its full-year gross margin outlook by 50 bps to 68-69%, highlighting the ability of the business to offset inflationary pressures through scale and manufacturing efficiencies.

Beyond procedures, Intuitive Surgical is widening its competitive moat through software and ecosystem expansion. The company rolled out the first wave of more than 100 planned da Vinci 5 software updates, renewed its My Intuitive+ AI-enabled digital platform without customer opt-outs and continues to invest heavily in AI and workflow automation. Product innovation remains robust with continued momentum in SP and Ion, expansion of XiR into cost-sensitive markets, development of a next-generation GI robotic platform and new cardiac-specific technologies.

Geographic diversification also provides an important growth lever. While China remains challenging, strong momentum in Europe, India, Japan and other international markets, coupled with favorable reimbursement changes and broader robotic adoption, supports long-term expansion. Investments in new indications, higher-value software offerings and next-generation robotics reinforce Intuitive Surgical's durable growth profile. Although near-term procedure moderation may keep valuation multiples below historical peaks, the company's innovation engine, recurring revenue model and expanding global footprint justify its continued premium over industry peers.

Peer UpdatesGlaukos (GKOS - Free Report) continues to command a premium valuation, trading at 12.54X forward sales, well above its five-year median of 9.9X and the industry's 3.77X, reflecting investors' confidence in its ability to create entirely new ophthalmology markets. The first quarter reinforced this narrative with 41% revenue growth, driven by rapid adoption of iDose TR, a raised full-year revenue outlook and the commercial launch of Epioxa. Management believes Epioxa can become another transformational growth platform. Beyond these launches, an expanding clinical pipeline, growing reimbursement support, international glaucoma expansion and a disciplined focus on operating leverage strengthen the long-term investment case. While execution risks around Epioxa reimbursement and competitive pressures remain, sustained innovation, multiple growth drivers and a diversified ophthalmology portfolio support Glaukos' ability to justify its premium valuation over time.

IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX - Free Report) trades at 8.81x forward sales, below its five-year median of 10.14x but still well above the industry's 3.77x, reflecting its durable competitive advantages in veterinary diagnostics. The first quarter demonstrated why investors continue to assign a premium, as the company delivered 14% reported revenue growth, expanded operating margins and raised full-year guidance despite declining clinic visits. Growth continues to be driven by higher diagnostics utilization, premium instrument placements, expanding recurring revenues, cloud-based software adoption and AI-enabled innovations such as inVue Dx and Cancer Dx. High customer retention, increasing international penetration and continued software integration further reinforce recurring revenue visibility. Although softer wellness visits remain a near-term headwind, IDEXX's innovation-led ecosystem, pricing power and expanding diagnostics penetration position the company to sustain a premium valuation relative to peers over the long run.

ISRG’s Price Performance, Valuation and EstimatesShares of ISRG have lost 38.2% so far this year compared with a 16.3% decline for the industry.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, Intuitive Surgical trades at a forward price-to-sales of 9.89X, above the industry average. It is trading close to its five-year low of 9.66X. ISRG carries a Value Score of D.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Intuitive Surgical’s 2026 earnings implies a 17.3% rise from the year-ago period’s level.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Key Takeaways LMT is expanding missile, fighter and munitions programs with a $186.4B backlog supporting growth.General Dynamics ended Q1 2026 with a $130.84B backlog and $188.44B in estimated contract value.GD and LMT differ on valuation, debt, earnings estimate revisions and recent share performance. Lockheed Martin (LMT - Free Report) and General Dynamics (GD - Free Report) derive a significant portion of their revenues from the U.S. Department of Defense and play critical roles in supporting national security through the development of advanced military platforms, combat systems, naval vessels, aerospace technologies and mission-critical services. Their long-standing relationships with the Pentagon, combined with large contract backlogs and exposure to rising global defense spending, make them natural peers for investors evaluating opportunities in the defense sector.

Both companies are positioned to benefit from long-term trends supporting defense spending. Heightened geopolitical tensions, military modernization efforts, growing demand for missile defense systems, increased naval investment and rising defense budgets among NATO allies and Indo-Pacific nations are driving sustained demand for advanced defense technologies. Since governments typically commit to multi-year procurement programs, both Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics enjoy relatively predictable revenue streams supported by long-term contracts and sizeable order backlogs.

Let's compare the two stocks' fundamentals to determine which one is better positioned at present.

Factors Acting in Favor of LMT StockLockheed Martin continues to convert demand for key franchise programs into sizable awards, supporting revenue visibility over a multiyear horizon. In the first quarter of 2026, Missiles and Fire Control was awarded $7 billion of PAC-3 contracts, including a fully funded $4.8 billion undefinitized contract, and the company also secured long-lead materials for F-35 Lots 20 and 21. These order flows, together with continued activity across strategic missile, combat systems and sustainment work, underpin a backlog of $186.4 billion as of March 29, 2026.

Management indicated that the current U.S. budget rollout reflects priorities such as accelerating munitions production, strengthening integrated air and missile defense, advancing next-generation aircraft and expanding space capabilities. These areas align closely with the company’s core platforms across PAC-3, THAAD and PrSM, as well as fighter and strategic programs. LMT has also signed multiyear framework agreements with the Department of War to scale munitions production and is planning investments across more than 20 new or modernized facilities, which can improve capacity planning and reduce supply-chain bottlenecks over time.

Factors Acting in Favor of GD StockGeneral Dynamics’ solid number of award wins and a strong global presence will help maintain a steady growth momentum. At the end of the first quarter of 2026, the company witnessed a solid backlog of $130.84 billion, driven by a strong order inflow. The estimated contract value, which combines the total backlog with the potential contract value, totaled $188.44 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2026. The strength of the order flow was driven by strong demand across the company’s product and services portfolio.

Significant awards won by General Dynamics in the last reported quarter included a $15.4 billion contract for continued design and support work on the Columbia-class submarines program. Such impressive order trends and strong backlog count indicate solid demand for the company’s products, thereby bolstering its revenue generation prospects significantly.

How Does the Zacks Consensus Estimate Compare for LMT & GD?The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Lockheed Martin’s 2026 earnings per share (EPS) indicates an increase of 0.03% over the past 60 days. 
 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The consensus estimate for General Dynamics’ 2026 EPS indicates an increase of 0.12% over the past 60 days.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Valuation for LMT & GDLockheed Martin shares trade at a forward 12-month Price/Sales (P/S F12M) of 1.44X compared with General Dynamics’ 1.76X.

LMT & GD’s Debt PositionCurrently, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics’ total debt to capital is 73.43% and 23.51%, respectively.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

LMT & GD’s Price PerformanceIn the past three months, shares of General Dynamics have increased 15.4%, while those of Lockheed Martin have declined 4.3%, compared with the industry’s growth of 1%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

LMT or GD: Which is a Better Choice Now?Lockheed Martin continues to secure major defense contracts across its core missile, fighter aircraft and sustainment programs. LMT is also well-positioned to benefit from U.S. defense priorities focused on expanding munitions production, strengthening missile defense and advancing next-generation aircraft. General Dynamics continues to benefit from strong demand across its defense portfolio, with robust contract wins supporting a large backlog and providing solid long-term revenue visibility. Recent major program awards, particularly in naval defense, highlight the company's strong market position and reinforce its growth prospects as it executes on long-term government contracts.

Our choice at the moment is General Dynamics, given its better price performance, strong earnings growth and better debt position than Lockheed Martin. GD carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and LMT has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present.

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Wall Street expects a year-over-year increase in earnings on higher revenues when Bunge Global (BG - Free Report) reports results for the quarter ended June 2026. While this widely-known consensus outlook is important in gauging the company's earnings picture, a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price is how the actual results compare to these estimates.

The earnings report, which is expected to be released on July 29, might help the stock move higher if these key numbers are better than expectations. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower.

While management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call will mostly determine the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations, it's worth having a handicapping insight into the odds of a positive EPS surprise.

Zacks Consensus EstimateThis agribusiness and food company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $2.03 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +55%.

Revenues are expected to be $23.49 billion, up 84% from the year-ago quarter.

Estimate Revisions TrendThe consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 1.97% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period.

Investors should keep in mind that the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts may not always get reflected in the aggregate change.

Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Earnings WhisperEstimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. Our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) -- has this insight at its core.

The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier.

Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only.

A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP.

Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss. Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and/or Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell).

How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for Bunge Global?For Bunge Global, the Most Accurate Estimate is lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bearish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of -1.24%.

On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #1.

So, this combination makes it difficult to conclusively predict that Bunge Global will beat the consensus EPS estimate.

Does Earnings Surprise History Hold Any Clue?While calculating estimates for a company's future earnings, analysts often consider to what extent it has been able to match past consensus estimates. So, it's worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number.

For the last reported quarter, it was expected that Bunge Global would post earnings of $0.97 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.83, delivering a surprise of +88.66%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates four times.

Bottom LineAn earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower. Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors. Similarly, unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss.

That said, betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success. This is why it's worth checking a company's Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.

Bunge Global doesn't appear a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

Key Takeaways ADP stock gained 23% in three months, beating the industry and broader market.Wider EBIT margins helped ADP turn revenue growth into stronger earnings gains.ADP paid $1.9 billion in dividends and ended the quarter with $3.2 billion in cash. ADP (ADP - Free Report) stock has rallied over the past three months. The company’s shares have surged 23%, outperforming the industry’s 1.4% growth and the Zacks S&P 500 Composite's 4.5% appreciation.

3-Month Share Price Performance                                                                   Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Let us delve into the factors that have contributed to the company’s outperformance.

Strong Margins Anchor ProfitabilityADP’s top line moved up 3.6% sequentially during the second quarter of fiscal 2026, which then increased exponentially by 10.8% during the third quarter of fiscal 2026. This top-line momentum was accompanied by 7.7% and 28.6% sequential growth in adjusted EBIT in the second and third quarters of fiscal 2026, respectively.

A disproportionate growth between revenues and adjusted EBIT is a clear indication of heightened operational efficiency, as evidenced by a 50 basis points (bps) and 420 bps expansion in adjusted EBIT margins during the aforementioned quarters.

These strong margins translated into significant improvement in net earnings, resulting in impressive bottom-line growth. During the second quarter of fiscal 2026, net earnings increased 4.8% sequentially, resulting in a 5.2% upsurge in the bottom line.

Although similar, the momentum achieved during the third quarter of fiscal 2026 was aggressive, as net earnings spiked 28% sequentially, pushing the bottom line up by 29%. This performance is a testament to ADP’s ability to convert incremental revenue gains into high-margin bottom-line growth, fortifying investor morale in the scalability of its operations.

Dividends Attract Income-Seeking InvestorsADP has a consistent track record of dividend payments. The company paid $1.9 billion, $2.2 billion and $2.4 billion in dividends during fiscal 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively. During the nine months ended as of March 31, 2026, ADP paid $1.9 billion in dividends, a substantial rise from the year-ago period’s $1.8 billion. Such moves, despite turbulent cash flow, indicate the company’s commitment to returning value to shareholders and underline its confidence in the business.

Solid Balance Sheet Bolsters LiquidityADP’s balance sheet reveals that it holds a cash chest of $3.2 billion as of the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2026 compared with no current debt, strengthening its liquidity. It is further justified by a current ratio of 1.04 during the third quarter of fiscal 2026 that improved marginally from the year-ago quarter. While the metric stands lower than the industry average of 1.9, being above 1 bodes well with investors, signaling efficiency in covering short-term obligations.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to ConsiderADP currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector are Amphenol Corporation (APH - Free Report) and MKS Inc. (MKSI - Free Report) , each flaunting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Amphenol Corporation has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 24%. Amphenol Corporation delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 14.1%, on average.

MKS has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 29.9%. MKS delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 7.5%, on average.

Can Trupanion Turn Pet Insurance Loyalty Into Real Earnings?Chubb NYSE: CB reported a strong second quarter of 2026, with Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Evan Greenberg pointing to underwriting performance, investment income, life insurance growth and global diversification as key contributors to results.

Core operating earnings were $2.8 billion, or $7.26 per share, up 14.6% and 18.2%, respectively, from the prior year, Greenberg said on the company’s earnings call. Tangible book value per share rose 17.1% year over year, which Greenberg described as the company’s “most important measure of shareholder wealth creation.”

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3 Insurance Stocks That Can Act as a New Inflation Hedge The insurer posted an annualized core operating return on tangible equity of 21.2% for the quarter and a core operating return on equity of 14.5%. Property and casualty underwriting income exceeded $1.9 billion, up almost 19%, with a combined ratio of 83.8%. On a current accident year basis excluding catastrophe losses, the combined ratio was 82.2%.

Investment Income Hits Record Level Adjusted net investment income reached a record $1.88 billion, up more than 11%, supported by performance in fixed income and alternative asset portfolios. Greenberg said the fixed income portfolio yield was 5.1%, while the current new money rate averaged 5.5% as of June 30. Chubb’s invested assets stood at $175 billion, up from $161 billion a year earlier.

Looking to Insure Your Portfolio? Start With These 3 StocksChief Financial Officer Peter Enns said adjusted operating cash flow totaled $3.5 billion in the quarter. He also noted that Chubb issued $2.2 billion of debt across several currencies at a weighted average cost of 4.2% and an average term of about 7.5 years, with proceeds intended for general corporate purposes, including repayment and refinancing of debt.

Enns said Chubb returned $1.4 billion of capital to shareholders in the quarter, including $979 million of share repurchases at an average price of $327.18 per share and $395 million in dividends. The company ended the quarter with book value of $75 billion, or $195.45 per share. Book value per share and tangible book value per share excluding accumulated other comprehensive income grew 2.8% and 3.8%, respectively, during the quarter.

Chief Investment Officer Chris Hogan said the public fixed income portfolio generated $1.63 billion of income, up 12% year over year, while private investments, representing 12% of the portfolio, contributed $250 million, up 9.5%. Hogan called the current environment “ideal” for investment-grade bond investors, citing reinvestment rates above the portfolio’s book yield.

Premium Growth Varies by Business Line Global property and casualty premiums rose 3%, or 6.3% excluding large account and excess and surplus property, Greenberg said. Overseas general premiums grew 10.2%, or 4.8% in constant dollars. North America premiums increased about 0.5%, as commercial lines declined 2.3%, while personal lines and accident and health each rose 6%.

Greenberg said the “substantial majority” of Chubb’s businesses are growing, while some are flat or shrinking because of inadequate pricing or terms. He specifically cited U.S. large account and E&S property as an area where the company again reduced premium volume.

International retail, which Greenberg said produces more than $17 billion in annual gross premiums and operates in 51 countries, grew almost 12%, or about 6% in constant dollars. Consumer-related businesses, including accident and health and personal lines, were up more than 12%, while commercial lines rose more than 11%. Latin America grew 15.6%, Asia grew 12% and Europe grew nearly 7.5%.

In North America commercial, middle market and small commercial premiums grew almost 9%, with property and casualty lines up 12% and financial lines down about 3%. Premiums in major account and specialty, including E&S, declined 9% because of property.

In North America personal lines, Chubb’s high-net-worth business generated 6% premium growth and renewal retention of 90% on an account basis. Greenberg said the North America personal lines business now produces more than $8 billion in annual gross premiums.

Greenberg Warns on Casualty Pricing Greenberg said soft market conditions have begun to extend beyond property into more casualty lines, particularly in E&S. He said certain classes of large account and middle market business are becoming more competitive, and pricing in multiple casualty areas is not keeping pace with loss costs.

“U.S. casualty loss costs are rising at a pretty steady 6%-7% for primary casualty, and 9.5%-12% for excess,” Greenberg said, adding that pricing can become inadequate quickly under those conditions. He said financial lines remain soft, with some newer market participants and managing general agents underwriting at prices and terms he considers inadequate.

In North America, commercial property and casualty pricing excluding financial lines and workers’ compensation was up 1.3%, with rates down 1.4% and exposure change of 2.7%. Property pricing was down about 6%, while casualty pricing rose 7.1%, including a 6.4% rate increase and 0.7% exposure growth. Financial lines pricing was up 0.3%.

Asked during the question-and-answer session about casualty pricing, Greenberg said the issue was not limited to commercial auto. “It’s across casualty,” he said, adding that there is “zero evidence across the industry” that loss costs have abated.

Life Insurance and Worksite Benefits Grow Life income was $332 million, up 9% from a year earlier. Greenberg said international life insurance premiums and deposits rose almost 14.5%, with most exposure in Asia and most growth in North Asia, including China, Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan.

Chubb’s North America Worksite Benefits business grew premiums 14%. Greenberg said the business has been built steadily over more than five years, through brokerage distribution tied to small and middle market commercial relationships and through a retooled agency force focused on small and lower middle market employers.

Greenberg said the company sees “a tremendous opportunity” to continue growing Worksite Benefits organically at double-digit rates, and expects it to become a more significant contributor to Chubb’s top and bottom line over time.

Reserves, Catastrophe Losses and Capital Pre-tax catastrophe losses were $475 million, principally from weather-related events in the U.S., Enns said. Chubb recorded favorable pre-tax prior period development of $441 million in active companies, with 89% from short-tail lines and 11% from long-tail lines. The corporate runoff portfolio had adverse development of $158 million, more than two-thirds of which came from molestation-related claims development.

Net loss reserves increased to nearly $69 billion, up 4% from the second quarter of 2025. The paid-to-incurred ratio was 90% for the quarter, or 86% excluding catastrophe losses, prior period development and agriculture. When asked why the ratio remains below pre-pandemic levels, Greenberg said it “speaks to overall the strength of our reserves.”

Enns said the core operating effective tax rate was 19.2% for the quarter, below the company’s previously guided range because of shifts in income mix and discrete tax benefits. Chubb continues to expect a full-year core operating effective tax rate of 19.5% to 20%.

Greenberg said Chubb remains confident in its ability to generate strong operating earnings growth and double-digit tangible book value growth over time, while acknowledging softer commercial property and casualty market conditions. “We have many sources and handles to pull,” he said, citing the company’s global mix, life business, invested assets and capital management.

About Chubb (NYSE:CB)Chubb is a global property and casualty insurance company that underwrites a broad range of commercial and personal insurance products and related services. Its offerings include commercial property and casualty coverage, specialty liability, professional and management liability, cyber and technology insurance, marine and energy, surety, accident and health solutions, and high-net-worth personal lines such as homeowners, auto and valuables protection. Chubb serves businesses, individuals and institutions with tailored underwriting and risk-transfer solutions across multiple industry sectors.

In addition to core underwriting, Chubb provides risk engineering, loss control, claims management and risk consulting services intended to reduce loss severity and help clients manage exposures.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].

Should You Invest $1,000 in Chubb Right Now?Before you consider Chubb, you'll want to hear this.

MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Chubb wasn't on the list.

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Tesla, Nvidia, and Google helped shape the last era of market growth, but the next wave could come from a new group of companies. Inside this report, you’ll find 7 stocks that could play a major role in the next tech-driven market boom.

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On CNBC’s Mad Dash segment on Wednesday, July 22, Jim Cramer credited CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD | CRWD Price Prediction) and CEO George Kurtz with calling machine-on-machine attacks before the broader market caught on. “CrowdStrike has long predicted, George Kurtz, that one day the machines would take over, the robots would attack the robots,” Cramer said.

Video Muted

Following recent security incidents involving AI companies, Cramer called machine-on-machine attacks a “watershed moment” that could increase demand for the world’s best cybersecurity solutions: “This is what’s happened in OpenAI, Hugging Face. This is a watershed moment. The machines can take over. It’s very difficult to stop.” He added, “You need certain detection and response. I know that CrowdStrike predicted this in the last quarter.“

CrowdStrike Says Cybersecurity and Frontier AI Have Collided Cramer’s framing aligns with what Kurtz told investors on the Q1 FY27 call. “In Q1, the worlds of cybersecurity and frontier AI collided: this was the Mythos moment. CrowdStrike is AI security infrastructure, critical to successful AI adoption,” Kurtz said, pointing to record net new annual recurring revenue, the QuiltWorks coalition, and AI Detection and Response (AIDR) as evidence of an inflection.

CrowdStrike posted Q1 FY27 revenue of $1.385 billion, up 25.6% year-over-year, and non-GAAP EPS of $1.10 versus the $1.0675 consensus. Net new ARR came in at $255.80 million, up 32% year-over-year, pushing total ARR to $5.51 billion. Free cash flow reached $468.5 million, up 66.76%, with a 34% free cash flow margin.

CrowdStrike Built an AI Defense Stack With OpenAI, Nvidia, and AWS Last quarter, CrowdStrike introduced and expanded products aimed at agentic and machine-generated threats. Falcon AIDR reached general availability, and CrowdStrike rolled out Agentic MDR, the Charlotte AI AgentWorks Ecosystem (built with AWS, NVIDIA, and OpenAI), and Falcon Data Security across endpoints, browsers, SaaS, cloud, and AI workflows. Project QuiltWorks pairs CrowdStrike with OpenAI and Anthropic to remediate frontier AI risk via the Falcon platform.

CrowdStrike’s customers are consolidating on their security tools. 51% of customers run 6 or more modules, 35% run 7 or more, and 25% run 8 or more. That density allows Kurtz to position CrowdStrike as an operating system for security rather than a single-point tool competing with AI-native newcomers.

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CRWD stock currently trades at $187.34 and is up 63.11% year to date and 58.77% over the past year, but has slipped 9.29% in the last week as investors digest the stock’s valuation after the four-for-one stock split with split-adjusted trading that began on July 2. The stock trades at roughly 164 times forward earnings, with an average analyst target of $189.18 across 41 buy or strong-buy ratings out of 53 covering analysts.

Palo Alto Networks Fits the Same Thesis Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) CEO Nikesh Arora said last quarter that “the latest advancements at the AI frontier have increased the level of urgency around cybersecurity, and redefined the shape of the industry for the coming years.” Palo Alto’s Next-Generation Security ARR reached $8.10 billion in Q3 FY2026, up 60% year-over-year, on $3.00 billion in revenue, up 31.1%.

Analysts are raising their price targets. Argus Research lifted its PANW target from $320 to $425 on July 21, and Capital One tagged the stock Overweight with a $421 price target. Morgan Stanley placed both CrowdStrike and Palo Alto in its Moat & Journey framework of Overweight software picks alongside Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Cloudflare (NYSE:NET), and ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW)

What to Watch Next Cramer’s point echoes what Citi’s CIO Kate Moore recently argued: cybersecurity budgets remain underfunded relative to the surface area AI is creating. The Gartner Tokyo Security Summit on July 22 drew more than 840 CISOs, with agentic AI and machine identity dominating the agenda.

Investors should watch whether that demand translates into stronger annual recurring revenue, greater adoption of security modules, and higher customer spending in upcoming earnings reports.

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Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) on Tuesday reported better-than-expected second-quarter 2026 results.

Adjusted EPS of 55 cents beat the 54-cent estimate. Revenue rose 3.7% year over year to $5.714 billion, topping the $5.486 billion estimate.

“I am pleased with Halliburton’s performance this quarter, and believe the global outlook for Halliburton is strong. I expect our differentiated technology and value proposition set the stage for revenue growth and margin expansion,” CEO Jeff Miller said.

Halliburton shares fell 1.3% to trade at $32.77 on Wednesday.

These analysts made changes to their price targets on Halliburton following earnings announcement.

Barclays analyst David Anderson maintained the stock with an Overweight rating and lowered the price target from $55 to $53. Evercore ISI Group analyst James West maintained the stock with an Outperform rating and lowered the price target from $46 to $43. Considering buying HAL stock? Here’s what analysts think:

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About five years ago, there was a mini gold rush in the electric vehicle (EV) industry. It was due to growing infrastructure support and a flood of public and private funding from investors hoping to get their hands on what might be the next Tesla.

This gold rush ended poorly for many involved: from the more well-known Fisker Automotive, which was supposed to rival Tesla, to the lesser-known companies such as Canoo and Lordstown Motors. Even more capable companies, such as Lucid Group (LCID -1.50%), will almost certainly face more funding questions and capital raises within 12 to 18 months.

Rivian Automotive (RIVN -1.80%), however, appears to be gaining real traction; here are three reasons to believe in it long-term.

Shareholder dilution While Lucid and Rivian are similar in many ways, one factor that has separated the two is shareholder dilution. Unlike Lucid, Rivian has been able to protect its shareholders from more severe shareholder dilution due to capital discipline and its strategic joint ventures, such as with Volkswagen.

It also helps to have a little luck on your side. Rivian executed one of the largest initial public offerings in U.S. history by raising roughly $13.7 billion in gross proceeds, which gave the young EV maker a long capital runway. In contrast, Lucid entered the public markets through a SPAC merger that had a lighter cash balance to help pave the way forward.

Another example of how the two differ is that Lucid has relied heavily on Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), which now owns a controlling stake in the company. While Lucid has repeatedly issued new equity that dilutes existing shareholders, Rivian largely took a different route by leveraging its internal software and electrical stack to ink a $5.8 billion deal with Volkswagen that has helped generate non-dilutive licensing and convertible loans.

RIVN Shares Outstanding (Quarterly) data by YCharts

You can see in the graph above that Lucid was expanding its shares outstanding much more, until last year when the EV maker executed a 1-for-10 reverse stock split, which reduced its share count to proportionately increase its share price, enabling it to remain listed on the Nasdaq. That's not a great situation to be in. Make no mistake, when considering either of these EV stocks long-term, Rivian is certainly more enticing, even considering only its lesser shareholder dilution.

R2 is a crucial pivot To say that Rivian's R2 is a crucial pivot point for the business would be an understatement. The R2 marks Rivian's transition from luxury-niche EVs to mass-market production and scale. The young EV maker might not even get enough credit for the efforts it has taken to improve unit economics, which have helped power the company to its first full-year gross profit.

Rivian is taking what it's learned from that process and applying it to the R2. And it's expecting to reduce the manufacturing cost per vehicle by 50% compared to even previous improvements on the R1. Rivian's goal was to aim for nearly $7,500 in gross profit per vehicle; here are a couple of unique examples of how it can drive toward that target:

Battery and drive units: The new "Maximus" drive unit contains 41% to 43% fewer parts than the previous Enduro system. Electronics and harnessing: Rivian cut expensive high-voltage cabling down by a significant 70% and simplified its computing architecture by removing 2.3 miles of wiring, cutting down connectors by 60%, and reducing weight by 40 lbs. Rivian even adjusted the R2 to a unibody structure, which reduced costs by 44% and weight by 37% compared to the R1 body-on-frame style.

Image source: Rivian.

Combine those examples, and many more, with growing scale as the lower price tag enables a mainstream consumer to purchase the R2, and it should have investors feeling optimistic that Rivian can one day be a self-funding and profitable company. Though it still has a long way to go.

High-margin potential Circling back to Rivian's lucrative joint venture with Volkswagen, it's important for investors to understand the potential of this business. Typically, legacy global automakers like Volkswagen buy parts from suppliers and write their own coding, but the deal with Rivian implies that Volkswagen has admitted its deficiencies in doing so and essentially gave up on its in-house software division.

Volkswagen isn't just buying Rivian motors or interior infotainment screens, either; Rivian is essentially selling its German joint venture partner its vehicle nervous system, operating system, and zonal architecture. This has given Rivian the potential to transform from a pure hardware manufacturer into a business that includes high-margin software and intellectual property licenses.

Thanks in large part to Volkswagen's partnership, Rivian's software segment operates at roughly 37% gross margin, which has become a crucial way to offset early-stage scaling and expenses.

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What it all means Rivian still has a long road ahead to reward long-term shareholders, but these three reasons should give investors the belief that it can achieve that vision. Rivian has separated itself from rivals such as Lucid with capital discipline and the avoidance of severe shareholder dilution, tapped into high-margin software sales and cost-sharing with partnerships, and made significant progress on improving R2 unit economics ahead of the scale it hopes to soon build.

Rivian's road will still be tough, but it certainly has some unique attributes that separate it from many rivals.

Higher-for-Longer Rates Could Reward These 3 Overlooked StocksCME Group NASDAQ: CME reported record second-quarter revenue and near-record trading activity, while executives used much of the company’s second-quarter 2026 earnings call to address investor questions about perpetual futures and outline a slate of new product launches.

Chairman and CEO Terry Duffy said second-quarter average daily volume was 29.8 million contracts, the second-highest second quarter in the company’s history and within 1% of the record set a year earlier. He said May and June were particularly strong following a difficult April comparison. Open interest ended the quarter up 8% from a year earlier and 16% since the start of 2026.

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Gold, Silver, and Copper Are Surging—Here Are 3 Smart Ways to Play ItDuffy also said CME delivered record capital efficiencies, saving customers an average of more than $95 billion in margin per day. He said 94% of CME’s first-half volume came from institutional customers, a figure he used repeatedly to frame the company’s response to questions about perpetual futures.

Revenue Hits Second-Quarter Record Lynne said CME generated more than $1.7 billion in revenue during the second quarter, up 1% from the same period in 2025. She said that marked a second-quarter record and the company’s second-highest quarterly revenue total ever, behind the first quarter of 2026.

Capitalize on Volatility: 3 Finance Stocks Thriving in 2025The average rate per contract was $0.678, up $0.026 from the first quarter. Market data revenue rose 20% to $238 million, which Lynne said extended CME’s streak to 33 consecutive quarters of year-over-year market data revenue growth and marked the eighth straight quarter of record market data revenue.

Adjusted expenses were $521 million, or $412 million excluding license fees. Adjusted operating income totaled $1.2 billion, producing a 69.5% adjusted operating margin. Adjusted net income was $1.1 billion, and adjusted diluted earnings per share were $2.99, up 1% from the second quarter of 2025. Lynne said the adjusted net income margin was 63.4%.

CME returned $1.2 billion to shareholders in the quarter, including $468 million in regular quarterly dividends and $695 million through share repurchases.

For the first half of 2026, Lynne said volume was 10% ahead of the prior year, revenue increased 8% and adjusted diluted earnings per share rose 10%. She also said July volumes to date were tracking 18% ahead of the prior year.

Executives Push Back on Perpetual Futures Concerns Duffy said recent discussion of perpetual futures had overshadowed CME’s business performance. He argued that although the products are often described as futures, they function more like leveraged spot instruments and are not substitutes for the institutional hedging tools used by CME’s core customers.

“Perpetual futures are in no way substitutes for the institutional hedging tools that these customers rely on,” Duffy said. He said the products do not provide price or time certainty, which he called necessary components for hedging exposures.

Duffy said CME has the technical and operational capabilities to launch perpetual futures and has contract specifications ready if customer demand or market structure changes justify it. However, he said the company has not heard demand from its core customers. In response to a question from Jefferies analyst Dan Fannon, Duffy said he had spoken with senior executives and derivatives users at major institutional participants, including a large commercial energy firm, and was told they did not want CME to list the product.

Tim added that CME’s cryptocurrency business has continued to grow even as crypto perpetuals have existed outside the U.S. He said CME’s suite of cryptocurrency futures and options was up 44% in the first half of 2026 compared with the first half of 2025, and up 76% in June from a year earlier. He said CME was seeing between $4.5 billion and $6.5 billion per day in trading across its cryptocurrency complex, compared with about $270 million at a Bitcoin perpetual product introduced by Kalshi in July.

Duffy also raised concerns about whether perpetual products should be classified as swaps, citing the exchange of payments through funding rates. In response to Deutsche Bank analyst Brian Bedell, he said CME believes its litigation will show that such products are swaps, not futures.

New Products Include Crypto, Gold, Single Stock Futures and Compute Futures Duffy highlighted several product initiatives, including 24/7 trading for crypto futures, 24/7 trading for CME’s one-ounce gold contract, Single Stock futures, Treasury Link and Compute Futures.

He said Single Stock futures are scheduled to launch the following week and will simplify directional trading with capital efficiency. Duffy acknowledged that Single Stock futures had failed in an earlier market cycle but said timing is important and that current market conditions make the product more relevant.

Tim said CME’s equity complex has shown momentum, with second-quarter average daily volume of 8.6 million contracts, up 13% year over year. He said June equity volume was 10.1 million contracts, up 54% from a year earlier, while July volumes were running about 40% to 50% above July 2025. He also said the new Single Stock futures will be financially settled against the closing print of each stock.

Julie said retail brokers globally were “extremely excited” about the Single Stock futures launch and described the product as a significant retail growth catalyst. She said more than 35 retail partners were targeting readiness for day-one or week-one activity.

Duffy and Derek Sammann also discussed Compute Futures, which CME plans to launch in partnership with Silicon Data later in 2026. Sammann said the product will be a daily benchmark tracking the spot hourly rental cost of NVIDIA H100 GPUs. He said the contracts are intended to provide price discovery and risk-management tools for data centers, AI labs, cloud providers, asset managers, banks, energy firms, hedge funds and professional trading firms.

Market Data, Prediction Markets and Treasury Link On market data, Julie said CME’s second-quarter revenue benefited from pricing, professional subscriber growth, derived data revenue and growth in simulation trading device accounts. She said professional subscribers rose 3.5% quarter over quarter, while simulation trading device accounts were up 56% year over year. The quarter also included about $7 million in audits and catch-up payments for prior periods, compared with $3.8 million in the first quarter.

Asked about prediction markets, Lynne said CME has handled about 525 million event contracts since launch, including about 48 million contracts related to market events. She said more than 140,000 accounts traded event contracts during the quarter, up about 13% from the prior quarter, and average daily volume was above 4 million, up about 40% from the first quarter. Duffy said CME is being careful about its product set and repeated his view that some sports-related prediction markets resemble gambling.

At the end of the call, Duffy asked for additional commentary on Treasury Link, a planned fourth-quarter 2026 offering. Mike said Treasury Link will enable centralized spread trading between Treasury futures and BrokerTec cash Treasuries on CME Globex, using FX Link technology. He said the product is designed to connect two major U.S. Treasury liquidity pools and reduce execution lag risk in cash-futures spread transactions.

Duffy closed the call by emphasizing CME’s institutional base, capital efficiencies and product pipeline, saying the company remains focused on expanding its marketplace while maintaining protections and market integrity.

About CME Group (NASDAQ:CME)CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world's largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company's core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].

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Coursera (COUR - Free Report) is expected to deliver a year-over-year decline in earnings on higher revenues when it reports results for the quarter ended June 2026. This widely-known consensus outlook gives a good sense of the company's earnings picture, but how the actual results compare to these estimates is a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price.

The stock might move higher if these key numbers top expectations in the upcoming earnings report, which is expected to be released on July 29. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower.

While management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call will mostly determine the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations, it's worth having a handicapping insight into the odds of a positive EPS surprise.

Zacks Consensus EstimateThis online learning platform is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.11 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -8.3%.

Revenues are expected to be $294.06 million, up 57.2% from the year-ago quarter.

Estimate Revisions TrendThe consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 2933.33% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period.

Investors should keep in mind that an aggregate change may not always reflect the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts.

Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Earnings WhisperEstimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. This insight is at the core of our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction).

The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier.

Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only.

A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP.

Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss. Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and/or Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell).

How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for Coursera?For Coursera, the Most Accurate Estimate is the same as the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that there are no recent analyst views which differ from what have been considered to derive the consensus estimate. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of 0%.

On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #2.

So, this combination makes it difficult to conclusively predict that Coursera will beat the consensus EPS estimate.

Does Earnings Surprise History Hold Any Clue?Analysts often consider to what extent a company has been able to match consensus estimates in the past while calculating their estimates for its future earnings. So, it's worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number.

For the last reported quarter, it was expected that Coursera would post earnings of $0.09 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.07, delivering a surprise of -22.22%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates two times.

Bottom LineAn earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower. Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors. Similarly, unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss.

That said, betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success. This is why it's worth checking a company's Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.

Coursera doesn't appear a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release.

Expected Results of an Industry PlayerAmong the stocks in the Zacks Technology Services industry, Mirion Technologies, Inc. (MIR - Free Report) , is soon expected to post earnings of $0.1 per share for the quarter ended June 2026. This estimate indicates a year-over-year change of -9.1%. This quarter's revenue is expected to be $272.14 million, up 22.1% from the year-ago quarter.

The consensus EPS estimate for Mirion Technologies has been revised 1.6% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. However, a higher Most Accurate Estimate has resulted in an Earnings ESP of +7.84%.

This Earnings ESP, combined with its Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), makes it difficult to conclusively predict that Mirion Technologies will beat the consensus EPS estimate. Over the last four quarters, the company surpassed consensus EPS estimates two times.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

FMC (FMC - Free Report) is expected to deliver a year-over-year decline in earnings on lower revenues when it reports results for the quarter ended June 2026. This widely-known consensus outlook gives a good sense of the company's earnings picture, but how the actual results compare to these estimates is a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price.

The earnings report, which is expected to be released on July 29, might help the stock move higher if these key numbers are better than expectations. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower.

While management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call will mostly determine the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations, it's worth having a handicapping insight into the odds of a positive EPS surprise.

Zacks Consensus EstimateThis chemical producer is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.21 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -69.6%.

Revenues are expected to be $909.57 million, down 13.4% from the year-ago quarter.

Estimate Revisions TrendThe consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 4.69% lower over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period.

Investors should keep in mind that the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts may not always get reflected in the aggregate change.

Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Earnings WhisperEstimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. Our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) -- has this insight at its core.

The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier.

Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only.

A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP.

Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss. Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and/or Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell).

How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for FMC?For FMC, the Most Accurate Estimate is lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bearish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of -13.25%.

On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #5.

So, this combination makes it difficult to conclusively predict that FMC will beat the consensus EPS estimate.

Does Earnings Surprise History Hold Any Clue?Analysts often consider to what extent a company has been able to match consensus estimates in the past while calculating their estimates for its future earnings. So, it's worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number.

For the last reported quarter, it was expected that FMC would post a loss of$0.39 per share when it actually produced a loss of -$0.23, delivering a surprise of +41.03%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates three times.

Bottom LineAn earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower. Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors. Similarly, unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss.

That said, betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success. This is why it's worth checking a company's Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.

FMC doesn't appear a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

First Financial Bancorp. (FFBC) Q2 2026 Earnings Call July 22, 2026 8:30 AM EDT

Company Participants

Scott Crawley - Senior VP & Controller
Archie Brown - President, CEO & Director
James Anderson - Executive VP, CFO & COO

Conference Call Participants

Brendan Nosal - Hovde Group, LLC, Research Division
Daniel Tamayo - Raymond James & Associates, Inc., Research Division
Brandon Rud - Stephens Inc., Research Division
Brian Foran - Truist Securities, Inc., Research Division

Presentation

Operator

Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us, and welcome to the First Financial Bancorp Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call and Webcast. [Operator Instructions]

I will now hand the conference over to Scott Crawley, Corporate Controller. Scott, please go ahead.

Scott Crawley
Senior VP & Controller

Thank you, Leah. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us on today's conference call to discuss First Financial Bancorp's second quarter financial results. Participating on today's call will be Archie Brown, President and Chief Executive Officer; Jamie Anderson, Chief Financial Officer; and Bill Harrod, Chief Credit Officer.

Both the press release we issued yesterday and the accompanying slide presentation are available on our website at www.bankatfirst.com under the Investor Relations section. We will make reference to the slides contained in the accompanying presentation during today's call. Additionally, please refer to the forward-looking statement disclosure contained in the second quarter 2026 earnings release as well as our SEC filings for a full discussion of the company's risk factors. The information we will provide today is accurate as of June 30, 2026, and we will not be updating any forward-looking statements to reflect facts or circumstances after this call.

I'll now turn the call over to Archie Brown.

Archie Brown
President, CEO & Director

Thanks, Scott. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us on today's call. With second quarter earnings and the Finward announcement, we

3 high-yielding, small banks to buy on the dipBank OZK NASDAQ: OZK executives used the company’s second-quarter 2026 earnings call to emphasize the bank’s ongoing shift toward a more diversified loan portfolio, with rapid growth in corporate and institutional banking helping offset elevated repayments in its real estate specialties group.

Chairman and CEO George Gleason said the corporate and institutional banking, or CIB, business is “a very important and rapidly growing and developing part” of the franchise. He said the bank is investing in the unit and hiring experienced leadership as it seeks to reduce concentration in commercial real estate and the real estate specialties group, or RESG.

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“We want to make sure that we are not trading one concentration for another,” Gleason said, adding that diversification within CIB is important to long-term franchise value.

CIB Growth Adds Diversification Jake Munn, president of corporate and institutional banking, said CIB now includes more than seven major business lines, including corporate banking and sponsor finance, fund finance, lender finance, natural resources, franchise capital solutions, asset-based lending and equipment finance.

Munn also highlighted the bank’s emerging middle market group, which he said is intended to bridge the gap between the legacy community bank and the larger corporate banking and sponsor finance segment. The group will focus on family-owned businesses with roughly $15 million to $100 million in revenue, particularly within Bank OZK’s core footprint.

According to Munn, CIB currently represents more than 42 unique NAICS categories, giving the bank flexibility to adjust its emphasis across business lines as market conditions change. He said growth in the most recent quarter was led by corporate banking and sponsor finance, along with natural resources, while asset-based lending was less emphasized because of tighter pricing and more aggressive advance rates in that market.

Munn said the bank views CIB as more than a loan-growth engine, pointing to potential deposit opportunities and cross-selling in treasury management, private wealth management, commodity hedging, interest-rate hedging and capital markets services.

RESG Repayments Expected to Remain Elevated Executives said repayments in the RESG portfolio remained high in the second quarter and are expected to stay elevated through the rest of 2026 and into 2027. Gleason said repayments approached $3 billion in the second quarter and averaged about $2.5 billion per quarter over the trailing four quarters.

Gleason said the elevated repayment activity is tied to the natural cadence of loans originated during 2022, which he described as a record origination year. He said the bank expects repayments to taper somewhat in 2027 but remain elevated based on current projections.

President Brannon Hamblen said repayment timing can shift based on market conditions, sponsor strategies, refinancing activity, sales decisions and cap-rate changes. “A lot of it’s just the natural cadence of the portfolio moving through the pipe,” Hamblen said.

Despite the repayment headwind, Gleason said the bank continues to expect mid-single-digit loan growth for the full year. He said a wave of repayments early in the second quarter pressured average earning assets, making it difficult to catch up during the rest of the period.

“Hopefully those prepayments will be a little more levelized in Q3 and Q4,” Gleason said.

Net Interest Income Guidance Pressured by Average Earning Assets Asked about changes in net interest income commentary, Gleason said the principal factor was average earning assets rather than deposit competition or liability-side pressures. He said the bank had expected more linear growth during the year but experienced a pullback in the second quarter after early loan payoffs.

Gleason said Bank OZK had anticipated a competitive deposit environment at the start of the year, and that environment has continued. He said the bank’s view of net interest margin is broadly consistent with analyst consensus estimates and reiterated that management expects margin to be slightly below the first quarter’s 4.20% level.

On deposit costs, Gleason said the bank’s CD specials are roughly 10 basis points higher than their low point, reflecting expectations for more deposit growth in the third and fourth quarters to support loan growth. He said the second-quarter cost of interest-bearing deposits likely represented an inflection point and that modest increases are expected going forward.

Chief Financial Officer Tim Hicks said he expects average earning assets to increase in both the third and fourth quarters from the second-quarter level.

Credit Trends and Reserves Remain in Focus Credit quality was a major focus of the call, with analysts asking about special mention loans, life science exposure and charge-offs. Gleason said the increase in special mention loans should not be overinterpreted, noting that some loans enter the category while extension or recapitalization discussions are underway and later return to pass status.

“I think there are several of them that look like they’re going to work out favorably and be candidates for upgrade over the next couple of quarters, if not the next month or two,” Gleason said.

Hicks said Bank OZK had built its allowance for credit losses in recent years in anticipation of later charge-offs. As those charge-offs are realized, he said the bank has considered it appropriate to reduce the allowance over the last couple of quarters. He cited two Seattle buildings that moved into other real estate owned during the quarter, with charge-offs of $22 million on the office property and $3.7 million on the life science property, saying those amounts had already been reserved for in the prior quarter.

Hicks said provision expense has been below consensus estimates over the last several quarters and could continue to “drift down” if the economy maintains its resiliency and strength.

On life science, Gleason said the bank has a “pretty healthy” allowance for the portfolio given sector challenges. He said several life science assets are well leased, while one life science loan that was exited through a discounted payoff was, in his view, probably the least desirable single asset in the portfolio. Hamblen said tenant activity has improved in some markets, including interest from technology, AI and office users in addition to life science tenants.

Real Estate Concentration Continues to Decline Gleason said muted RESG origination volume and ongoing repayments will continue to reduce the bank’s real estate concentration. He said Bank OZK is now below the regulatory concentration guideline for total commercial real estate and expects to be below the 100% guideline for construction and development by the end of 2026 or early 2027.

Management expects the CIB and RESG portfolios to become roughly equal in size at some point in 2027. Gleason said that implies continued strong growth in CIB and continued paydowns in RESG. He also said the community banking, indirect and RV portfolios could show more positive momentum through 2027, resulting in a more balanced portfolio across major segments.

Asked about share repurchases, Hicks said the bank used about $175 million of its prior $200 million authorization over the last four quarters at an average price below tangible book value. He said the board has approved a new $200 million authorization for the next four quarters, with actual usage dependent on the stock price.

Gleason closed the call by saying management looks forward to updating investors again next quarter.

About Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)Bank OZK, formerly known as Bank of the Ozarks, is a regional commercial bank headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. Established in 1903, the bank offers a full suite of banking products and services to both individual and corporate clients. Through a combination of organic growth and targeted acquisitions, Bank OZK has built a diversified lending portfolio and a strong deposit franchise.

The bank's core operations focus on commercial real estate lending, including acquisition, development and construction financing.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].

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MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Bank OZK wasn't on the list.

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Direct Rewards, No Third-Party Required@Coinbase has officially launched native staking support for $SUI, giving users the ability to earn protocol-level rewards without leaving the exchange interface. The integration removes the need for manual validator delegation or external custody solutions, crediting rewards directly and automatically to user accounts.

Coinbase's staking page for SUI shows that approximately 2.9 billion SUI tokens are currently staked on the platform, representing a staking market cap of around $2.3 billion. That figure reflects the scale of demand already in place ahead of this native integration.

For context on how the underlying protocol works: Sui employs a Delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPoS) consensus mechanism in which validators' voting power is determined by the amount of stake delegated to them by SUI holders. Rewards accrue every epoch, which corresponds to roughly 24 hours, and the standard estimated APR sits at around 3.25%, though this varies with validator performance and network conditions.

A Growing Network Behind the IntegrationThe timing of the Coinbase rollout aligns with a period of sustained expansion for @SuiNetwork. Sui processed over $1 trillion in stablecoin transfers ahead of its March 2026 native stablecoin launch, with $111 billion in volume recorded in January 2026 alone. The network has also surpassed 4.5 billion total transactions, with 1.2 million daily active wallets as of late July 2026, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Coinbase has maintained a close relationship with the Sui Foundation since the network's mainnet launch, participating in its Incentivized Testnet and collaborating on protocol design. The exchange's Cloud infrastructure manages node complexity and creates delegation flows for end users, offering a secure path to earn protocol rewards.

By bringing that infrastructure directly into the retail exchange product, Coinbase lowers the barrier further for holders who want yield from $SUI without navigating wallet setups or validator selection.

Sources:
Coinbase SUI Staking Page
Coinbase Cloud Non-Custodial SUI Staking
DAIC Capital: SUI Staking Overview

Stifel Financial (SF - Free Report) came out with quarterly earnings of $1.42 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.35 per share. This compares to earnings of $1.14 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.

This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +5.19%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this brokerage and investment banking firm would post earnings of $1.39 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.45, delivering a surprise of +4.32%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times.

Stifel, which belongs to the Zacks Financial - Investment Bank industry, posted revenues of $1.45 billion for the quarter ended June 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.13%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $1.28 billion. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates four times over the last four quarters.

The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.

Stifel shares have lost about 7% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 9.7%.

What's Next for Stifel?While Stifel has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?

There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.

Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.

Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Stifel was unfavorable. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to underperform the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $1.47 on $1.46 billion in revenues for the coming quarter and $6.22 on $6.04 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year.

Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Financial - Investment Bank is currently in the top 12% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.

One other stock from the same industry, Evercore (EVR - Free Report) , is yet to report results for the quarter ended June 2026. The results are expected to be released on July 29.

This investment bank is expected to post quarterly earnings of $3.02 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +24.8%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0% higher over the last 30 days to the current level.

Evercore's revenues are expected to be $993.52 million, up 18.4% from the year-ago quarter.

Wall Street expects a year-over-year increase in earnings on higher revenues when Fair Isaac (FICO - Free Report) reports results for the quarter ended June 2026. While this widely-known consensus outlook is important in gauging the company's earnings picture, a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price is how the actual results compare to these estimates.

The stock might move higher if these key numbers top expectations in the upcoming earnings report, which is expected to be released on July 29. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower.

While the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call, it's worth handicapping the probability of a positive EPS surprise.

Zacks Consensus EstimateThis financial services company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $12.02 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +40.3%.

Revenues are expected to be $679.31 million, up 26.6% from the year-ago quarter.

Estimate Revisions TrendThe consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0.47% lower over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period.

Investors should keep in mind that an aggregate change may not always reflect the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts.

Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Earnings WhisperEstimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. This insight is at the core of our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction).

The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier.

Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only.

A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP.

Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss. Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and/or Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell).

How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for Fair Isaac?For Fair Isaac, the Most Accurate Estimate is lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bearish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of -0.04%.

On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #3.

So, this combination makes it difficult to conclusively predict that Fair Isaac will beat the consensus EPS estimate.

Does Earnings Surprise History Hold Any Clue?While calculating estimates for a company's future earnings, analysts often consider to what extent it has been able to match past consensus estimates. So, it's worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number.

For the last reported quarter, it was expected that Fair Isaac would post earnings of $11.03 per share when it actually produced earnings of $12.50, delivering a surprise of +13.33%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates four times.

Bottom LineAn earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower. Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors. Similarly, unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss.

That said, betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success. This is why it's worth checking a company's Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.

Fair Isaac doesn't appear a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

Wall Street expects a year-over-year increase in earnings on higher revenues when Cactus, Inc. (WHD - Free Report) reports results for the quarter ended June 2026. While this widely-known consensus outlook is important in gauging the company's earnings picture, a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price is how the actual results compare to these estimates.

The earnings report, which is expected to be released on July 29, might help the stock move higher if these key numbers are better than expectations. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower.

While management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call will mostly determine the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations, it's worth having a handicapping insight into the odds of a positive EPS surprise.

Zacks Consensus EstimateThis company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.71 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +7.6%.

Revenues are expected to be $400.62 million, up 46.4% from the year-ago quarter.

Estimate Revisions TrendThe consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 1.79% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period.

Investors should keep in mind that an aggregate change may not always reflect the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts.

Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Earnings WhisperEstimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. Our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) -- has this insight at its core.

The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier.

Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only.

A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP.

Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss. Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and/or Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell).

How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for Cactus?For Cactus, the Most Accurate Estimate is higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bullish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of +7.04%.

On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #2.

So, this combination indicates that Cactus will most likely beat the consensus EPS estimate.

Does Earnings Surprise History Hold Any Clue?Analysts often consider to what extent a company has been able to match consensus estimates in the past while calculating their estimates for its future earnings. So, it's worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number.

For the last reported quarter, it was expected that Cactus would post earnings of $0.65 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.70, delivering a surprise of +7.69%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates three times.

Bottom LineAn earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower. Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors. Similarly, unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss.

That said, betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success. This is why it's worth checking a company's Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.

Cactus appears a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

© Zapp2Photo / Shutterstock.com

My brokerage app knows the Marvell ticker by heart. When a stock I have been accumulating drops 33.02% in a month and the underlying business keeps accelerating, the decision writes itself.

That is the single factor pulling me back to Marvell Technology (NASDAQ:MRVL | MRVL Price Prediction): the market handed me a discount on an AI infrastructure semiconductor pure-play whose numbers still point the right direction. Shares closed at $207.96, well below the 52-week high of $329.80. Yet year to date the stock is up 145.07%, up 185.25% over one year, and up 1,811.10% over ten. This is a violent repricing inside a long uptrend, and I am adding to my cost basis at these prices.

The Data Behind My Conviction Marvell’s most recent quarter (Q1 FY2027) posted revenue of $2.418 billion, up 27.6% year over year and ahead of consensus. Data center revenue reached $1.833 billion, 76% of the total, up 27% year over year and 11% sequentially. Free cash flow more than doubled to $483.1 million, up 126.8%, while cash on the balance sheet climbed to $3.84 billion. Full fiscal 2026 revenue landed at $8.195 billion, up 42%, and the company repurchased $2.04 billion of stock during that year.

Management is guiding Q2 FY27 revenue to $2.7 billion, roughly 35% year-over-year growth, and CEO Matt Murphy said Marvell is “significantly raising Marvell’s revenue outlook for both fiscal 2027 and fiscal 2028” on “exceptional AI-related bookings.” He expects growth to accelerate each quarter through fiscal 2027. Trailing P/E sits at 65, while forward P/E drops to 47, indicating the earnings ramp is driving valuation.

Why Marvell Stands Out Every AI investor first reaches for mega-cap chip generalists. Marvell offers a concentrated bet on AI datacenter plumbing: custom XPU and XPU-attach silicon, plus 800G and 1.6T scale-out optics, 51.2T Ethernet scale-out switches, and scale-up NPO and CPO optical solutions. At a market cap of roughly $175 billion, every incremental hyperscaler design win moves the needle in a way it cannot at a generalist ten times the size. The Celestial AI and XConn acquisitions that closed in February 2026 add photonic fabric and chiplet connectivity directly to that thesis.

The Risk I Cannot Ignore With 76% of revenue from data center and a small group of hyperscalers driving most of that, customer concentration is the real risk. If a major customer moves silicon fully in-house, this thesis takes a hit. Q1 also included a $331.8 million contingent consideration charge that pushed GAAP net income down 80.6% year over year. That is acquisition-related accounting noise rather than operating deterioration, and the raised multi-year guidance tells me the bookings pipeline is deep enough to absorb any single customer’s platform decisions.

Why the Buy Button Stays Active Analyst consensus sits at a $253.69 target with 7 strong buy, 31 buy, 5 hold, and 1 strong sell ratings behind it. Marvell is compounding revenue in the high 20s heading toward the mid 30s, generating record cash, buying back stock, and sitting inside the fastest capex cycle of my investing life. The market decided it was too expensive. I decided it was on sale, and the buy button stays lit until the story changes.

Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Marvell Technology didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL - Free Report) is expected to deliver a year-over-year increase in earnings on higher revenues when it reports results for the quarter ended June 2026. This widely-known consensus outlook gives a good sense of the company's earnings picture, but how the actual results compare to these estimates is a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price.

The earnings report, which is expected to be released on July 29, might help the stock move higher if these key numbers are better than expectations. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower.

While management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call will mostly determine the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations, it's worth having a handicapping insight into the odds of a positive EPS surprise.

Zacks Consensus EstimateThis trucking company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.52 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +19.7%.

Revenues are expected to be $1.54 billion, up 9.5% from the year-ago quarter.

Estimate Revisions TrendThe consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 2.83% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period.

Investors should keep in mind that an aggregate change may not always reflect the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts.

Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Earnings WhisperEstimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. Our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) -- has this insight at its core.

The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier.

Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only.

A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP.

Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss. Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and/or Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell).

How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for Old Dominion?For Old Dominion, the Most Accurate Estimate is higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bullish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of +1.02%.

On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #2.

So, this combination indicates that Old Dominion will most likely beat the consensus EPS estimate.

Does Earnings Surprise History Hold Any Clue?Analysts often consider to what extent a company has been able to match consensus estimates in the past while calculating their estimates for its future earnings. So, it's worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number.

For the last reported quarter, it was expected that Old Dominion would post earnings of $1.05 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.14, delivering a surprise of +8.57%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates three times.

Bottom LineAn earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower. Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors. Similarly, unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss.

That said, betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success. This is why it's worth checking a company's Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.

Old Dominion appears a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release.

An Industry Player's Expected ResultsAnother stock from the Zacks Transportation - Truck industry, Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL - Free Report) , is soon expected to post earnings of $1.52 per share for the quarter ended June 2026. This estimate indicates a year-over-year change of +19.7%. Revenues for the quarter are expected to be $1.54 billion, up 9.5% from the year-ago quarter.

The consensus EPS estimate for Old Dominion has been revised 2.8% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. However, a higher Most Accurate Estimate has resulted in an Earnings ESP of +1.02%.

This Earnings ESP, combined with its Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), suggests that Old Dominion will most likely beat the consensus EPS estimate. Over the last four quarters, the company surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

Old National Bancorp (ONB - Free Report) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.65 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.62 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.53 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.

This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +4.84%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this holding company for Old National Bank would post earnings of $0.6 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.61, delivering a surprise of +1.67%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times.

Old National Bancorp, which belongs to the Zacks Banks - Midwest industry, posted revenues of $740.06 million for the quarter ended June 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.55%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $654.37 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates two times over the last four quarters.

The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.

Old National Bancorp shares have added about 17.3% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 9.7%.

What's Next for Old National Bancorp?While Old National Bancorp has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?

There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.

Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.

Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Old National Bancorp was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $0.65 on $729.15 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $2.57 on $2.88 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year.

Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Banks - Midwest is currently in the top 32% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.

One other stock from the same industry, First Financial Corp. (THFF - Free Report) , is yet to report results for the quarter ended June 2026.

This holding company for First Financial Bank is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.71 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +8.9%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0.5% higher over the last 30 days to the current level.

First Financial Corp.'s revenues are expected to be $72.05 million, up 14.3% from the year-ago quarter.

Key Takeaways Labcorp is expected to post Q2 revenue growth of 5.4% and EPS growth of 10.1% year over year.LH expanded diagnostics through partnerships, acquisitions and new oncology, neurology and consumer tests.Labcorp likely saw BLS support from Central Laboratories as Early Development streamlining continued. Labcorp Holdings Inc. (LH - Free Report) , or Labcorp, is slated to report its second-quarter 2026 results on July 30, before the market opens.

In the last reported quarter, the company posted adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $4.25, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.91%. Labcorp outpaced estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 3.31%.

Q2 Estimates for LHThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for Labcorp’s second-quarter 2026 revenues is pegged at $3.72 billion. This suggests a 5.4% rise from the year-ago reported figure.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter EPS indicates an improvement of 10.1% to $4.79. The estimate has remained unchanged in the past 60 days.

Here's a quick review of the company’s performance leading up to its second-quarter earnings.

What Could Shape Labcorp's Q2 Results?In the second quarter of 2026, Diagnostics Laboratories’ (Dx) performance is likely to have continued to witness strong organic contribution. Labcorp's ongoing expansion through health system partnerships and acquisitions is expected to have supported testing volumes by broadening its patient and provider network. During the quarter, the company announced a nationwide strategic collaboration with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to expand access to advanced diagnostics for pediatric patients.

In May, Labcorp launched an expanded DPYD Genotyping test to identify cancer patients at risk for severe chemotherapy side effects. Earlier in March, it acquired the select assets of Crouse Health's Laboratory Alliance of Central New York and executed an agreement to manage Crouse Health’s inpatient laboratories. All these developments are expected to have favorably boosted the quarter’s top line.

The company’s expanding specialty testing portfolio likely remained another tailwind. These tests are focused in the areas spanning oncology, women's health, neurology and autoimmune disease, which are projected to far outpace the broader diagnostics market. In second-quarter 2026, Oncology results are likely to have benefited from the launch of several liquid biopsy tests and expanded access to molecular residual disease (MRD) solutions.

Labcorp further strengthened the portfolio by launching Agilent Technologies' FDA-approved companion diagnostic to identify patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer who may be eligible for Merck's KEYTRUDA. The company’s market-leading Alzheimer's testing portfolio may have boosted Neurology revenues.

Beyond the core testing, the company also introduced the first FDA-cleared rapid fentanyl test of its kind made in the United States, delivering results in just 10 minutes. The Labcorp OnDemand platform is also expected to have favorably supported revenues, driven by strong demand across its expanding menu of consumer health tests.

Labcorp may have also benefited from its ongoing use of advanced technologies, including AI and robotics, to enhance customer experiences and productivity. In April, the company expanded its collaboration with Epic, making its full test menu available through the Aura platform. Other recent initiatives include the development of an AI-powered real-world data platform with Amazon Web Services and Datavant to accelerate Alzheimer's research and a strategic collaboration with Optum.ai to streamline laboratory operations. Collectively, all these factors are expected to have positively impacted Labcorp’s second-quarter revenues.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate expects Dx revenues to grow 6.1% year over year.

Within the Biopharma Laboratory Services (“BLS”) segment,Labcorp has likely benefited from the solid performance of Central Laboratories. The company may have also progressed with its strategic actions to streamline the Early Development business, which may have limited overall growth. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate suggests that BLS revenues will grow 2.7% year over year.

Earnings Whispers for LabcorpPer our proven model, stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold), along with a positive Earnings ESP, have a higher chance of beating estimates, which is exactly the case here, as you can see below:

Earnings ESP:  Labcorp has an Earnings ESP of +0.71%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Other Key MedTech PicksHere are some other medical stocks worth considering, as these also have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this time:

CVS Health (CVS - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +1.42% and a Zacks Rank #2. The company is slated to release second-quarter 2026 results on Aug. 5.

CVS’ earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 16.79%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate expects the company’s second-quarter EPS to increase 3.3% from the year-ago quarter’s figure.

Henry Schein (HSIC - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.41% and a Zacks Rank #2. The company is expected to release second-quarter 2026 results soon.

HSIC’s earnings surpassed estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed on one occasion, the average surprise being 3.74%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s second-quarter EPS calls for a rise of 10.9% from the year-ago quarter’s figure.

Alcon (ALC - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +3.13% and a Zacks Rank #2. The company is slated to release second-quarter 2026 results on Aug. 10.

ALC’s earnings beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed on one occasion, the average surprise being 3.66%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate anticipates the company’s second-quarter EPS to increase 1.3% from the year-ago quarter’s figure.

Wall Street expects a year-over-year increase in earnings on higher revenues when ArcBest (ARCB - Free Report) reports results for the quarter ended June 2026. While this widely-known consensus outlook is important in gauging the company's earnings picture, a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price is how the actual results compare to these estimates.

The stock might move higher if these key numbers top expectations in the upcoming earnings report, which is expected to be released on July 29. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower.

While the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call, it's worth handicapping the probability of a positive EPS surprise.

Zacks Consensus EstimateThis freight transportation and logistics company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $2.18 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +60.3%.

Revenues are expected to be $1.19 billion, up 16.8% from the year-ago quarter.

Estimate Revisions TrendThe consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 8.96% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period.

Investors should keep in mind that an aggregate change may not always reflect the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts.

Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Earnings WhisperEstimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. Our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) -- has this insight at its core.

The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier.

Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only.

A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP.

Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss. Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and/or Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell).

How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for ArcBest?For ArcBest, the Most Accurate Estimate is higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bullish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of +9.76%.

On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #1.

So, this combination indicates that ArcBest will most likely beat the consensus EPS estimate.

Does Earnings Surprise History Hold Any Clue?Analysts often consider to what extent a company has been able to match consensus estimates in the past while calculating their estimates for its future earnings. So, it's worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number.

For the last reported quarter, it was expected that ArcBest would post earnings of $0.27 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.32, delivering a surprise of +18.52%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates two times.

Bottom LineAn earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower. Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors. Similarly, unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss.

That said, betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success. This is why it's worth checking a company's Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.

ArcBest appears a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release.

Expected Results of an Industry PlayerWerner Enterprises (WERN - Free Report) , another stock in the Zacks Transportation - Truck industry, is expected to report earnings per share of $0.22 for the quarter ended June 2026. This estimate points to a year-over-year change of +100%. Revenues for the quarter are expected to be $932.4 million, up 23.8% from the year-ago quarter.

Over the last 30 days, the consensus EPS estimate for Werner has been revised 6.6% up to the current level. Nevertheless, the company now has an Earnings ESP of +4.35%, reflecting a higher Most Accurate Estimate.

When combined with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), this Earnings ESP indicates that Werner will most likely beat the consensus EPS estimate. Over the last four quarters, the company surpassed consensus EPS estimates two times.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

Wall Street expects a year-over-year increase in earnings on higher revenues when Newmark Group (NMRK - Free Report) reports results for the quarter ended June 2026. While this widely-known consensus outlook is important in gauging the company's earnings picture, a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price is how the actual results compare to these estimates.

The earnings report, which is expected to be released on July 29, might help the stock move higher if these key numbers are better than expectations. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower.

While management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call will mostly determine the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations, it's worth having a handicapping insight into the odds of a positive EPS surprise.

Zacks Consensus EstimateThis provider of commercial real estate services is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.39 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +25.8%.

Revenues are expected to be $863.15 million, up 13.7% from the year-ago quarter.

Estimate Revisions TrendThe consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 1.02% lower over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period.

Investors should keep in mind that the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts may not always get reflected in the aggregate change.

Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Earnings WhisperEstimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. Our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) -- has this insight at its core.

The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier.

Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only.

A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP.

Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss. Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and/or Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell).

How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for Newmark Group?For Newmark Group, the Most Accurate Estimate is higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bullish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of +14.29%.

On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #2.

So, this combination indicates that Newmark Group will most likely beat the consensus EPS estimate.

Does Earnings Surprise History Hold Any Clue?Analysts often consider to what extent a company has been able to match consensus estimates in the past while calculating their estimates for its future earnings. So, it's worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number.

For the last reported quarter, it was expected that Newmark Group would post earnings of $0.27 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.33, delivering a surprise of +22.22%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates four times.

Bottom LineAn earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower. Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors. Similarly, unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss.

That said, betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success. This is why it's worth checking a company's Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.

Newmark Group appears a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release.

An Industry Player's Expected ResultsAmong the stocks in the Zacks Real Estate - Operations industry, Newmark Group (NMRK - Free Report) , is soon expected to post earnings of $0.39 per share for the quarter ended June 2026. This estimate indicates a year-over-year change of +25.8%. This quarter's revenue is expected to be $863.15 million, up 13.7% from the year-ago quarter.

The consensus EPS estimate for Newmark Group has been revised 1% lower over the last 30 days to the current level. However, a higher Most Accurate Estimate has resulted in an Earnings ESP of +14.29%.

When combined with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), this Earnings ESP indicates that Newmark Group will most likely beat the consensus EPS estimate. The company beat consensus EPS estimates in each of the trailing four quarters.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

Badger Meter (BMI - Free Report) came out with quarterly earnings of $1.02 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.01 per share. This compares to earnings of $1.17 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.

This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +0.99%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this manufacturer of products that measure gas and water flow would post earnings of $1.2 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.93, delivering a surprise of -22.5%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates two times.

Badger Meter, which belongs to the Zacks Instruments - Control industry, posted revenues of $222.32 million for the quarter ended June 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.90%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $238.1 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates two times over the last four quarters.

The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.

Badger Meter shares have lost about 16.4% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 9.7%.

What's Next for Badger Meter?While Badger Meter has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?

There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.

Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.

Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Badger Meter was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $1.25 on $244.76 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $4.51 on $911.84 million in revenues for the current fiscal year.

Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Instruments - Control is currently in the top 20% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.

Another stock from the same industry, Sensata (ST - Free Report) , has yet to report results for the quarter ended June 2026. The results are expected to be released on July 29.

This maker of sensing, electrical protection, control and power management products is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.93 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +6.9%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days.

Sensata's revenues are expected to be $964 million, up 2.2% from the year-ago quarter.

The market expects Sensata (ST - Free Report) to deliver a year-over-year increase in earnings on higher revenues when it reports results for the quarter ended June 2026. This widely-known consensus outlook is important in assessing the company's earnings picture, but a powerful factor that might influence its near-term stock price is how the actual results compare to these estimates.

The stock might move higher if these key numbers top expectations in the upcoming earnings report, which is expected to be released on July 29. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower.

While management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call will mostly determine the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations, it's worth having a handicapping insight into the odds of a positive EPS surprise.

Zacks Consensus EstimateThis maker of sensing, electrical protection, control and power management products is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.93 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +6.9%.

Revenues are expected to be $964 million, up 2.2% from the year-ago quarter.

Estimate Revisions TrendThe consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period.

Investors should keep in mind that the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts may not always get reflected in the aggregate change.

Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Earnings WhisperEstimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. This insight is at the core of our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction).

The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier.

Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only.

A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP.

Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss. Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and/or Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell).

How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for Sensata?For Sensata, the Most Accurate Estimate is higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bullish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of +0.54%.

On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #2.

So, this combination indicates that Sensata will most likely beat the consensus EPS estimate.

Does Earnings Surprise History Hold Any Clue?While calculating estimates for a company's future earnings, analysts often consider to what extent it has been able to match past consensus estimates. So, it's worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number.

For the last reported quarter, it was expected that Sensata would post earnings of $0.84 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.86, delivering a surprise of +2.38%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates four times.

Bottom LineAn earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower. Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors. Similarly, unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss.

That said, betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success. This is why it's worth checking a company's Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.

Sensata appears a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.