Why They Should Be on Your Radar

Two factors often determine stock prices in the long run: earnings and interest rates. Investors can’t control the latter, but they can focus on a company’s earnings results every quarter.

We know earnings results are vital, but how a company performs compared to bottom line expectations can be even more important when it comes to stock prices, especially in the near-term. This means that investors might want to take advantage of these earnings surprises.

The Zacks Earnings ESP, or Expected Surprise Prediction, aims to find earnings surprises by focusing on the most recent analyst revisions. The basic premise is that if an analyst reevaluates their earnings estimate ahead of an earnings release, it means they likely have new information that could possibly be more accurate. The core of the ESP model is comparing the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate, where the resulting percentage difference between the two equals the Expected Surprise Prediction.

The final step today is to look at a stock that meets our ESP qualifications. Arista Networks (ANET) earns a Zacks Rank #3 six days from its next quarterly earnings release on November 4, 2025, and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $0.75 a share.

ANET has an Earnings ESP figure of +4.17%, which, as explained above, is calculated by taking the percentage difference between the $0.75 Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.72.

ANET is part of a big group of Computer and Technology stocks that boast a positive ESP, and investors may want to take a look at Pure Storage (PSTG) as well.

Pure Storage is a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock, and is getting ready to report earnings on December 2, 2025. PSTG’s Most Accurate Estimate sits at $0.6 a share 34 days from its next earnings release.

For Pure Storage, the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.59 is +2.27%.

ANET and PSTG’s positive ESP metrics may signal that a positive earnings surprise for both stocks is on the horizon.

Use the Zacks Earnings ESP Filter to turn up stocks with the highest probability of positively, or negatively, surprising to buy or sell before they’re reported for profitable earnings season trading. Check it out here >>

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Arista Networks, Inc. (ANET) : Free Stock Analysis Report