Zacks.com featured highlights include Centene, Tenet Healthcare, Fortinet, Unity Software and Goldman Sachs

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 18, 2026 – Stocks in this week’s article are Centene CNC, Tenet Healthcare THC, Fortinet FTNT, Unity Software U and The Goldman Sachs Group GS.

Looking for Earnings Beats? Buy These 5 Top-Ranked Stocks

It is not surprising that before an earnings season, every investor looks for stocks that can beat market expectations. This is because investors always try to position themselves ahead of time and look to tap stocks that are high-quality in nature.

In this regard, we ran a screener that yielded stocks Centene, Tenet Healthcare, Fortinet, Unity Software and The Goldman Sachs Group as the likely winners on the earnings beat potential.

Why Is a Positive Earnings Surprise So Important?

Historically, stocks of companies with solid quarterly earnings (on a nominal basis) tank if they miss or merely meet market expectations. After all, a 20% earnings rise (though apparently looks good) doesn’t tell you if earnings growth has been exhibiting a decelerating trend.

Also, seasonal fluctuations sometimes come into play. If a company’s Q1 is seasonally weak and Q4 strong, then it is likely to report a sequential earnings decline. In such cases, growth rates are misleading while judging the true health of a company.

On the other hand, after much brainstorming and analysis of companies’ financials and initiatives, Wall Street analysts project earnings of companies. They in fact club their insights and a company’s guidance when deriving an earnings estimate.

Thus, outperforming that estimate is almost equivalent to beating the company’s own expectation as well as the market perception. And if the margin of earnings surprise is big, it typically drives the stock higher right after the release. Thus, more than anything else, an earnings surprise can push a stock higher.

How to Find Stocks That Can Beat?

Now, finding stocks that have the potential to beat on the bottom line may be investors’ dream but not an easy job. One way to do this is to look at the earnings surprise history of the company.

An impressive track record in this regard generally acts as a catalyst in sending a stock higher. It indicates the company’s ability to surpass estimates. And investors generally believe that the company will apply the same secret sauce to execute yet another earnings beat in its next release.

Here are five out of 16 stocks:

Centene: The Zacks Rank #1 company has established itself as a national leader in healthcare services. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The average earnings surprise of CNC for the past four quarters is 151.28%.

Tenet Healthcare: The Zacks Rank #1 company is an investor-owned healthcare services company, which owns and operates general hospitals and related healthcare facilities for urban and rural communities in numerous states, and has offices in California and Florida.

The average earnings surprise of THC for the past four quarters is 22.70%.

Fortinet: The Zacks Rank #1 company is a leader in cybersecurity, driving the convergence of networking and security.

The average earnings surprise of FTNT for the past four quarters is 20.34%.

Unity Software: The company provides a platform to develop, deploy and grow games and interactive 3D experiences across mobile, PC, console and extended reality. The stock has a Zacks Rank #2.

The average earnings surprise of U for the past four quarters is 12.54%.

The Goldman Sachs Group: It is a leading global financial holding company providing investment banking, securities, investment management, and consumer banking services to a diversified client base. The stock has a Zacks Rank #1.

The average earnings surprise of GS for the past four quarters is 20.42%.

Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?

Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +7.7% average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +48.4%, +50.2% and +56.7% per year.

Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation.

See Stocks Free >>

For the rest of this Screen of the Week article please visit Zacks.com at: https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2975692/looking-for-earnings-beat-buy-these-5-top-ranked-stocks

Follow us on Twitter:  https://www.twitter.com/zacksresearch

Join us on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/ZacksInvestmentResearch

Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.

Contact: Jim Giaquinto

Company: Zacks.com

Phone: 312-265-9268

Email: [email protected]

Visit: https://www.zacks.com/

Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

Radical New Technology Could Hand Investors Huge Gains

Quantum Computing is the next technological revolution, and it could be even more advanced than AI.

While some believed the technology was years away, it is already present and moving fast. Large hyperscalers, such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Oracle, and even Meta and Tesla, are scrambling to integrate quantum computing into their infrastructure.

Senior Stock Strategist Kevin Cook reveals 7 carefully selected stocks poised to dominate the quantum computing landscape in his report, Beyond AI: The Quantum Leap in Computing Power.

Kevin was among the early experts who recognized NVIDIA's enormous potential back in 2016. Now, he has keyed in on what could be "the next big thing" in quantum computing supremacy. Today, you have a rare chance to position your portfolio at the forefront of this opportunity.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research