10 stocks that almost always beat on earnings

Published Mon, Jul 27 20152:02 PM EDT

In one of the busiest weeks this earnings season, a group of stocks may be poised to move higher, if history is any guide. Wall Street once again appears to have set the bar too low, setting up many opportunities for traders to benefit from a post-earnings surge. Of the 191 S & P 500 companies that reported earnings already, 74 percent beat analysts' estimates, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Among those names, Amazon took the crown last week , with shares of the online retailer reaching a record price, up 66 percent in 2015. At present, analysts predict there will be a 0.3 percent decline in earnings per share among S & P 500 companies, compared to a previously projected 3 percent loss at the beginning of the earnings season. While betting on stocks ahead of earnings is often a difficult trade, investors tend to look at historical data to make assessments about the future. With data from Bespoke Investment Group, CNBC Pro searched through the numbers to find the companies that beat profit estimates at least 80 percent of the time in the past few years and whose shares typically increased during the next day of trading. The stocks highlighted in this report have a market value greater than $1 billion and are slated to disclose quarterly figures in the next two days. The historical "beat rate" includes at least eight quarters worth of data. If history is any guide, buying these stocks before their earnings release could turn out to be a winning proposition. The low bar set by analysts will only help. Tableau Software , for example, has a strong record of exceeding analysts' expectations, with the shares rising on average 8 percent. More recently, the stock rallied in the past three earnings releases, posting an average gain of 14 percent. Shares of the software company, which makes products for data analytics, are up 93 percent in the past year compared with a return of 5 percent for the Russell 1000 index . Read More Best way to bet on the future of 'big data' Disclaimer

Source: Tableau Software

In one of the busiest weeks this earnings season, a group of stocks may be poised to move higher, if history is any guide.

Wall Street once again appears to have set the bar too low, setting up many opportunities for traders to benefit from a post-earnings surge.

Of the 191 S&P 500 companies that reported earnings already, 74 percent beat analysts' estimates, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Among those names, Amazon took the crown last week, with shares of the online retailer reaching a record price, up 66 percent in 2015.