These five companies reporting earnings in the week ahead almost always beat the Street

Published Sat, Jan 25 202010:01 AM EST

Of the hundreds of big companies set to report earnings next week, there are five key names that investors should be focused on because they almost always top expectations. CNBC crunched the numbers using data from Bespoke Investment Group and found five stocks that nearly always beat Wall Street's earnings forecasts. Plus, these companies normally trade positive after their surefire earnings beat. Facebook Facebook reports quarterly results after the bell on Wednesday and if history is any guide the social media giant will beat the Street. The Mark Zuckerberg-led company tops Wall Streets earnings estimates 97% of the time, and trades 3% higher on the day it reports on average, according to Bespoke. Analysts polled by FactSet are expecting Facebook to report earnings per share of $2.52, compared with the $2.38 per share earned in the same period a year ago. Revenue is forecast to come in at $20.88 billion, topping last year's $16.914 billion. "We think the resurgence in core Facebook app performance flagged last quarter is set to continue into 2020 and can help drive top line and multiple expansion as investors gain comfort in the durability of the core Blue app," Deutsche Bank research analyst Lloyd Walmsley said in a note to clients. Another important metric for Facebook, active users, is posed to come in better than last quarter. Analysts expect monthly active users to come in at 2.495 billion, up from last quarter's 2.449 billion, according to FactSet. Daily active users are expected to come in at 1.647 billion, more than last quarter's 1.623 billion users. With a market value of $631 billion, Facebook's stock has rallied more than 53% in the past 12 months. Of the 52 analysts that cover Facebook, 46 analyst recommend buying the stock, according to FactSet. Four analysts have a hold rating and two recommend selling the stock. Lockheed Martin Aerospace and defense giant Lockheed Martin tops analysts' earnings estimates 95% of the time, according to Bespoke. The company, whose market value is about $120 billion, usually trades up 0.11% on they day it releases its results. Lockheed Martin reports earnings before the bell on Tuesday. Lockheed Martin will report earnings of $5.02 per share, according to analysts polled by FactSet. This is higher than the $4.39 per share earned in the fourth quarter a year ago. Revenue is expected to come in at $15.28 billion, topping the $14.41 billion earned in the same period last year. Shares of Lockheed Martin have rallied nearly 50% in the past year, alongside an increase in government spending on defense. Government defense spending in the fourth quarter saw the second highest year-over-year increase in the past 15 years, according to The Buckingham Research Group. "Both strong US Government spending along with the fact that 4Q is typically the strongest quarter for international sales, underpins our view that LMT could beat consensus expectations and raise its 2020 guide," the firm's research analyst Richard Safran said in a note to clients. "LMT is generally viewed as a proxy for Pentagon spending given the size and scope of its programs." Of the 22 Wall Street analysts that cover Lockheed Martin, 13 recommend buying the stock, according to FactSet. The rest of the analysts have a hold rating. Mastercard Payments company Mastercard beats the Street 94% of the time, according to Bespoke. The $327 billion company trades up about 2.2% on average on the day it reports. Mastercard reports earnings before the bell on Wednesday and analysts polled by FactSet are expecting the company to report earnings per share of $1.87, topping the prior year's fourth quarter of $1.55 per share. Revenue is expected to come is at $4.4 billion, compared to last year's $3.81 billion. Shares of Mastercard have rallied nearly 65% in the past 12 months, on the back of a strong U.S. consumer. Retail sales for the fourth quarter were up about 4% year-over-year, boosting payment companies, according to Nomura Instinet. MasterCard is almost universally loved on Wall Street. Of the 36 analysts that cover the payments company, 33 have a buy rating, according to FactSet. Two analysts have a sell rating and one has a sell rating. United Technologies Aircraft manufacturing company United Technologies reports earnings before the bell on Tuesday. The company, who's market value is $863.1 billion, beats the Street 93% of the time and gains about 0.9% on earnings day on average, according to Bespoke. United Tech is estimated to report earnings of $1.84 per share, lower than the prior year's fourth quarter which earned $1.95 per share, according to analysts polled by FactSet. Revenue is expected to come in at $19.41 billion, above last year's $18.04 billion. Barclays lowered its earning estimates for United Technologies due to the uncertainty around the Boeing 737 Max production halt. Of the 19 Wall Street analysts that cover United Tech, 14 recommend buying the stock, according to FactSet. The five other analysts have a hold rating. Shares of United Technologies have rallied about 30% in the past 12 months. Lam Research Lam Research reports earnings after the bell on Wednesday. Bespoke data shows that the semiconductor company beats analysts forecasts 91% of the time. The stock trades up about 1.4% on average on the day of earnings. Analysts polled by FactSet are expecting Lam Research to report second quarter earnings of $3.84 per share, less than the $3.87 per share during the same period a year ago. Revenue is slated to come in at $2.506 billion, less than the $2.523 billion earned in the same quarter last year. Shares of Lam Research have rallied nearly 125% in the past year, despite a weakness in memory chip demand and pricing that stretched most of 2019. "The stronger-than-anticipated performance demonstrated that the company is navigating successfully through the current downturn in semiconductor demand," Argus research analyst Jim Kelleher said in a note to clients. Of the 24 analysts on Wall Street that cover Lam Research, 14 recommend buying the stock, according to FactSet. Eight analysts have a hold rating and two have a sell rating. To be sure, beating quarterly estimates isn't necessarily indicative of a company's health. Sometimes companies purposefully put out lower estimates, also known as sandbagging, so that they are virtually guaranteed to beat estimates. — with reporting from CNBC's Nate Rattner and Michael Bloom.

Facebook and Instagram logo is seen on a mobile phone , on March 17, 2019.

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Of the hundreds of big companies set to report earnings next week, there are five key names that investors should be focused on because they almost always top expectations.

CNBC crunched the numbers using data from Bespoke Investment Group and found five stocks that nearly always beat Wall Street's earnings forecasts. Plus, these companies normally trade positive after their surefire earnings beat.