StarMine 20Q3 North American Earnings Surprise Results

In October 2020 we published our top ten second quarter earnings surprise candidates based on StarMine predictive analytics models. Of these 20Q3 North American earnings surprise candidates picks, 90% were correct.

The StarMine SmartEstimate®  is a weighted average of analyst estimates, with more weight given to more recent estimates and more accurate analysts. Our studies have shown that when the SmartEstimate® differs significantly from the consensus (IBES Mean), the Predicted Surprise accurately predicts the direction of earnings surprises or further revisions 70% of the time. When significant Predicted Surprise for revenue is also present for the period, the accuracy improves to 78%.

Since 2011 Q4 we’ve posted our top 10 North American candidates for earnings beats and misses. The running total from 11Q4 through 20Q3 of S&P 500 companies beat earnings estimates is 66.2% and 19.1% for companies that missed. In total StarMine North American positive surprise candidates over that time have been correct 82.7% of the time and correctly called 67.2% of negative surprise candidates. This is a 64.6 percentage point (ppts) improvement over the S&P 500’s rates.

StarMine North American Positive Earnings Surprise History vs. S&P 500 Beat Rate:

StarMine North American Negative Earnings Surprise History vs. S&P 500 Miss Rate:

Using SmartEstimate® and Predicted Surprise data, we highlighted 10 companies with a high probability of reporting first quarter earnings surprises in the direction we called — five likely to beat the analysts’ consensus estimate and another five  likely to fall short.

StarMine 20Q32 North American Positive Earnings Surprise Candidates:

All five of StarMine’s 20Q3 North American positive earnings surprise candidates reported earnings above the mean at the time of the October 4, 2020 report, which can be viewed here, and one reported earnings in-line with the mean. This was 15.6 ppts above the S&P 500’s 20Q3 record earnings beat rate of 84.4%.

StarMine 20Q3 North American Negative Earnings Surprise Candidates:

Four of the five of StarMine’s 20Q3 North American negative earnings surprise candidates reported earnings below the mean at the time of the October 4, 2020 report, which can be viewed here.  This was 67.6 ppts above the 12.4% of S&P 500 companies that reported 20Q3 earnings below expectations.

Interested in learning how you can use the StarMine SmartEstimate® and Predicted Surprise® to avoid earnings misses and find earnings beats? Learn more here.

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