Looking at history, several stocks scheduled to soon report earnings could beat estimates and outperform the market the day after. Second-quarter earnings have impressed analysts so far, with the majority of S & P 500 companies having posted positive earnings per share and revenue surprises. Several leading stocks are on deck to post results next week, including Microsoft , Mastercard , Lam Research , Spotify and UnitedHealth Group . Strong earnings have helped power the broad market to new all-time highs this month, with the S & P 500 on Thursday scoring its 12th all-time-high close of the year. To find potential winners, CNBC Pro screened data from Bespoke Investment Group for stocks reporting next week that have a track record of exceeding analysts’ consensus earnings forecasts and then gaining the next trading day. The companies below are among a handful of names soon to report that have beaten earnings per share estimates 80% of the time and, on average, gain at least 1% or more during the session after posting their latest financials. Take a look: Mastercard reports earnings on Thursday. The credit card processor has historically beaten analysts’ earnings estimates 93% of the time, and on average has gained 1.7% following the earnings report. Shares of Mastercard are up roughly 7% this year. The stock is positively viewed by the Street. Of 40 analysts covering Mastercard, 30 have a strong buy or buy rating on the shares. Deutsche Bank analyst Nate Svensson is bullish on Mastercard and has a $650 price target on shares, suggesting more than 15% potential upside based on Thursday’s close. In a late June note to clients, he named Mastercard as one of several “high quality compounders” among payments and processing providers. Booking Holdings also routinely beats the Street, with a history of topping earnings expectations 90% of the time and seeing an average postearnings gain of 2%. The travel company is set to report results next Tuesday. Shares of the Priceline and OpenTable parent are up more than 13% year to date, making Booking’s valuation appear “fairly full and several turns higher than the long-term average,” according to a recent note from Barclays analyst Trevor Young. Young said last week that “this full valuation combined with a generally in-line 2Q print/3Q guide might keep a lid on shares near term, but we again highlight BKNG as the best quality name to own within the group on a relative basis.” Other stocks that matched the search criteria for potential outperformers include semiconductor companies Lam Research and Monolithic Power Systems , which have a track record of rising 1.3% and 2.5%, respectively, on the next trading day after earnings.
