A handful of stocks that are set to release earnings have a track record of beating Wall Street estimates. So far, 113 companies in the S & P 500 index, or roughly 22% of the total, have reported earnings for the December quarter as of Wednesday. Collectively, companies have so far posted earnings growth of 31% versus the year-earlier period. When all is said and done, analysts polled by FactSet expect fourth quarter earnings for the entire S & P 500 will expand by 12% from the same quarter a year ago. Against this backdrop, CNBC Pro used earnings data from Bespoke Investment Group to identify stocks that have historically exceeded analyst estimates and subsequently seen their share prices rise, based on the following criteria: The companies’ earnings per share beat estimates 75% of the time or more The stock moves 1.5% or more the next trading session The company is scheduled to report results next week Chipotle made the list. Shares of the fast casual restaurant chain gained more that 14% over the past six months, through Wednesday. Chipotle beats earnings estimates 78% of the time, leading to an average 1.6% gain for the stock in the next session. CMG 1Y mountain Chipotle Mexican Grill over the past year. Chipotle will report fourth-quarter results on Feb. 4. Analysts polled by FactSet estimate earnings per share of 25 cents on revenue of $2.85 billion. Monolithic Power also turned up. The semiconductor maker has historically exceeded earnings estimates 88% of the time, while its stock has then gained more than 2% the next day. Shares have tumbled almost 34% over the past three months. Monolithic, which specializes in power management integrated circuits, is scheduled to report fourth-quarter results on Feb. 6. Analysts surveyed by FactSet are looking for earnings of $3.98 per share, on revenue of $608 million. MPWR 1Y mountain Monolithic Power shares over the past year.
