Academic research has consistently found that corporate earnings surprises cluster around small positive values, rather than large outperformance. In a study published in the Journal of Accounting Research, Lawrence Brown documented that the median earnings surprise shifted over time from slightly negative to meeting or beating analyst estimates by only a small amount, indicating that firms typically exceed consensus by narrow margins rather than delivering outsized surprises. This pattern reflects both analyst forecasting accuracy and the tendency of companies to manage expectations, making very large EPS surprises comparatively rare.
Research published in the Journal of Financial Economics shows a pronounced discontinuity in the distribution of earnings surprises at zero, with substantially more firms reporting results that just meet or just beat analyst expectations than just miss them. The evidence suggests that companies have strong incentives to exceed consensus forecasts by a small margin because the market rewards even modest positive surprises. Consequently, the distribution of earnings surprises is concentrated around zero, implying that exceptionally large positive surprises occur far less frequently.
On July 30, more than 270 companies posted earnings for the second quarter of 2026. Of them, 57 delivered earnings that surprised Wall Street.
Measuring the Beat: 57 Stocks Surpassing Earnings Expectations
57. FatPipe, Inc. (NASDAQ:FATN)
FatPipe, Inc. (NASDAQ:FATN) surprised Wall Street with EPS of $0.09, beating estimates by $0.02.
56. Forrester Research, Inc. (NASDAQ:FORR)
Forrester Research, Inc. (NASDAQ:FORR) blew past consensus estimates, posting EPS of $0.40, topping expectations by $0.13.
55. First Internet Bancorp (NASDAQ:INBK)
First Internet Bancorp (NASDAQ:INBK) posted EPS of $0.27 in the second quarter of the year, beating expectations by $0.13.
54. Titan International, Inc. (NYSE:TWI)
Titan International, Inc. (NYSE:TWI) surprised Wall Street with EPS of $0.09, exceeding expectations by $0.12.
53. Oil States International, Inc. (NYSE:OIS)
Oil States International, Inc. (NYSE:OIS) topped analyst targets in the second quarter, ending at $0.14 EPS versus $0.11 as expected by Wall Street.
52. Columbus McKinnon Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCO)
Columbus McKinnon Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCO) blew past analyst estimates on EPS in the second quarter, finishing at EPS of $0.61, exceeding predictions by $0.34.
51. Forum Energy Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:FET)
Forum Energy Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:FET) shattered consensus estimates on EPS in the second quarter results, ending at $1.16, beating analyst predictions by $0.60.
50. SunCoke Energy, Inc. (NYSE:SXC)
SunCoke Energy, Inc. (NYSE:SXC) surprised Wall Street with EPS of $0.15, beating estimates by $0.08.
49. The Marcus Corporation (NYSE:MCS)
The Marcus Corporation (NYSE:MCS) blew past consensus estimates, posting EPS of $0.51, topping expectations by $0.16.
48. Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)
Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) posted EPS of $0.14 in the second quarter of the year, beating expectations by $0.15. Analysts had predicted losses of $0.01.
47. Myers Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MYE)
Myers Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MYE) surprised Wall Street with EPS of $0.53, exceeding expectations by $0.17.
46. Pagaya Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:PGY)
Pagaya Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:PGY) topped analyst targets in the second quarter, ending at $1.07 EPS versus $0.72 as expected by Wall Street.
45. Butterfly Network, Inc. (NYSE:BFLY)
Butterfly Network, Inc. (NYSE:BFLY) blew past analyst estimates on EPS in the second quarter, finishing at losses of $0.01, exceeding predictions by $0.03. Analysts had predicted losses of $0.04.
44. Stagwell Inc. (NASDAQ:STGW)
Stagwell Inc. (NASDAQ:STGW) shattered consensus estimates on EPS in the second quarter results, ending at $0.25, beating analyst predictions by $0.06.
43. CareDx, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDNA)
CareDx, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDNA) surprised Wall Street with EPS of $0.37, beating estimates by $0.14.
42. Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU)
Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU) blew past consensus estimates, posting EPS of $0.26, topping expectations by $0.12.
41. Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL)
Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) posted EPS of $0.04 in the second quarter of the year, beating expectations by $0.07. Analysts had predicted losses of $0.03.
40. Neogen Corporation (NASDAQ:NEOG)
Neogen Corporation (NASDAQ:NEOG) surprised Wall Street with EPS of $0.09, exceeding expectations by $0.03.
39. Quaker Chemical Corporation (NYSE:KWR)
Quaker Chemical Corporation (NYSE:KWR) exceeded consensus EPS estimates by $0.53, finishing at $2.19.
38. Alignment Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALHC)
Alignment Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALHC) registered $0.17 EPS, topping estimates by $0.04.
37. Acadian Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:AAMI)
Acadian Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:AAMI) posted EPS of $1.33 for the second quarter, topping expectations by $0.31.
36. HNI Corporation (NYSE:HNI)
HNI Corporation (NYSE:HNI) posted $1.27 EPS, topping expectations by $0.23.
35. Steven Madden, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SHOO)
Steven Madden, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SHOO) exceeded EPS expectations by $0.11, finishing at $0.44.
34. Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)
Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) ended at $0.54 EPS, beating analyst predictions by $0.11.
33. AXT, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXTI)
AXT, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXTI) posted $0.19 EPS, beating estimates by $0.12, with analysts earlier projecting EPS of $0.07. .
32. CNX Resources Corporation (NYSE:CNX)
CNX Resources Corporation (NYSE:CNX) posted EPS of $1.32, topping expectations by $0.72.
31. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)
Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) ended at $1.19 EPS, beating expectations by $0.23.
30. Brunswick Corporation (NYSE:BC)
Brunswick Corporation (NYSE:BC) registered $1.56 EPS, exceeding expectations by $0.37.
29. CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO)
CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) exceeded EPS expectations by $0.29, ending at $1.26.
28. PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTCT)
PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTCT) topped EPS estimates by $0.71, finishing at $0.92.
27. Ryan Specialty Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:RYAN)
Ryan Specialty Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:RYAN) posted EPS of $0.74 for the second quarter, topping expectations by $0.14.
26. Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMRX)
Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMRX) topped analyst targets on EPS by $0.07, ending at $0.30.
25. Schneider National, Inc. (NYSE:SNDR)
Schneider National, Inc. (NYSE:SNDR) posted $0.29 EPS in the second quarter of the year, $0.06 higher than consensus estimates.
24. Mohawk Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MHK)
Mohawk Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MHK) posted EPS of $3.67, beating analyst predictions by $1.09.
23. InterDigital, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDCC)
InterDigital, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDCC) surprised Wall Street with EPS of $4.62, beating estimates by $3.10. Revenue over the period was $260 million, topping expectations by $117 million.
22. Tempus AI, Inc. (NASDAQ:TEM)
Tempus AI, Inc. (NASDAQ:TEM) cracked past EPS estimates, finishing at losses of $0.04, and topping expectations by $0.11. Analysts had expected losses of $0.15.
21. PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE:PBF)
PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE:PBF) posted EPS of $6.22, beating expectations by $2.10.
20. Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR)
Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) surprised Wall Street with EPS of $2.41, better by $1.04 than what Wall Street expected.
19. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII)
Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) exceeded EPS expectations by $1.44, having ended the second quarter at $5.27.
18. Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)
Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) registered EPS of $0.56, topping estimates by $0.19.
17. Madison Air Solutions Corporation (NYSE:MAIR)
Madison Air Solutions Corporation (NYSE:MAIR) posted EPS of $0.31 for the second quarter, topping expectations by $0.07.
16. Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H)
Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H) topped analyst targets by $0.19, ending at $1.12 EPS.
15. Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX)
Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX) exceeded estimates with $2.85 EPS, versus estimates of $0.89.
14. Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE:WY)
Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE:WY) shattered consensus estimates of $0.08, beating analyst predictions by $0.03 to end at $0.11.
13. International Paper Company (NYSE:IP)
International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) surprised Wall Street with EPS of $0.04, shattering predictions by $0.08. Analysts had predicted losses of $0.04.
12. First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)
First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) cracked past earnings expectations of $2.82, posting EPS of $3.92, or higher by $1.10.
11. Reddit, Inc. (NYSE:RDDT)
Reddit, Inc. (NYSE:RDDT) registered $1.25 EPS in the second quarter, beating expectations by $0.29.
10. Edison International (NYSE:EIX)
Edison International (NYSE:EIX) surprised Wall Street with $1.54 EPS, better by $0.33 than the $1.21 as expected by analysts.
9. EMCOR Group, Inc. (NYSE:EME)
EMCOR Group, Inc. (NYSE:EME) recorded EPS of $9.06, topping expectations by $1.86.
8. The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)
The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) ended at $2.11 EPS, topping estimates by $0.74.
7. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV)
Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) posted EPS of $1.05 for the second quarter, exceeding expectations by $0.40.
6. Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)
Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) topped analyst targets on EPS by $0.14, ending at $0.93.
5. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:REGN)
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:REGN) cracked past analyst expectations in the second quarter of the year, ending at $14.29 and topping expectations by $4.08.
4. Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO)
Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) posted EPS of $12.54, beating analyst predictions by $2.41.
3. Quanta Services, Inc. (NYSE:PWR)
Quanta Services, Inc. (NYSE:PWR) surprised Wall Street with EPS of $4.24, better by $0.93 than the consensus.
2. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY)
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) registered EPS of $2.04, topping expectations by $0.44.
1. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) posted EPS of $5.75, beating expectations by $3.92.
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