EMC Corporation EMC is set to report first-quarter fiscal 2016 results on Apr 20. Last quarter, the company posted a negative earnings surprise of 1.82%. Over the past four quarters, the company has posted an average negative earnings surprise of 1.04%. Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.Factors to ConsiderEMC has got a new lease of life and is gearing up for its acquisition by Dell. Though the company has a strong product base and is also well positioned in the cloud computing and Big Data space, its core data storage business has been struggling for a while due to growing competition from flash storage peers.As the acquisition approaches, it seems that EMC is solidifying its position in the booming emerging markets like flash storage, cloud computing, Big Data, mobile and security applications. In Mar 2016, the company had teamed up with EY in order to develop innovative solutions by combining EMC’s product portfolio and EY’s advisory services.We expect EMC to benefit from the strength in VMware VMW, which remains one of the leading players in the virtualization and cloud computing market.Meanwhile, EMC is also focused on streamlining its operations with initiatives like the divestiture of its non-core assets and cutting down on its workforce to reduce costs.The acquisition is expected to be closed between May and Oct 2016 so this might be the last quarter that the company is reporting before the merger.Earnings WhispersOur proven model does not conclusively show that EMC is likely to beat earnings this quarter. This is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen. That is not the case here as you will see below.Zacks ESP: EMC currently has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. This is because both the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate stand at 21 cents.Zacks Rank: EMC currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Though Zacks Rank #1, 2 or 3 increases the predictive power of ESP, the company’s ESP of 0.00% makes surprise prediction difficult.We caution against stocks with a Zacks Rank #4 and 5 (Sell-rated stocks) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.Stocks to ConsiderHere are a few companies that you may want to consider as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter:Parker-Hannifin Corporation PH has an Earnings ESP of +1.39% and a Zacks Rank #2.Intel Corporation INTC with Earnings ESP of +4.08% and a Zacks Rank #3Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report EMC CORP -MASS (EMC): Free Stock Analysis Report VMWARE INC-A (VMW): Free Stock Analysis Report PARKER HANNIFIN (PH): Free Stock Analysis Report INTEL CORP (INTC): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research