Wall Street watches a company's quarterly report closely to understand as much as possible about its recent performance and what to expect going forward. Of course, one figure often stands out among the rest: earnings.We know earnings results are vital, but how a company performs compared to bottom line expectations can be even more important when it comes to stock prices, especially in the near-term. This means that investors might want to take advantage of these earnings surprises.The ability to identify stocks that are likely to top quarterly earnings expectations can be profitable, but it's no simple task. Here at Zacks, our Earnings ESP filter helps make things easier.The Zacks Earnings ESP, ExplainedThe Zacks Earnings ESP, or Expected Surprise Prediction, aims to find earnings surprises by focusing on the most recent analyst revisions. The basic premise is that if an analyst reevaluates their earnings estimate ahead of an earnings release, it means they likely have new information that could possibly be more accurate.Now that we understand the basic idea, let's look at how the Expected Surprise Prediction works. The ESP is calculated by comparing the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate, with the percentage difference between the two giving us the Zacks ESP figure.When we join a positive earnings ESP with a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or stronger, stocks posted a positive bottom-line surprise 70% of the time. Plus, this system saw investors produce roughly 28% annual returns on average, according to our 10 year backtest.Stocks with a ranking of #3 (Hold), or 60% of all stocks covered by the Zacks Rank, are expected to perform in-line with the broader market. Stocks with rankings of #2 (Buy) and #1 (Strong Buy), or the top 15% and top 5% of stocks, respectively, should outperform the market; Strong Buy stocks should outperform more than any other rank.Should You Consider Twilio?The final step today is to look at a stock that meets our ESP qualifications. Twilio (TWLO) earns a #3 (Hold) 27 days from its next quarterly earnings release on October 26, 2022, and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at -$0.37 a share.Twilio's Earnings ESP sits at +4.52%, which, as explained above, is calculated by taking the percentage difference between the -$0.37 Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of -$0.39. TWLO is also part of a large group of stocks that boast a positive ESP. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.TWLO is just one of a large group of Computer and Technology stocks with a positive ESP figure. Box (BOX) is another qualifying stock you may want to consider.Box is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock, and is getting ready to report earnings on November 29, 2022. BOX's Most Accurate Estimate sits at $0.30 a share 61 days from its next earnings release.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Box is $0.30, and when you take the percentage difference between that number and its Most Accurate Estimate, you get the Earnings ESP figure of +0.96%.TWLO and BOX's positive ESP figures tell us that both stocks have a good chance at beating analyst expectations in their next earnings report.Find Stocks to Buy or Sell Before They're ReportedUse the Zacks Earnings ESP Filter to turn up stocks with the highest probability of positively, or negatively, surprising to buy or sell before they're reported for profitable earnings season trading. Check it out here >> FREE Report: The Metaverse is Exploding! Don’t You Want to Cash In? Rising gas prices. The war in Ukraine. America's recession. Inflation. It's no wonder why the metaverse is so popular and growing every day. Becoming Spider Man and fighting Darth Vader is infinitely more appealing than spending over $5 per gallon at the pump. And that appeal is why the metaverse can provide such massive gains for investors. But do you know where to look? Do you know which metaverse stocks to buy and which to avoid? In a new FREE report from Zacks' leading stock specialist, we reveal how you could profit from the internet’s next evolution. Even though the popularity of the metaverse is spreading like wildfire, investors like you can still get in on the ground floor and cash in. Don't miss your chance to get your piece of this innovative $30 trillion opportunity - FREE.>>Yes, I want to know the top metaverse stocks for 2022>>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 Twilio Inc. (TWLO): Free Stock Analysis Report Box, Inc. (BOX): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research