Meritor, Inc. MTOR is scheduled to report second-quarter fiscal 2019 earnings on May 1, before the market opens. In the last reported quarter, its earnings surpassed estimates. In fact, this automotive parts manufacturer and supplier beat estimates in all of the trailing four quarters. The average positive earnings surprise was16.6%.In the past three months, shares of Meritor have outperformed the industry. The stock has gained 16% compared with the industry’s growth of 6.5% during that period.Let’s see, how things are shaping up for this announcement.Meritor, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise Meritor, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise | Meritor, Inc. QuoteWhy a Positive Surprise is Likely in This QuarterOur proven model predicts that Meritor is likely to beat earnings estimates in this quarter. This is because a stock needs to have the right combination of two key ingredients — a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) — for increasing the odds of an earnings beat.Earnings ESP: Meritor has an Earnings ESP of +8.88% as the Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate are pegged at 95 cents and 87 cents, respectively. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.Zacks Rank: The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3.Note that we caution against stocks with a Zacks Rank #4 or 5 (Sell-rated) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is witnessing negative estimate revisions.What’s Driving Better-Than-Expected Earnings?Despite plunging truck orders, strong backlogs are likely to drive Meritor’s revenues in second-quarter fiscal 2019. As of December, it had a backlog of almost 300,000 units. Robust backlog along with Meritor’s elevated production levels provides ample opportunity to drive revenues.Apart from delivery backlogs, consistent market share gain across all the markets, including North America, is expected to be another factor for Meritor’s growth in the soon-to-be-released quarter. In the markets outside North America, it is gaining traction through its joint ventures, majorly in Brazil, India and Mexico.Also, the company has good growth prospects in the trailer business. In the last quarterly reports, it announced that it gained threesignificant contracts with leading trailer manufacturers to supply products and systems. These supply contracts are projected to boost Meritor’s quarterly revenues.Other Stocks to ConsiderHere are a few other stocks from the same space, with the right combination of elements to outpace earnings estimates this time around:Cummins Inc. CMI has an Earnings ESP of +2.02% and a Zacks Rank of 3. Its first-quarter 2019 results are set to be reported on Apr 30.You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Oshkosh Corporation OSK has an Earnings ESP of +1.62% and a Zacks Rank of 3. Its first-quarter 2019 results are set to be reported on Apr 30.American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. AXL has an Earnings ESP of +0.47% and a Zacks Rank of 3. Its first-quarter 2019 results are set to be reported on May 3.Today's Best Stocks from ZacksWould you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2018, while the S&P 500 gained +15.8%, five of our screens returned +38.0%, +61.3%, +61.6%, +68.1%, and +98.3%.This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 – 2018, while the S&P averaged +4.8% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +56.2% per year.See their latest picks free >>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 Oshkosh Corporation (OSK): Free Stock Analysis Report Meritor, Inc. (MTOR): Free Stock Analysis Report American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (AXL): Free Stock Analysis Report Cummins Inc. (CMI): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research