Sprint Corporation S – a leading telecom operator in the U.S. –is scheduled to report third-quarter fiscal 2016 financial numbers on May 3, before the market opens.Last quarter, the company delivered a positive earnings surprise of 22.30%. However, the company’s bottom line has surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in only two of the past four quarters, with an average beat of 3.82%. Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.Factors Likely to Influence this QuarterSprint finalized its cost cutting framework with the projection to save around $1 billion. The plan involves a few operational overhaul and layoffs.Sprint has been poaching the subscriber base of its rivals AT&T Inc. T and Verizon Communications Inc. VZ in order to increase its own customer base. Recently, it offered lucrative credits to its rival carrier’s customers for switching to Sprint’s network. Additionally, it has been offering attractive device leasing plans to its customers.Earnings WhispersOur proven model shows does not conclusively show thatSprint is likely to beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate this quarter. This is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESPand a Zacks Rank #1, 2 or 3 for this to happen. Unfortunately, that is not the case here as elaborated below.Zacks ESP: Sprint has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. This is because both the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate stand at a loss of 13 cents.Zacks Rank: Sprinthas a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) which increases the predictive power of ESP. However, the company’s 0.00% ESP makes earnings prediction difficult.A Stock to ConsiderHere is a company you may want to consider, as our model shows it has the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter.Synopsys Inc. SNPS has an Earnings ESP of +7.27% and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).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 >>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 AT&T INC (T): Free Stock Analysis Report SPRINT CORP (S): Free Stock Analysis Report VERIZON COMM (VZ): Free Stock Analysis Report SYNOPSYS INC (SNPS): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research