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.Life and the stock market are both about expectations, and rising above what is expected is often rewarded, while falling short can come with negative consequences. Investors might want to try to capture stronger returns by finding positive earnings surprises.Now that we know how important earnings and earnings surprises are, it's time to show investors how to take advantage of these events to boost their returns by utilizing the Zacks Earnings ESP filter.The Zacks Earnings ESP, ExplainedThe Zacks Earnings ESP is more formally known as the Expected Surprise Prediction, and it aims to grab the inside track on the latest analyst estimate revisions ahead of a company's report. The idea is relatively intuitive as a newer projection might be based on more complete information.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.Bringing together a positive earnings ESP alongside a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better has helped stocks report a positive earnings surprise 70% of the time. Furthermore, by using these parameters, investors have seen 28.3% 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 Patrick Industries?Now that we understand what the ESP is and how beneficial it can be, let's dive into a stock that currently fits the bill. Patrick Industries (PATK) earns a #3 (Hold) right now and its Most Accurate Estimate sits at $2.22 a share, just 30 days from its upcoming earnings release on October 27, 2022.PATK has an Earnings ESP figure of +5.97%, which, as explained above, is calculated by taking the percentage difference between the $2.22 Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.10. Patrick Industries is one of a large database of stocks with positive ESPs. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.PATK is one of just a large database of Construction stocks with positive ESPs. Another solid-looking stock is PulteGroup (PHM).PulteGroup is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock, and is getting ready to report earnings on October 25, 2022. PHM's Most Accurate Estimate sits at $2.81 a share 28 days from its next earnings release.For PulteGroup, the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.76 is +1.75%.PATK and PHM'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 >> Just Released: Zacks Unveils the Top 5 EV Stocks for 2022 For several months now, electric vehicles have been disrupting the $82 billion automotive industry. And that disruption is only getting bigger thanks to sky-high gas prices. Even titans in the financial industry including George Soros, Jeff Bezos, and Ray Dalio have invested in this unstoppable wave. You don't want to be sitting on your hands while EV stocks break out and climb to new highs. In a new free report, Zacks is revealing the top 5 EV stocks for investors. Next year, don't look back on today wishing you had taken advantage of this opportunity.>>Send me my free report revealing the top 5 EV stocksWant 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 Patrick Industries, Inc. (PATK): Free Stock Analysis Report PulteGroup, Inc. (PHM): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research