More than a dozen S&P 5000 companies are riding strong momentum heading into next week’s earnings report, a bullish sign for stocks. The third quarter earnings season has been strong since it began in early October. Companies in the S&P 500 are poised to report cumulative profit increases of more than 13% in the three months ended Sept. 30, marking their fourth consecutive quarter of growth, according to FactSet. CNBC identified 15 stocks with strong earnings momentum that are scheduled to report earnings and sales next week using the following criteria: At least a 20% increase in Wall Street analyst earnings per share estimates over the past three and six months A 15% or more upside to reach the consensus 12-month price target among analysts These are some of the stocks that have met those criteria: Alphabet Alphabet is expected to earn $2.28 per share In the third quarter. The consensus 12-month price target of $252 among Wall Street analysts implies an 18% upside, according to LSEG data. The latest estimate is nearly 71% higher than Alphabet’s $1.33 per share estimate from three months ago and 112% higher than its $1.08 per share estimate from six months ago. Shares of the company that owns Google and YouTube have risen 33% in the past three months and 63% in the past six months. Visa Global payments processor Visa is seen by Wall Street as earning $2.97 per share in the third quarter. The stock’s consensus 12-month price target of $393 represents a 16% upside from current levels, according to LSEG data. TheStreet’s EPS estimates for Visa are nearly 41% higher than the $2.11 per share expected three months ago, and nearly 50% higher than the $1.98 per share expected six months ago. With the exception of the past month, financial technology stocks have lagged the market on most metrics this year, declining nearly 3% over the past three months and rising less than 10% so far in 2025. Cigna Group The health insurance company is currently expected to earn $7.64 per share in the third quarter, and the Street’s consensus price target of $361 implies a 32% upside for the stock next year, LSEG data shows. Cigna’s third-quarter EPS estimates are nearly 27% higher than the company’s expected earnings of $6.04 just three months ago, and 45% higher than the Street’s April estimate of earnings of $5.27. Cigna has lagged the S&P 500 for the past three months, six months, and since the beginning of the year. But in a sign of improving momentum, Cigna has outperformed over the past month, rising 5.2% versus the S&P 500’s 1.2% gain.
