5 Earnings Trades for the Next 30 Days
Tom Gentile 9 months ago
Opinion
When it comes to earnings season, I like to steer clear of what I call the “earnings gamble.”
Too many traders get sucked into the hype of the report itself—hoping for a pop and praying they don't get crushed.
And that's exactly what I won't do.
The truth is, holding a position through a corporate earnings release is really no different than flipping a coin. Could things swing in your favor from time to time? Sure. But I've seen too many "great numbers" get met with a nasty post-earnings gap lower—and wipe away any gains made.
So instead of betting on what might happen, I focus on something far more reliable: what tends to happen before the earnings ever hit the tape.
That's what makes me a pattern trader through and through. I get my edge from identifying low-risk, high-probability setups based on behavior that repeats—and backed by millions of data points over at least 10 years. And the patterns say that during earnings, the sweet spot for trades isn't when the news breaks—it's in the run-up.
Anticipation drives markets. And it's that anticipation of how a company will do that makes earnings season one of the most profitable times of the year, if you know what to trade (and how to trade it).
That's why I've compiled a list of the top five stocks to trade over the next 30 days. Each one has posted a 75% or better win rate over their last four earnings quarters.
Let's dig in.
Astera Labs Inc.
Astera's (NASDAQ:ALAB) been on an absolute tear, and the numbers back it up. This electronic components name has delivered positive pre-earnings moves in four of the last four quarters—a 100%-win rate.
And it wasn't just a small move either. By buying call options about one week before earnings and exiting right before the report, the average gain came out to 65.06%. That's the kind of consistency (and upside potential) that makes this pattern hard to ignore.
- Number of Wins: 4
- Number of Losses: 0
- Buy Date Before Earnings: February 3, 2026
- Calendar Days Before Earnings: 7
- Exit Date Before Earnings: February 10, 2026
- When Are Earnings: AMC (After Market Close)
- Next Earnings Date: February 10, 2026
- Win Percent: 100%
- Average Return on Investment (ROI): 65.06%
Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.
Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) is another name known for its reliability during earnings season, with a 75%-win rate over the last four quarters.
On average, those winning setups delivered a 49.41% return, simply by buying before earnings and stepping aside before the announcement. Now not every trade was a winner, but the overall pattern has still produced strong gains.
- Number of Wins: 3
- Number of Losses: 1
- Buy Date Before Earnings: February 26, 2026
- Calendar Days Before Earnings: 7
- Exit Date Before Earnings: March 5, 2026
- When Are Earnings: AMC (After Market Close)
- Next Earnings Date: March 5, 2026
- Win Percent: 75%
- Average Return on Investment (ROI): 49.41%
Vale S.A.
Vale's (NYSE:VALE) pre-earnings pattern is another 75 percenter, meaning it delivered profits in three of the last four quarters before the announcement happened.
And when following that same buy-and-exit window, those trades produced an average return of 45.12%. That's not based on luck or a strong intuition, it's the blended result of four separate earnings cycles using the same rules.
- Number of Wins: 3
- Number of Losses: 1
- Buy Date Before Earnings: February 12, 2026
- Calendar Days Before Earnings: 7
- Exit Date Before Earnings: February 18, 2026
- When Are Earnings: BMO (Before Market Open)
- Next Earnings Date: February 19, 2026
- Win Percent: 75%
- Average Return on Investment (ROI): 45.12%
Oracle Corp.
Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) may not be a flashy name in itself, but its pre-earnings behavior certainly is. This setup has worked 75% of the time, with just three wins and one loss over the span of four earnings periods.
When traders followed the plan—buying about a week before earnings and selling right before the report—the average gain came in at 41.95%. That's the kind of steady, repeatable performance worth trading.
- Number of Wins: 3
- Number of Losses: 1
- Buy Date Before Earnings: March 2, 2026
- Calendar Days Before Earnings: 7
- Exit Date Before Earnings: March 9, 2026
- When Are Earnings: AMC (After Market Close)
- Next Earnings Date: March 9, 2026
- Win Percent: 75%
- Average Return on Investment (ROI): 41.95%
Monster Beverage Corp.
Monster (NASDAQ:MNST) has delivered that familiar slow-and-steady strength heading into earnings. The pattern has produced three winning trades out of the last four cycles, giving it a 75%-win rate.
Those trades generated an average return of 34.02%, just by riding the pre-earnings hype train and avoiding the post-earnings mass exit.
- Number of Wins: 3
- Number of Losses: 1
- Buy Date Before Earnings: February 19, 2026
- Calendar Days Before Earnings: 7
- Exit Date Before Earnings: February 26, 2026
- When Are Earnings: AMC (After Market Close)
- Next Earnings Date: February 26, 2026
- Win Percent: 75%
- Average Return on Investment (ROI): 34.02%
Ultimately, the process is simple and repeatable: get in about seven days before the report and out right before the earnings announcement is made.
And when I say right before, I mean it. You want to exit the trade the day of earnings—but before the numbers are released. No exceptions.
That's how you lock in gains from the pre-earnings move and sidestep the post-report chaos. It's clean, controlled, and most importantly, repeatable.
Of course, there are no guarantees on getting a grand slam on every trade. Nothing's guaranteed in life but death and taxes. But when it comes to trading a stock—buying and selling call options before the report hits—this strategy gives you a powerful edge.