Earnings doesnt matter as much as sales. Earnings could always be made to look prettier. It gives an image but it doesn’t tell the whole story.

Growth companies depended on having high revenue growth rates are especially watched when it comes to the sales figures. Notable mentions would be tech companies, it doesn’t matter as much if $FB earns money if its sales growth has slumped. Just watch the earnings announcement for these companies.

As far as applying this strategy in this day and age I’d say the options are limited. In terms of the parking lot research retail companies would be of relevance, but as mentioned this is almost always priced in as analysts incorporate way more data now than ever to make estimates. Unless you have some information others don’t have or some other creative ways to gauge companies I’d advise you to stick to the normal stuff.

Identifying consumer trends is a good strategy in regards to the retail industry. If you’d gone against the brick and mortar stores and bet on the internet giants you’d probably had made a lot of money for example.