If you are looking for a stock that has a solid history of beating earnings estimates and is in a good position to maintain the trend in its next quarterly report, you should consider Marathon Petroleum ( MPC - Free Report ). This company, which is in the Zacks Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing industry, shows potential for another earnings beat. This refiner has seen a nice streak of beating earnings estimates, especially when looking at the previous two reports. The average surprise for the last two quarters was 15.28%. For the most recent quarter, Marathon Petroleum was expected to post earnings of $6.80 per share, but it reported $7.81 per share instead, representing a surprise of 14.85%. For the previous quarter, the consensus estimate was $9.17 per share, while it actually produced $10.61 per share, a surprise of 15.70%. Price and EPS Surprise For Marathon Petroleum, estimates have been trending higher, thanks in part to this earnings surprise history.