Time Warner Cable Inc. TWC is slated to release its first-quarter 2016 results on Apr 28, before the market opens.In the last reported quarter, the company’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.56%. However, the company has delivered negative earnings surprises in two of the four trailing quarters, with an average miss of 5.52%. Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.Factors Likely to Influence this QuarterTime Warner Cable recently began testing its IPTV services in response to the changing dynamics of the pay TV industry, which, we believe, came a little too late. Also, since the company is heavily investing in promotional pricing as well as in services like IPTV, it might experience temporary margin contraction in the near term.Moreover, Time Warner Cable has been persistently losing video customers in spite of its implementation of several business-oriented strategies. Meanwhile, large telecom players like AT&T and Verizon Wireless continue to gain video subscribers, giving stiff competition to the cable company. Furthermore, a soft TV advertising environment might dampen Time Warner Cable’s top-line growth.Time Warner Cable’s Internet services also face competitive threat from the likes of Alphabet Inc.’s GOOG Google Fiber and Comcast Corporation CMCSA. In fact, in markets like Kansas City, the company has lost many customers to Google Fiber’s Internet services. As Google Fiber expands to other areas, Time Warner may face a higher churn rate, going forward.Earnings Whispers Our proven model does not conclusively show that Time Warner is likely to beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate this quarter. This is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen. Unfortunately, that is not the case here as elaborated below:Zacks ESP:Time Warner Cable has an Earnings ESP of 5.20%. This is because the Most Accurate estimate stands at $1.82 while the Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged higher at $1.73.Zacks Rank:Time Warner Cablehas a Zacks Rank #4. Please note that we caution against Sell-rated stocks (#4 or 5) going into an earnings announcement.A Stock to ConsiderHere is a company you may consider, as our model shows that it has the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter:Charter Communications, Inc. CHTR has an Earnings ESP of +4.6% and a Zacks Rank #3.Want 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 >>Want 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 COMCAST CORP A (CMCSA): Free Stock Analysis Report TIME WARNER CAB (TWC): Free Stock Analysis Report CHARTER COMM-A (CHTR): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research