Kimberly-Clark Corporation KMB is likely to register a decline in the bottom line when it releases second-quarter 2021 numbers on Jul 23. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings has moved down by a penny in the past seven days to $1.80 per share. The figure suggests a decline of 18.2% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure. The bottom line underperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.3% in the last reported quarter. In the trailing four quarters, the company delivered earnings surprise of 4.6%, on average.Kimberly-Clark’s top line is likely to register year-over-year growth in the second quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $4,842 million, which indicates an increase of almost 5% from the prior-year quarter’s reported level.KimberlyClark Corporation Price and EPS Surprise KimberlyClark Corporation price-eps-surprise | KimberlyClark Corporation Quote Things to NoteKimberly-Clark’s K-C Professional segment has been soft for a while due to hurdles related to coronavirus. In first-quarter 2021, sales in the segment fell 11%, with volumes bearing the brunt of reduced away-from-home demand and tough business conditions amid the pandemic. Kimberly-Clark is also encountering high input costs and escalated other manufacturing expenses, including coronavirus-related costs, in the past few quarters. For 2021, management expects commodity inflation in the range of $900-$1,050 million. We believe that such high costs along with weakness in the K-C Professional unit are likely to have had an adverse impact on the company’s performance in second-quarter 2021.Management, in its last earnings call, highlighted that it saw record earnings in second-quarter 2020 owing to spike in volume growth in consumer tissue. The company had also witnessed commodity tailwinds and solid cost savings in the year-ago quarter. Unfavorable comparisons with the year-ago period are likely to have affected results in the quarter under review.That said, Kimberly-Clark is committed toward lowering costs, highlighted by the 2018 Global Restructuring Program as well as the Focus on Reducing Costs Everywhere or FORCE program. The company is also on track with its three key strategic growth pillars, which include focus on improving its core business in the developed markets; ramp up growth in the Personal Care segment in developing and emerging markets as well as enhance digital and e-commerce capacities.What the Zacks Model UnveilsOur proven model doesn’t predict an earnings beat for Kimberly-Clark this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.Kimberly-Clark carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) and an Earnings ESP of -4.17%.Stocks With Favorable CombinationsHere are some companies that you may want to consider as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat.Tyson Foods, Inc. TSN currently has an Earnings ESP of +15.06% and a Zacks Rank of 2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Medifast MED currently has an Earnings ESP of +6.85% and carries a Zacks Rank #2.Mondelez International, Inc. MDLZ currently has an Earnings ESP of +4.04% and a Zacks Rank of 3. 5 Stocks Set to Double Each was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2021. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth. Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor. Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>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 KimberlyClark Corporation (KMB): Free Stock Analysis Report Tyson Foods, Inc. (TSN): Free Stock Analysis Report Mondelez International, Inc. (MDLZ): Free Stock Analysis Report MEDIFAST INC (MED): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.