A company whose shares you own just beat Wall Street s earnings forecast by a penny. It s good news, but after you cheer you should verify. New research shows that shares of companies that top earnings estimates for the wrong reasons get a short-term boost but disappoint over the long term.

Suppose you manage a publicly-traded manufacturer. It s the last month of the quarter and your sales reports suggest you re running a penny or two behind Wall Street s consensus earnings estimate. You have options that can help you avoid disappointing investors for now.

First, there s discretionary spending. You can pull ads or halt new-product development. Marketing and research, after all, pay off in the future but not today. Second, you can finesse your accruals--the difference between paper profits you report and cash you take in. For example, you can offer retailers generous return privileges on unsold goods. They ll order more than they need, which will count towards sales and profits now even if returns count against them in future quarters.

In Making Sense of Cents, a new study slated for publication in the Journal of Finance, four researchers examined cases between 1988 and 2006 where companies beat or missed earnings estimates by a penny. Changes to research and marketing spending and accruals were used to signal high or low earnings quality. The researchers found that shares of low-quality beaters outperformed those of high-quality missers but only for a year. Three years out, low-quality beaters did worse. In other words, investors were fooled but not permanently.

For fast traders, the results suggest upside earnings surprises are generally welcome no matter the reason. Buy-and-hold investors should pay attention to quality. With earnings season just starting, examine results for big changes to discretionary spending or cases where companies continually report glowing earnings but weak operating cash flow.

Also, stock investors of all types have something new to grumble about. The study also found that bosses of companies that beat earnings estimates for the wrong reasons are more likely to sell personal shares or issue new shares to the public. The suggestion, grimy as it seems, is that earnings-massagers realize their actions are short-sighted and so are eager to cash in.

Below are five companies whose stocks I ve recommended in the past and whose earnings reports are expected in the next few days.