These stocks are battling spiking inflation effectively and growing margins
Inflation has a bad hold on some companies, while other firms have a pretty good handle on dealing with the rising prices. As inflation runs rampant, investors might consider investing in stocks that have been growing their margins and are expected to expand earnings, despite the rising wages and material costs. Investors are gearing up for Thursday's Consumer Price Index report, which will give an update on the inflation picture. The Federal Reserve has already signaled a monetary-policy pivot in order to address the historically high price increases. The CPI inflation data is estimated to show that prices rose 0.4% in January, for a 7.2% gain from one year ago, according to Dow Jones. This would be the highest level since 1982. To capitalize on the stocks that are navigating inflation well, CNBC PRO screened for companies that increased their gross margin by at least 1 percentage point in the latest quarter from the year-earlier period. All the listed stocks have a current gross margin of least 40%. Additionally, the names are expected to increase earnings by at least 10%, according to Wall Street. Finally, the listed stocks all have a majority of analysts that cover the equity giving them a buy rating. Take a look at CNBC PRO's list here: CNBC PRO's list turned out with interesting picks from the health-care, technology and financial sectors. AbbVie , maker of arthritis drug Humira, grew its gross margin to 83.4% from 68.1% a year ago. Plus, Wall Street expects the company to expand its earnings nearly 12% this year. Health-care company Edwards Lifesciences grew its margins about 1.6% in the past 12 months and is estimated to improve earnings nearly 15% in 2022. Payments giants Visa and financial technology stock Fiserv also made CNBC PRO's list. Visa increased its gross margin to 78.6% from 76.2% in the past year and is expected to raise its earnings more than 20% this year, according to Wall Street. Fiserv increased its gross margin an impressive 11% in the past 12 months. Analysts see the companies' gross EPS improving more than 15% in 2022. Technology stocks ServiceNow , Microchip Technology and Qualcomm have also been handling inflation effectively. ServiceNow grew its gross margin more than 3.7 percentage points to 76.6% from 72.8% in the past 12 months. Wall Street forecasts the software company will grow its earnings 24% in 2022. Microchip Technology expanded its gross margins 7.9% in the last year and is expected to grow its EPS by nearly 38% this year. Chipmaker Qualcomm grew its margins 2.2% in the past 12 months and is expected to increase its earnings by an impressive 36% in 2022. Charter Communications , KLA Corp. , News Corp . and TransDigm Group also earned spots on CNBC PRO's list of companies that are battling inflation well.

A pedestrian wearing a protective mask walks past Visa Inc. headquarters in Foster City, California. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images