Earnings Preview for Aug 18 - 22
Dow components Hewlett-Packard (HPQ - Analyst Report) and Home Depot (HD - Analyst Report) headline the last official week of second-quarter earnings season. Joining them will be S&P 500 members Gap (GPS - Analyst Report), Lowe's (LOW - Snapshot Report), Limited (LTD - Snapshot Report) and Target (TGT - Snapshot Report).
Overall, we have confirmed reports from 106 companies, 13 of which are in the S&P 500. Retailers will again be prominent, with 40 listed to release results.
There is not much on the economic calendar, though we will get inflation numbers on Tuesday. Key data will include:
- Tuesday: July producer prices (PPI), July housing starts, July building permits
- Wednesday: Weekly crude inventories
- Thursday: July Leading Indicators, August Phili Fed survey, weekly initial jobless claims
The Kansas City Fed will hold its economic symposium at Jackson Hole, WY. Fed Chairman Fed Ben Bernanke will speak about financial stability on Friday.
Volume could be modest through Labor Day as traders try to get in late summer vacations. Late August can be tricky for the markets, so be prudent. Oil remains a wildcard and it is hurricane season.
Companies That Could Issue Positive Earnings Surprises during the Week of Aug 18 - 22
Aeropostale (ARO - Snapshot Report) enjoyed a 13% increase in August same-stores sales, at a time when many other retailers were struggling. The strong performance led the teen apparel chain to raise its second-quarter EPS guidance by 5 cents to between 30 and 31 cents per share. Brokerage analysts believe the company will report 31 cents per share. ARO has surprised to the upside for 3 consecutive quarters, so current projections may prove to be conservative. Aeropostale is scheduled to report on Thursday, Aug 21, after the close of trading.
Discount retailer Ross Stores (ROST - Snapshot Report) credited bargain-hunting consumers, the stimulus checks and favorable weather for driving July same-store sales 4% higher. Given last month's good performance, the company believes quarterly profits will total between 53 and 54 cents per share, a slight increase over previous guidance. Revisions by 5 brokerage analysts pushed the consensus earnings estimate 2 cents higher to 54 cents per share. ROST has topped expectations for 3 consecutive quarters. Ross Stores is scheduled to report on Wednesday, Aug 20, before the start of trading.
Companies That Could Issue Negative Earnings Surprises during the Week of Aug 18 - 22
Trends were not favorable for Saks (SKS - Analyst Report), which experienced a 5.3% drop in August same-store sales. The company observed that business trends worsened as the second quarter progressed and, as a result, brokerage analysts have been steadily lowering their projections. The second-quarter consensus estimate calls for a loss of 18 cents per share, reflecting cuts from a majority of the 7 covering analysts. SKS missed expectations last quarter by a margin of 4 cents per share. Saks is scheduled to report on Tuesday, Aug 19, before the start of trading.
Charles Rotblut, CFA is the senior market analyst for Zacks.com. He can be reached at crotblut@zacks.com.
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Earnings Calendar
Here is a list of companies that we have confirmed will report during the week of Aug 18 - 221.
| Company | Ticker | Zacks Consensus Estimate | Year Ago Actual | Last Qtr Surprise | Report Date | Report Time |
| Analog Devices | ADI - Analyst Report | $0.45 | $0.38 | 7.3% | 8/19/2008 | AMC |
| Amer Woodmark | AMWD - Snapshot Report | $0.11 | $0.34 | (100.0%) | 8/20/2008 | BTO |
| Anntaylor Stres | ANN - Snapshot Report | $0.47 | $0.50 | 4.4% | 8/22/2008 | BTO |
| Accuray Inc | ARAY - Analyst Report | $0.03 | $0.01 | (80.0%) | 8/19/2008 | AMC |
| Aeropostale Inc | ARO - Snapshot Report | $0.31 | $0.19 | 4.0% | 8/21/2008 | AMC |
| Acorn Intl-Adr | ATV - Snapshot Report | $0.08 | $0.09 | (55.6%) | 8/20/2008 | N/A |
| Avanex Corp | AVNXD | $0.06 | $0.00 | 100.0% | 8/21/2008 | AMC |
| Blue Coat Sys | BCSI - Snapshot Report | $0.11 | $0.22 | (33.3%) | 8/21/2008 | AMC |
| Bebe Stores Inc | BEBE - Snapshot Report | $0.17 | $0.21 | 0.0% | 8/21/2008 | AMC |
| Bj'S Wholesale | BJ - Analyst Report | $0.57 | $0.46 | 7.4% | 8/20/2008 | BTO |
| Burger King Hld | BKC - Analyst Report | $0.34 | $0.29 | 11.1% | 8/21/2008 | BTO |
| Buckle Inc | BKE - Snapshot Report | $0.60 | $0.38 | 7.0% | 8/21/2008 | BTO |
| Barnes & Noble | BKS - Snapshot Report | $0.09 | $0.12 | 0.0% | 8/21/2008 | BTO |
| Bon-Ton Stores | BONT - Snapshot Report | ($1.43) | ($0.91) | 14.0% | 8/21/2008 | BTO |
| Bally Tech Inc | BYI - Snapshot Report | $0.54 | $0.33 | 10.6% | 8/20/2008 | AMC |
| Concurrent New | CCUR - Snapshot Report | $0.09 | ($0.10) | 0.0% | 8/19/2008 | BTO |
| Charming Shoppe | CHRS - Snapshot Report | $0.00 | $0.14 | 183.3% | 8/20/2008 | N/A |
| Candela Corp | CLZR - Snapshot Report | ($0.09) | ($0.03) | (28.6%) | 8/20/2008 | AMC |
| Casual Male Ret | CMRG - Snapshot Report | $0.05 | $0.07 | (100.0%) | 8/21/2008 | BTO |
| China Techfaith | CNTF - Snapshot Report | $0.08 | ($0.09) | (12.5%) | 8/18/2008 | AMC |
| Cost Plus Inc | CPWM - Analyst Report | ($0.92) | ($0.64) | (3.1%) | 8/21/2008 | AMC |
| Salesforce.Com | CRM - Analyst Report | $0.08 | $0.04 | 50.0% | 8/20/2008 | AMC |
| China Sunergy | CSUN - Snapshot Report | $0.03 | ($0.14) | 125.0% | 8/22/2008 | BTO |
| Cato Corp A | CTR | $0.42 | $0.39 | 5.4% | 8/21/2008 | BTO |
| Citi Trends Inc | CTRN - Analyst Report | $0.17 | $0.07 | 5.9% | 8/20/2008 | AMC |
| Cyberonics Inc | CYBX - Analyst Report | $0.03 | ($0.31) | 300.0% | 8/21/2008 | BTO |
| Ditech Networks | DITC - Snapshot Report | ($0.24) | ($0.02) | (182.4%) | 8/21/2008 | AMC |
| Dicks Sprtg Gds | DKS - Snapshot Report | $0.36 | $0.41 | (5.6%) | 8/21/2008 | N/A |
| Edap Tms Sa-Adr | EDAP | ($0.21) | ($0.11) | (75.0%) | 8/21/2008 | BTO |
| E-House China | EJ - Snapshot Report | $0.13 | $0.09 | 10.0% | 8/20/2008 | BTO |
| Eaton Vance | EV - Snapshot Report | $0.47 | $0.48 | 0.0% | 8/20/2008 | BTO |
| Foot Locker Inc | FL - Snapshot Report | $0.01 | ($0.12) | (6.7%) | 8/21/2008 | AMC |
| Focus Media Hld | FMCN - Snapshot Report | $0.35 | $0.32 | 7.1% | 8/17/2008 | AMC |
| Frontline Ltd | FRO - Snapshot Report | $2.38 | $1.65 | (2.4%) | 8/21/2008 | N/A |
| Stealthgas Inc | GASS - Snapshot Report | $0.34 | $0.37 | 6.3% | 8/19/2008 | BTO |
| Gamestop Corp | GME - Analyst Report | $0.28 | $0.14 | 11.8% | 8/21/2008 | BTO |
| Gap Inc | GPS - Analyst Report | $0.31 | $0.21 | 9.7% | 8/21/2008 | AMC |
| Gymboree Corp | GYMB - Snapshot Report | $0.23 | $0.19 | 1.2% | 8/20/2008 | AMC |
| Hasting Entmt | HAST - Snapshot Report | $0.13 | $0.09 | 21.7% | 8/18/2008 | BTO |
| Home Depot | HD - Analyst Report | $0.60 | $0.77 | 10.8% | 8/19/2008 | BTO |
| Hibbet Sports | HIBB - Analyst Report | $0.15 | $0.15 | 14.3% | 8/21/2008 | AMC |
| Heinz (Hj) Co | HNZ - Analyst Report | $0.66 | $0.63 | 0.0% | 8/21/2008 | BTO |
| Hot Topic Inc | HOTT - Analyst Report | ($0.01) | ($0.04) | 0.0% | 8/20/2008 | AMC |
| Harris Interact | HPOL - Analyst Report | ($0.01) | $0.06 | (500.0%) | 8/22/2008 | BTO |
| Hewlett Packard | HPQ - Analyst Report | $0.83 | $0.71 | 2.3% | 8/19/2008 | AMC |
| Hurray Hldg-Adr | HRAY - Analyst Report | $0.00 | $0.01 | 333.3% | 8/21/2008 | AMC |
| Hormel Foods Cp | HRL - Snapshot Report | $0.38 | $0.41 | 1.8% | 8/21/2008 | BTO |
| Chipmos Tec Ltd | IMOS - Snapshot Report | $0.01 | $0.13 | (300.0%) | 8/20/2008 | AMC |
| Intuit Inc | INTU - Analyst Report | ($0.12) | ($0.06) | 3.1% | 8/21/2008 | AMC |
| Isoray Inc | ISR | ($0.07) | N/A | (33.3%) | 8/20/2008 | BTO |
| Jds Uniphase Cp | JDSU - Snapshot Report | $0.04 | $0.06 | 11.1% | 8/20/2008 | AMC |
| Jack Henry Assc | JKHY - Snapshot Report | $0.32 | $0.32 | (11.8%) | 8/19/2008 | AMC |
| Jamba Inc | JMBA - Snapshot Report | $0.02 | $0.04 | (55.6%) | 8/21/2008 | AMC |
| Kensey Nash Cp | KNSY - Snapshot Report | $0.32 | $0.11 | 12.0% | 8/21/2008 | BTO |
| Key Tronic | KTCC | $0.13 | $0.17 | 57.1% | 8/19/2008 | AMC |
| Lancaster Colon | LANC - Snapshot Report | $0.32 | $0.54 | (31.8%) | 8/21/2008 | BTO |
| Lowes Cos | LOW - Snapshot Report | $0.56 | $0.67 | 2.5% | 8/18/2008 | BTO |
| Limited Inc | LTD - Snapshot Report | $0.20 | $0.20 | 42.9% | 8/20/2008 | AMC |
| Lsi Industries | LYTS - Snapshot Report | $0.07 | $0.32 | (44.4%) | 8/21/2008 | BTO |
| La-Z-Boy Inc | LZB - Snapshot Report | ($0.06) | ($0.13) | 0.0% | 8/19/2008 | AMC |
| Medtronic | MDT - Analyst Report | $0.69 | $0.62 | 6.8% | 8/19/2008 | BTO |
| Mentor Graphics | MENT - Snapshot Report | ($0.17) | $0.09 | (40.0%) | 8/20/2008 | BTO |
| Met-Pro Corp | MPR - Snapshot Report | $0.18 | $0.17 | 0.0% | 8/21/2008 | BTO |
| Myriad Genetics | MYGN - Analyst Report | ($0.23) | ($0.18) | 0.0% | 8/19/2008 | BTO |
| Noah Education | NED - Snapshot Report | $0.05 | N/A | 53.8% | 8/21/2008 | AMC |
| Novatel Wireles | NVTL - Analyst Report | $0.12 | $0.25 | 7.7% | 8/19/2008 | AMC |
| Open Text Corp | OTEX - Snapshot Report | $0.53 | $0.52 | 6.8% | 8/19/2008 | AMC |
| Patterson Cos | PDCO - Snapshot Report | $0.39 | $0.35 | 0.0% | 8/21/2008 | BTO |
| Peoples Educatn | PEDH | $0.06 | $0.01 | 5.0% | 8/21/2008 | AMC |
| Childrens Place | PLCE - Snapshot Report | ($0.45) | ($0.97) | 37.5% | 8/21/2008 | BTO |
| Perrigo Company | PRGO - Snapshot Report | $0.40 | $0.24 | 4.8% | 8/18/2008 | BTO |
| Pac Sunwear Cal | PSUN - Snapshot Report | $0.06 | $0.07 | (88.9%) | 8/21/2008 | AMC |
| Phillips Van He | PVH - Snapshot Report | $0.65 | $0.68 | 3.5% | 8/20/2008 | AMC |
| Perfect World | PWRD - Snapshot Report | $0.38 | N/A | 22.6% | 8/18/2008 | BTO |
| Qad Inc | QADI - Snapshot Report | $0.00 | $0.02 | (100.0%) | 8/21/2008 | AMC |
| Raven Inds Inc | RAVN - Analyst Report | $0.31 | $0.32 | 20.0% | 8/19/2008 | BTO |
| Regis Corp/Mn | RGS - Analyst Report | $0.58 | $0.53 | 0.0% | 8/20/2008 | BTO |
| Rosetta Genomic | ROSG - Snapshot Report | ($0.34) | ($0.19) | (3.1%) | 8/19/2008 | BTO |
| Ross Stores | ROST - Snapshot Report | $0.54 | $0.37 | 3.5% | 8/20/2008 | BTO |
| Intl Royalty Cp | ROY - Snapshot Report | $0.04 | $0.03 | (66.7%) | 8/18/2008 | N/A |
| School Specialt | SCHS - Analyst Report | $1.97 | $1.87 | (1.5%) | 8/21/2008 | BTO |
| Scansource Inc | SCSC - Snapshot Report | $0.47 | $0.48 | (12.5%) | 8/21/2008 | AMC |
| Shoe Carnival | SCVL - Snapshot Report | $0.00 | $0.01 | (2.6%) | 8/21/2008 | BTO |
| Schawk Inc-Cl A | SGK - Snapshot Report | $0.20 | $0.36 | 0.0% | 8/18/2008 | AMC |
| Shamir Optical | SHMR - Snapshot Report | $0.11 | $0.12 | 30.8% | 8/21/2008 | BTO |
| Shoretel Inc | SHOR - Snapshot Report | ($0.07) | $0.05 | 0.0% | 8/21/2008 | AMC |
| Saks Inc | SKS - Analyst Report | ($0.18) | ($0.14) | (23.5%) | 8/19/2008 | BTO |
| Stein Mart Inc | SMRT - Snapshot Report | ($0.13) | $0.05 | 383.3% | 8/21/2008 | BTO |
| Semtech Corp | SMTC - Analyst Report | $0.17 | $0.14 | 21.4% | 8/20/2008 | AMC |
| Synopsys Inc | SNPS - Analyst Report | $0.31 | $0.23 | 6.9% | 8/20/2008 | AMC |
| Renesola Lt-Adr | SOL - Analyst Report | $0.31 | N/A | 16.7% | 8/19/2008 | BTO |
| Stage Stores | SSI - Snapshot Report | $0.23 | $0.23 | (14.3%) | 8/21/2008 | N/A |
| Suntech Pwr Hld | STP - Snapshot Report | $0.33 | $0.25 | 25.0% | 8/20/2008 | BTO |
| Symmetricom Inc | SYMM - Snapshot Report | $0.05 | $0.04 | (133.3%) | 8/20/2008 | AMC |
| Tech Data Corp | TECD - Analyst Report | $0.46 | $0.50 | 0.0% | 8/21/2008 | BTO |
| Target Corp | TGT - Snapshot Report | $0.77 | $0.80 | 2.8% | 8/19/2008 | BTO |
| Aktieselskabet | TRMD | $1.29 | $1.00 | (28.6%) | 8/20/2008 | N/A |
| Tower Semicond | TSEM - Snapshot Report | ($0.22) | ($0.28) | (20.0%) | 8/20/2008 | BTO |
| Trina Solar Ltd | TSL - Snapshot Report | $0.78 | $0.32 | 6.3% | 8/18/2008 | BTO |
| Toro Co | TTC - Snapshot Report | $0.97 | $1.02 | 0.0% | 8/21/2008 | BTO |
| Verigy Ltd | VRGY - Snapshot Report | $0.28 | $0.50 | 27.8% | 8/21/2008 | AMC |
| Valuevision Cla | VVTV - Snapshot Report | ($0.21) | ($0.11) | (28.1%) | 8/20/2008 | N/A |
| Wet Seal Inc -A | WTSLA - Analyst Report | $0.10 | $0.07 | 12.5% | 8/21/2008 | AMC |
| Xinhua Finance | XFML | $0.05 | N/A | 0.0% | 8/18/2008 | AMC |
| Yucheng Technol | YTEC - Snapshot Report | $0.10 | $0.17 | (16.7%) | 8/18/2008 | BTO |
| Zumiez Inc | ZUMZ - Analyst Report | $0.07 | $0.11 | 66.67% | 8/21/2008 | AMC |
BMO = Before The Market Open, AMC = After Market Close
1Some of the companies listed in the earnings calendar may not be in the Zacks Rank universe.