Earnings Preview for Oct 14 - 17

The bond market will be closed on Monday in observance of Columbus Day. The NYSE and Nasdaq will be open.

Wednesday could be the big day for the markets. Intel (INTC - Analyst Report) will report on Tuesday afternoon, potentially setting a tone for technology stocks. Before the bell rings on Wednesday morning, there will earnings news from J.P. Morgan (JPM - Analyst Report) and Coca-Cola (KO - Analyst Report), plus producer price inflation and retail sales data. During the trading day, Bernanke will deliver a speech and the Beige Book will be released.

Earnings season will pick up steam with 132 companies confirmed to report. Included in this group will be Dow components INTC, JPM, KO, Citigroup (C - Analyst Report), International Business Machines (IBM - Analyst Report), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ - Analyst Report), and United Technologies (UTX - Analyst Report).

The week's key economic data will include:

• Wednesday: September PPI, September retail sales, October Empire State Index, August business inventories, weekly crude inventories, Federal Reserve Beige Book
• Thursday: September CPI, weekly initial jobless claims
• Friday: September industrial production and capacity utilization, October Philadelphia Fed survey, September building permits and housing starts, preliminary October University of Michigan consumer confidence

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will present his economic outlook to the Economic Club of New York on Wednesday. Vice Chairman Donald Kohn will discuss the economy on Wednesday evening. Kohn will speak to a Georgetown University group.

Options contracts will expire on Friday, Oct 17.

Once again, the key driver for the markets will be the level of fear. The international markets should be close to a bottom, but bear markets, just like bull markets, can be irrational.

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Companies That Could Issue Positive Earnings Surprises

Delta Airlines (DAL - Analyst Report) recently reported a 12.8% increase in international traffic for the month of September and said industry-wide capacity reductions are boosting its load factor. Brokerage analysts now expect a profit of 2 cents per share in the third quarter, up from a previously forecast loss. Delta has topped market expectations in 2 out of the last 4 quarters. Delta is scheduled to report earnings on Wednesday, Oct 15, before the start of trading.

Companies That Could Issue Negative Earnings Surprises

Illinois Tool Works (ITW - Analyst Report) cut its third-quarter guidance on Tuesday, hurt by a slowdown in North American industrial production in September. The company has not been able to raise prices to compensate for higher raw material costs due to the economic downturn. Analysts have accordingly adjusted their quarterly profit forecast to 87 cents per share, down from 94 cents. The most accurate estimate is more bearish at 85 cents. Illinois Tool Works is scheduled to report quarterly results on Thursday, Oct 16, 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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Surprise Trader can help you turn earnings surprises into quick profits. Learn how.

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Earnings Calendar

Here is a list of companies that we have confirmed will report during the week of Oct 14 - Oct 17¹.

Company	Ticker	Zacks Consensus Estimate	Year Ago Actual	Last Qtr Surprise	Report Date	Report Time
Fastenal	FAST - Analyst Report	$0.50	$0.41	2.0%	10/13/2008	BTO
Kmg Chemicals	KMGB - Snapshot Report	$0.17	$0.18	(38.5%)	10/13/2008	BTO
Adtran Inc	ADTN - Analyst Report	$0.35	$0.31	13.3%	10/14/2008	BTO
Altera Corp	ALTR - Analyst Report	$0.30	$0.20	18.5%	10/14/2008	AMC
Csx Corp	CSX - Analyst Report	$0.93	$0.67	(2.2%)	10/14/2008	AMC
Dominos Pizza	DPZ - Snapshot Report	$0.21	$0.17	(4.4%)	10/14/2008	BTO
Genentech Inc	DNA	$0.85	$0.67	(5.1%)	10/14/2008	AMC
Grainger W W	GWW - Analyst Report	$1.53	$1.29	1.4%	10/14/2008	BTO
Great Atl & Pac	GAP	($0.38)	($0.07)	(17.1%)	10/14/2008	BTO
Intel Corp	INTC - Analyst Report	$0.34	$0.32	11.5%	10/14/2008	AMC
Johnson & Johns	JNJ - Analyst Report	$1.12	$1.06	4.4%	10/14/2008	BTO
Mercantile Bank	MBWM - Snapshot Report	($0.16)	$0.28	(158.3%)	10/14/2008	DMT
Pacific Contl	PCBK - Snapshot Report	$0.27	$0.29	(7.4%)	10/14/2008	AMC
Pepsico Inc	PEP - Analyst Report	$1.09	$0.99	2.9%	10/14/2008	BTO
Polaris Indus	PII - Snapshot Report	$1.09	$1.07	5.9%	10/14/2008	BTO
Stanley Furn Co	STLY - Snapshot Report	($0.06)	$0.16	(200.0%)	10/14/2008	BTO
Supervalu Inc	SVU - Analyst Report	$0.70	$0.69	6.8%	10/14/2008	BTO
Usana Hlth Sci	USNA - Snapshot Report	$0.60	$0.70	1.6%	10/14/2008	AMC
Zep Inc	ZEP - Snapshot Report	$0.31	N/A	0.0%	10/14/2008	N/A
Abbott Labs	ABT - Analyst Report	$0.77	$0.67	7.7%	10/15/2008	BTO
Alliance Finl	ALNC - Snapshot Report	$0.56	$0.51	23.5%	10/15/2008	N/A
Aptargroup Inc	ATR - Snapshot Report	$0.57	$0.53	1.6%	10/15/2008	AMC
Astoria Finl Cp	AF - Snapshot Report	$0.41	$0.39	2.8%	10/15/2008	AMC
Badger Meter	BMI - Analyst Report	$0.46	$0.41	11.6%	10/15/2008	AMC
Coca Cola Co	KO - Analyst Report	$0.78	$0.71	5.2%	10/15/2008	BTO
Commerce Bancsh	CBSH - Analyst Report	$0.71	$0.77	10.0%	10/15/2008	BTO
Crown Hldgs Inc	CCK - Snapshot Report	$0.67	$0.59	10.9%	10/15/2008	AMC
Datalink Corp	DTLK - Snapshot Report	$0.09	$0.07	33.3%	10/15/2008	AMC
Delta Air Lines	DAL - Analyst Report	$0.02	$0.44	600.0%	10/15/2008	BTO
Diamondrock Hos	DRH - Snapshot Report	$0.33	$0.35	(2.3%)	10/15/2008	BTO
Ebay Inc	EBAY - Analyst Report	$0.36	$0.38	5.6%	10/15/2008	AMC
Exfo Electro	EXFO - Snapshot Report	$0.04	$0.08	100.0%	10/15/2008	AMC
Jpmorgan Chase	JPM - Analyst Report	($0.08)	$0.97	21.3%	10/15/2008	BTO
Kinder Morg Eng	KMP - Analyst Report	$0.59	$0.32	14.3%	10/15/2008	AMC
Landstar System	LSTR - Snapshot Report	$0.58	$0.54	1.8%	10/15/2008	AMC
Lecroy Corp	LCRY - Snapshot Report	$0.12	$0.06	0.0%	10/15/2008	BTO
Lufkin Inds	LUFK - Snapshot Report	$1.58	$1.26	0.7%	10/15/2008	BTO
Marshall&Ilsley	MI	$0.20	$0.85	2.6%	10/15/2008	BTO
Novellus Sys	NVLS - Analyst Report	$0.04	$0.41	50.0%	10/15/2008	AMC
Piper Jaffray	PJC - Snapshot Report	($0.20)	$0.28	(166.7%)	10/15/2008	BTO
Polycom Inc	PLCM - Analyst Report	$0.26	$0.21	(11.1%)	10/15/2008	AMC
Rli Corp	RLI - Analyst Report	$1.01	$1.15	(6.4%)	10/15/2008	AMC
Spansion Inc-A	SPSN	($0.54)	($0.53)	21.9%	10/15/2008	AMC
Spartan Stores	SPTN - Snapshot Report	$0.55	$0.40	6.1%	10/15/2008	AMC
St Jude Medical	STJ - Analyst Report	$0.57	$0.46	9.1%	10/15/2008	BTO
Steel Dynamics	STLD - Snapshot Report	$1.13	$0.53	12.9%	10/15/2008	AMC
Trueblue Inc	TBI - Snapshot Report	$0.40	$0.51	20.7%	10/15/2008	AMC
Univl Fst Prods	UFPI - Analyst Report	$0.34	$0.59	7.0%	10/15/2008	AMC
Valmont Inds	VMI - Analyst Report	$1.12	$0.99	5.2%	10/15/2008	AMC
Votorantim Cel	VCP	($0.38)	$0.88	N/A	10/15/2008	N/A
Wd 40 Co	WDFC - Snapshot Report	$0.48	$0.54	4.3%	10/15/2008	AMC
Wells Fargo-New	WFC - Analyst Report	$0.43	$0.68	8.2%	10/15/2008	BTO
Xilinx Inc	XLNX - Analyst Report	$0.37	$0.30	2.9%	10/15/2008	AMC
Adv Micro Dev	AMD - Analyst Report	($0.40)	($0.49)	(15.4%)	10/16/2008	AMC
Aladdin Knowled	ALDN	($0.17)	$0.30	0.0%	10/16/2008	BTO
Amb Property	AMB	$0.71	$0.99	0.0%	10/16/2008	BTO
Amcore Finl Inc	AMFI	($0.09)	$0.08	(733.3%)	10/16/2008	BTO
Amphenol Corp-A	APH - Analyst Report	$0.60	$0.50	5.2%	10/16/2008	BTO
Bank Of Ny Mell	BK - Analyst Report	$0.61	$0.67	(2.6%)	10/16/2008	BTO
Baxter Intl	BAX - Analyst Report	$0.82	$0.70	4.9%	10/16/2008	BTO
Bb&T Corp	BBT - Analyst Report	$0.67	$0.81	(1.4%)	10/16/2008	BTO
Briggs & Stratt	BGG - Snapshot Report	($0.23)	($0.41)	(193.8%)	10/16/2008	BTO
Build-A-Bear Wk	BBW - Snapshot Report	$0.04	$0.19	(108.3%)	10/16/2008	BTO
Capital One Fin	COF - Analyst Report	$1.01	$2.12	(3.8%)	10/16/2008	AMC
Cit Group Inc	CIT - Analyst Report	$0.18	$1.35	104.6%	10/16/2008	BTO
Citigroup Inc	C - Analyst Report	($0.28)	$0.47	9.3%	10/16/2008	BTO
Citizens Bkng	CRBC - Snapshot Report	$0.05	$0.42	77.8%	10/16/2008	N/A
Contl Airls-B	CAL	($1.43)	$2.25	52.8%	10/16/2008	BTO
Cubist Pharm	CBST - Snapshot Report	$0.33	$0.32	240.0%	10/16/2008	AMC
Cypress Semicon	CY - Analyst Report	$0.08	$0.19	325.0%	10/16/2008	BTO
Cytec Inds Inc	CYT - Snapshot Report	$1.01	$1.04	2.6%	10/16/2008	AMC
Danaher Corp	DHR - Analyst Report	$1.13	$1.00	2.8%	10/16/2008	BTO
Evergreen Solar	ESLR	($0.10)	($0.04)	80.0%	10/16/2008	AMC
Fairchild Semi	FCS - Snapshot Report	$0.23	$0.27	0.0%	10/16/2008	BTO
Gilead Sciences	GILD - Analyst Report	$0.50	$0.42	(4.1%)	10/16/2008	AMC
Google Inc-Cl A	GOOG - Analyst Report	$4.13	$3.38	(2.0%)	10/16/2008	AMC
Harley-Davidson	HOG - Analyst Report	$0.78	$1.07	28.4%	10/16/2008	BTO
Healthways Inc	HWAY - Analyst Report	$0.50	$0.31	7.9%	10/16/2008	AMC
Herley Inds Inc	HRLY	$0.13	$0.27	(6.3%)	10/16/2008	AMC
Hershey Co/The	HSY - Analyst Report	$0.65	$0.68	3.6%	10/16/2008	BTO
Hni Corp	HNI - Snapshot Report	$0.40	$0.75	63.6%	10/16/2008	BTO
Home Bancshares	HOMB - Snapshot Report	$0.29	$0.28	(3.2%)	10/16/2008	BTO
Huntington Banc	HBAN - Analyst Report	$0.22	$0.44	16.7%	10/16/2008	BTO
Icu Medical Inc	ICUI - Snapshot Report	$0.40	$0.31	(2.9%)	10/16/2008	AMC
Ill Tool Works	ITW - Analyst Report	$0.87	$0.89	4.1%	10/16/2008	BTO
Informatica Crp	INFA - Snapshot Report	$0.14	$0.15	16.7%	10/16/2008	AMC
Insteel Inds	IIIN - Snapshot Report	$0.71	$0.28	70.2%	10/16/2008	BTO
Intl Bus Mach	IBM - Analyst Report	$2.00	$1.68	9.4%	10/16/2008	AMC
Intuitive Surg	ISRG - Analyst Report	$1.27	$0.97	9.4%	10/16/2008	AMC
Knoll Inc	KNL - Snapshot Report	$0.41	$0.37	22.5%	10/16/2008	BTO
Leggett & Platt	LEG - Analyst Report	$0.35	$0.37	(7.4%)	10/16/2008	AMC
Media Genl A	MEG - Snapshot Report	$0.18	$0.11	166.7%	10/16/2008	BTO
Merrill Lync&Co	MER	($4.55)	($2.85)	(125.1%)	10/16/2008	BTO
Mission West	MSW - Snapshot Report	$0.14	$0.14	(14.3%)	10/16/2008	N/A
Nokia Cp-Adr A	NOK - Analyst Report	$0.52	$0.55	0.0%	10/16/2008	BTO
Nucor Corp	NUE - Analyst Report	$2.18	$1.29	7.8%	10/16/2008	BTO
Parker Hannifin	PH - Analyst Report	$1.41	$1.33	3.3%	10/16/2008	BTO
Pmc-Sierra Inc	PMCS - Analyst Report	$0.09	$0.00	22.2%	10/16/2008	AMC
Pnc Finl Svc Cp	PNC - Analyst Report	$1.11	$1.37	17.1%	10/16/2008	BTO
Ppg Inds Inc	PPG - Analyst Report	$1.30	$1.37	5.9%	10/16/2008	BTO
Reliance Steel	RS - Analyst Report	$1.99	$1.22	0.9%	10/16/2008	BTO
Renaissnce Lrng	RLRN	$0.09	$0.05	0.0%	10/16/2008	AMC
Sherwin William	SHW - Analyst Report	$1.27	$1.55	4.3%	10/16/2008	BTO
Simmons First A	SFNC - Snapshot Report	$0.46	$0.53	(23.6%)	10/16/2008	BTO
Smith (Ao) Corp	AOS - Snapshot Report	$0.56	$0.69	32.0%	10/16/2008	BTO
Sonic Corp	SONC - Snapshot Report	$0.34	$0.34	(9.7%)	10/16/2008	AMC
Sonoco Products	SON - Analyst Report	$0.65	$0.64	1.6%	10/16/2008	BTO
Southn Company	SO - Analyst Report	$0.98	$0.99	12.5%	10/16/2008	BTO
Southwest Air	LUV - Analyst Report	$0.06	$0.21	33.3%	10/16/2008	BTO
Stryker Corp	SYK - Analyst Report	$0.67	$0.55	2.8%	10/16/2008	AMC
Sunpower Corp-A	SPWRA	$0.41	$0.16	5.4%	10/16/2008	BTO
Textron Inc	TXT - Analyst Report	$0.88	$0.95	9.6%	10/16/2008	BTO
Torchmark Corp	TMK - Analyst Report	$1.50	$1.38	(2.0%)	10/16/2008	N/A
Ultratech Step	UTEK - Snapshot Report	$0.12	($0.04)	10.0%	10/16/2008	BTO
Umpqua Hldgs Cp	UMPQ - Snapshot Report	$0.17	$0.22	(10.5%)	10/16/2008	BTO
Usa Truck Inc	USAK - Snapshot Report	$0.19	$0.19	625.0%	10/16/2008	BTO
Utd Techs Corp	UTX - Analyst Report	$1.32	$1.17	5.3%	10/16/2008	BTO
Werner Entrprs	WERN - Snapshot Report	$0.26	$0.30	13.6%	10/16/2008	BTO
Whitney Hldg	WTNY	$0.11	$0.42	(16.7%)	10/16/2008	BTO
Winnebago	WGO - Snapshot Report	($0.13)	$0.49	(1100.0%)	10/16/2008	BTO
Zions Bancorp	ZION - Analyst Report	$0.62	$1.22	10.13%	10/16/2008	AMC
Amcol Intl Cp	ACO - Snapshot Report	$0.63	$0.59	11.5%	10/17/2008	BTO
Aracruz Cel-Adr	ARA	$0.37	$1.31	(25.2%)	10/17/2008	N/A
Comerica Inc	CMA - Analyst Report	$0.42	$1.17	11.5%	10/17/2008	BTO
First Hrzn Natl	FHN - Analyst Report	($0.14)	$0.14	(57.1%)	10/17/2008	BTO
Genuine Parts	GPC - Analyst Report	$0.78	$0.76	2.5%	10/17/2008	BTO
Honeywell Intl	HON - Analyst Report	$0.96	$0.81	2.1%	10/17/2008	BTO
Prosperity Bcsh	PRSP	$0.50	$0.54	0.0%	10/17/2008	BTO
Schlumberger Lt	SLB - Analyst Report	$1.27	$1.09	2.7%	10/17/2008	BTO
Sensient Tech	SXT - Snapshot Report	$0.47	$0.44	8.2%	10/17/2008	BTO
V F Corp	VFC - Analyst Report	$2.04	$1.86	3.4%	10/17/2008	BTO
Wilmington Trst	WL	$0.47	$0.67	(19.0%)	10/17/2008	BTO

BMO = Before The Market Open, AMC = After Market Close

Aditi Samajpati contributed to this article.

¹Some of the companies listed in the earnings calendar may not be in the Zacks Rank universe.

Read the full analyst report on UTX

Read the full analyst report on JNJ

Read the full analyst report on ITW

Read the full analyst report on INTC

Read the full analyst report on KO

Read the full analyst report on IBM

Read the full analyst report on JPM

Read the full analyst report on C

Read the full analyst report on DAL