Earnings Preview for Dec 8-12
No companies are expected to top expectations. CKE Restaurants, Inc. (CKR - Snapshot Report) and National Semiconductor Corporation (NSM - Analyst Report) could miss estimates. The previous version of this week's article had previously listed the wrong ticker for CKE Restaurants. The correct ticker is CKR.
Just 49 companies have been confirmed to report for the second week of December. Within this group are S&P 500 members AutoZone, Inc. (AZO - Analyst Report), Ciena Corporation (CIEN - Analyst Report), Costco (COST - Snapshot Report), H&R Block, Inc. (HRB - Analyst Report), The Kroger Co. (KR - Analyst Report), National Semiconductor Corporation (NSM - Analyst Report) and Pall Corporation (PLL - Analyst Report).
(The light earnings calendar is typical for this time of year. Except for a mid-December bump when some early reporters give their end-of-year results, there will not be a significant number of earnings reports until the second-half of January.)
The scheduled economic data should not move the markets significantly. October pending homes sales might get more attention on Tuesday given the recent rebound in homebuilding stocks, but I don't expect it to have a meaningful impact.
- Tuesday: October pending home sales
- Wednesday: October wholesale inventories, November treasury deficit, weekly crude inventories
- Thursday: November import and export prices, October trade balance, weekly initial jobless claims
- Friday: November retail sales, preliminary December University of Michigan consumer confidence, November producer price index (PPI), October business inventories
Federal Reserve Governor Randall Kroszner will speak in Geneva about the potential for market instability on Monday. Later in the day, Vice Chairman Donald Kohn will talk about the banking system at a housing forum in Washington, D.C.
The Fed will hold its final scheduled meeting of the year on Dec 16. Futures are pricing a 75-basis point cut.
Congress could hold a vote on whether to extend the Big 3 financing. Many senators were not swayed on Thursday, however, so it is unclear what the future of the bailout is.
Unscheduled events remain a wildcard, including any new actions taken by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson or new economic proposals from President-elect Barack Obama.
Companies That Could Issue Positive Earnings Surprises
Trends in earnings estimate revisions do not suggest any of the companies reporting will top expectations.
Companies That Could Issue Negative Earnings Surprises
All of the covering brokerage analysts cut their fiscal third-quarter profit projections on CKE Restaurants, Inc. (CKR - Snapshot Report) over the past few weeks. One reason might have been the company's observation that restaurant operating costs rose 60 to 80 basis points during the quarter. The downward revisions caused the consensus earnings estimate to fall 7 cents to 10 cents per share. CKE has missed during the past 3 quarters. CKE Restaurants is scheduled to report on Wednesday, Dec 10, after the close of trading.
Last month, National Semiconductor Corporation (NSM - Analyst Report) revised its fiscal second-quarter revenue guidance. Due to weakness in the wireless handset market, the company expects sales to total between $420 and $425 million. (Previously, NSM predicted sales of $470 to $480 million.) The majority of the covering brokerage analysts quickly cut their profit forecasts, causing the consensus earnings estimate to fall 8 cents to 24 cents per share. The most accurate estimate is more bearish at 20 cents per share. Investors should also note that NSM missed first-quarter expectations by a penny per share. National Semiconductor is scheduled to report on Monday, Dec 8, after the close 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 Dec 8 - 121. Prices are as of Thursday's, Dec 4, market close.
| Company | Ticker | Zacks Consensus Estimate | Year Ago Actual | Last Qtr Surprise | Report Date | Report Time | Price |
| H & R Block | HRB - Analyst Report | ($0.41) | ($0.42) | (14.3%) | 12/8/2008 | AMC | $19.79 |
| Gander Mtn Co | GMTN - Analyst Report | $0.02 | ($0.25) | (42.9%) | 12/8/2008 | AMC | $1.52 |
| Idt Corp-Cl B | IDT - Snapshot Report | ($0.34) | ($0.23) | (63.6%) | 12/8/2008 | N/A | $0.46 |
| Learning Tree | LTRE - Snapshot Report | $0.14 | $0.21 | (11.5%) | 12/8/2008 | AMC | $9.99 |
| Mitcham Inds | MIND - Snapshot Report | $0.29 | $0.24 | (27.3%) | 12/8/2008 | AMC | $4.15 |
| Natl Semicon | NSM - Analyst Report | $0.24 | $0.34 | (2.9%) | 12/8/2008 | AMC | $10.15 |
| Adc Telecomm | ADCT - Analyst Report | $0.12 | $0.29 | 0.0% | 12/9/2008 | AMC | $5.58 |
| Analogic Corp | ALOG - Snapshot Report | $0.54 | $0.52 | 5.8% | 12/9/2008 | BTO | $36.12 |
| Arcsight Inc | ARST - Snapshot Report | $0.00 | N/A | (33.3%) | 12/9/2008 | AMC | $5.18 |
| Autozone Inc | AZO - Analyst Report | $2.20 | $2.02 | (0.5%) | 12/9/2008 | BTO | $114.38 |
| Cooper Cos | COO - Snapshot Report | $0.58 | $0.54 | 3.1% | 12/9/2008 | AMC | $13.76 |
| Ferrellgas -Lp | FGP - Analyst Report | ($0.41) | ($0.41) | (15.1%) | 12/9/2008 | N/A | $15.00 |
| Finisar Corp | FNSR - Analyst Report | $0.03 | ($0.03) | 100.0% | 12/9/2008 | AMC | $0.46 |
| G-Iii Apparel | GIII - Snapshot Report | $1.76 | $1.41 | 8.0% | 12/9/2008 | AMC | $7.03 |
| Ico Inc | ICOC - Snapshot Report | $0.15 | $0.17 | (15.8%) | 12/9/2008 | N/A | $3.83 |
| Kroger Co | KR - Analyst Report | $0.38 | $0.37 | 2.4% | 12/9/2008 | BTO | $26.88 |
| Ltx-Credence Cp | LTXC - Snapshot Report | ($0.13) | ($0.06) | (66.7%) | 12/9/2008 | AMC | $0.31 |
| Methode Elect-A | MEI - Snapshot Report | $0.16 | $0.24 | 0.0% | 12/9/2008 | BTO | $8.33 |
| Navisite Inc | NAVI - Snapshot Report | ($0.09) | ($0.08) | (233.3%) | 12/9/2008 | N/A | $0.43 |
| Oxford Inds Inc | OXM - Snapshot Report | $0.49 | N/A | 30.3% | 12/9/2008 | AMC | $5.84 |
| Pall Corp | PLL - Analyst Report | $0.38 | $0.34 | 0.0% | 12/9/2008 | AMC | $25.62 |
| Pep Boys M M &J | PBY - Snapshot Report | $0.01 | ($0.54) | 57.1% | 12/9/2008 | BTO | $4.37 |
| Saic Inc | SAI - Snapshot Report | $0.29 | $0.26 | 3.8% | 12/9/2008 | AMC | $17.73 |
| Tier Tech Inc | TIER - Snapshot Report | ($0.17) | ($0.07) | 71.4% | 12/9/2008 | AMC | $4.34 |
| Toro Co | TTC - Snapshot Report | $0.08 | $0.16 | 2.1% | 12/9/2008 | BTO | $28.45 |
| Vail Resorts | MTN - Snapshot Report | ($0.83) | ($0.63) | (52.6%) | 12/9/2008 | BTO | $20.43 |
| Williams Ctrls | WMCO | $0.31 | $0.20 | -20.00% | 12/9/2008 | N/A | $7.50 |
| Biodel Inc | BIOD - Snapshot Report | ($0.45) | ($0.42) | 4.4% | 12/10/2008 | BTO | $2.61 |
| Bway Holding Co | BWY - Snapshot Report | $0.31 | $0.13 | 20.6% | 12/10/2008 | BTO | $4.50 |
| CKE Restaurants | CKR - Snapshot Report | $0.10 | $0.15 | 21.0% | 12/10/2008 | N/A | $7.71 |
| Emcore Corp | EMKR - Snapshot Report | ($0.02) | ($0.13) | (150.0%) | 12/10/2008 | AMC | $1.38 |
| Fifth Street Fi | FSC - Snapshot Report | $0.28 | N/A | 9.1% | 12/10/2008 | AMC | $6.63 |
| Fuelcell Energy | FCEL - Snapshot Report | ($0.31) | ($0.25) | (50.0%) | 12/10/2008 | AMC | $3.78 |
| Greif Bros-Cl A | GEF - Snapshot Report | $1.21 | $1.14 | 6.3% | 12/10/2008 | AMC | $30.48 |
| Hooker Furnitur | HOFT - Snapshot Report | $0.35 | $0.50 | (21.7%) | 12/10/2008 | BTO | $6.95 |
| Korn/Ferry Intl | KFY - Snapshot Report | $0.28 | $0.37 | 20.0% | 12/10/2008 | N/A | $11.63 |
| Multimedia Game | MGAM - Snapshot Report | $0.00 | $0.02 | (75.0%) | 12/10/2008 | BTO | $2.26 |
| Ocean Power Tec | OPTT - Snapshot Report | ($0.46) | ($0.18) | 5.0% | 12/10/2008 | BTO | $7.93 |
| Powell Inds | POWL - Snapshot Report | $0.58 | $0.22 | 23.2% | 12/10/2008 | BTO | $20.09 |
| Ciena Corp | CIEN - Analyst Report | ($0.04) | $0.38 | (3.3%) | 12/11/2008 | BTO | $6.19 |
| Costco Whole Cp | COST - Snapshot Report | $0.62 | $0.59 | 5.4% | 12/11/2008 | BTO | $52.75 |
| Esterline | ESL - Snapshot Report | $1.06 | $0.78 | 6.3% | 12/11/2008 | AMC | $32.80 |
| Gildan Actvwear | GIL - Snapshot Report | $0.45 | $0.38 | 2.2% | 12/11/2008 | BTO | $14.25 |
| Integral Sys/Md | ISYS | $0.20 | $0.22 | 52.8% | 12/11/2008 | BTO | $21.57 |
| Krispy Kreme | KKD - Snapshot Report | $0.01 | ($0.01) | (200.0%) | 12/11/2008 | N/A | $2.49 |
| Lululemon Athlt | LULU - Snapshot Report | $0.13 | $0.11 | 28.6% | 12/11/2008 | BTO | $9.57 |
| Martek Bioscs | MATK - Snapshot Report | $0.27 | $0.23 | 16.7% | 12/11/2008 | AMC | $27.39 |
| NCI Bldg System | NCS - Analyst Report | $1.12 | $1.27 | 39.3% | 12/11/2008 | N/A | $13.37 |
| White Electronc | WEDC - Snapshot Report | $0.07 | $0.06 | 57.1% | 12/11/2008 | AMC | $3.63 |
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.