Zacks Earnings Preview: Gannett, Polo Ralph Lauren, Whirlpool, FMC Corp and Sunoco

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – February 1, 2010 – Zacks.com releases the list of companies likely to issue earnings surprises. This week’s list includes Gannett (GCI - Analyst Report), Polo Ralph Lauren (RL - Analyst Report), Whirlpool (WHR - Analyst Report), FMC Corp (FMC - Snapshot Report) and Sunoco (SUN - Analyst Report). To see more earnings analysis, visit http://at.zacks.com/?id=3207.

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Heart of Earnings, Jobs in Focus

Historically, the best indicators of firms likely to report positive surprises are a recent history of positive surprises and rising estimates going into the report. The Zacks Rank is also a good indicator of potential surprises. While normally firms that report better-than-expected earnings rise in reaction, that has not been the case so far this quarter. Some of the companies that have these characteristics include:

Gannett (GCI - Analyst Report) is expected to report EPS of $0.63, down from $0.85 per share a year ago. Last time out, GCI posted a positive surprise of 15.79%, and over the last month the mean estimate for its fourth quarter earnings is up 0.96%. GCI has a Zacks Rank of 1.

Polo Ralph Lauren (RL - Analyst Report) is expected to report EPS before non-recurring items of $1.00, down from $1.05 a year ago. In the 3Q, RL posted a positive surprise of 37.40% and over the last month, the consensus estimate for its 4Q earnings is up 3.33%. RL is a Zacks #2 ranked stock.

Whirlpool (WHR - Analyst Report) is expected to earn $1.30 per share this year, up from $0.60 a year ago. In the third quarter they blew the estimates out of the water (no pun intended) with a massive 114.3% positive surprise. Over the last month, the mean estimate for the 4Q is up 2.9%. WHR holds a coveted Zacks #1 rank.

FMC Corp (FMC - Snapshot Report) is expected to post EPS of $0.90 a share, down from a EPS of $1.02 a share a year ago. Last time they reported 0.33% below expectations. For this Zacks #4 ranked stock, analysts have not changed the estimates for this quarter over the last month.

Sunoco (SUN - Analyst Report) is expected to report a loss of $0.26 down from EPS of $2.68 last year. The oil refiner disappointed by 222.2% (also a loss instead of a gain) last time out, and over the past month analysts have cut the estimate for this number 4 ranked stock by 55.75%.

Dirk Van Dijk, CFA, is the Chief Equity Strategist for Zacks.com.

About the Zacks Rank

Since 1988, the Zacks Rank has proven that "Earnings estimate revisions are the most powerful force impacting stock prices." Since inception in 1988, #1 Rank Stocks have generated an average annual return of +26%. During the 2000-2002 bear market, Zacks #1 Rank stocks gained +43.8%, while the S&P 500 tumbled -37.6%. Also note that the Zacks Rank system has just as many Strong Sell recommendations (Rank #5) as Strong Buy recommendations (Rank #1). Since 1988, Zacks Rank #5 stocks have underperformed the S&P 500 by 111% annually (-0.8% versus +8%). Thus, the Zacks Rank system allows investors to truly manage portfolio trading effectively.

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Contact: Dirk Van Dijk, CFA
Company: Zacks.com
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Read the full analyst report on GCI

Read the full analyst report on RL

Read the full analyst report on WHR

Read the full analyst report on FMC

Read the full analyst report on SUN