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This Week's Must-See Retail Earnings Charts

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This is the last major week of the second quarter earnings season with only about 200 companies expected to report earnings.

But the end of earnings season also signals that the retailers will be reporting and this week, there’s a slew of them from apparel retailers to home goods, furniture and jewelry.

Is it really as bad out there at the mall as everyone is making it out to be?

Several of the retailers reporting this week have been at the top of their game in the last year. They have even managed to beat on the estimate every quarter for nearly 5 years.

I don’t care which industry you’re in, but beating nearly every quarter for that long of time is impressive.

Will some of these retailers change the perception on the Street that retail is doomed? Or is the negative retail sentiment etched in stone?

The Must-See Retail Earnings Charts This Week

1.    Lowe’s (LOW - Free Report) has actually missed three out of the last four quarters but it’s in the hot home remodeling industry so shares haven’t sold off much on the misses. Competitor Home Depot had a stellar quarter, will Lowe’s step up its game?

2.    American Eagle (AEO - Free Report) has only missed once in 5 years and it was just last quarter. Shares have tumbled near 5-year lows. Will this teen and 20-something retailer get a boost from back to school?

3.    Williams-Sonoma (WSM - Free Report) has only missed once in 5 years but shares have sunk. Investors have been worried about weakness at the Pottery Barn chain even though its hot mid-century modern chain, West Elm, continues to dominate the industry. Have changes at Pottery Barn paid off this quarter?

4.    PVH (PVH - Free Report) owns well-known brands like Calvin Klein, that are represented at the department stores. The quarter wasn’t so bad at Nordstrom and Macy’s. Will that translate through to PVH too?

5.    Ulta (ULTA - Free Report) is the king of retailers. It’s the only retailer doing consistent double digit same store sales comps. But how long can it keep up the pace? Both the Street and the analysts are worried about competition from Amazon and the department stores. Can Ulta keep its shimmer?

[In full disclosure, the author of this article owns shares of Ulta in her personal portfolio.]

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