Make no mistake: This earnings season, we’ve seen some powerful results so far. Of the 340 or so S&P 500 companies that have reported so far, 67% have topped analyst earnings estimates and 64% have beaten sales estimates.
But I expect the second half to be much choppier than the first. What usually happens with earnings season is that the stronger earnings announcements come out early and the weaker announcements are saved for last. And with a fresh wave of small- and mid-cap companies kicking off this week, I expect the market to become pretty bumpy in a matter of days.
To prepare for this, let’s preview some of the biggest earnings announcements coming at us this week. I’ll provide what the analyst community’s expectations are for each stock plus my take on whether the upcoming earnings announcement is a buying opportunity.
The Good
| Ticker | Company | Earnings Date | Forecast Sales | Forecast Earnings | My Take |
| CAB | Cabela’s | Thursday | 9% | 14% | Buy |
| CAR | Avis | Wednesday | 0% | 50% | Buy |
| CLWR | Clearwire | Tuesday | -13% | 73% | Buy |
| CMCSA | Comcast | Wednesday | 6% | 13% | Strong Buy |
| CPB | Campbell Soup | Friday | 10% | 3% | Buy |
| DF | Dean Foods | Wednesday | 2% | 11% | Buy |
| DPS | Dr Pepper Snapple | Wednesday | 2% | 4% | Buy |
| DTV | Directv | Thursday | 8% | 11% | Buy |
| KO | Coca-Cola | Tuesday | 5% | 13% | Buy |
| KORS | Michael Kors | Tuesday | 45% | 105% | Buy |
| LGF | Lions Gate | Monday | 119% | 1700% | Strong Buy |
| MORN | Morningstar | Wednesday | 1% | 2% | Buy |
| PEP | PepsiCo | Thursday | 1% | -9% | Buy |
| RAI | Reynolds American | Tuesday | -1% | 1% | Buy |
| RAX | Rackspace | Tuesday | 26% | 22% | Buy |
| SJM | J.M. Smucker | Friday | 6% | 14% | Buy |
| TRI | Thompson Reuters | Wednesday | 1% | 2% | Buy |
| TRIP | TripAdvisor | Wednesday | 21% | 17% | Buy |
| VAL | Valspar | Tuesday | 4% | 8% | Buy |
| WFM | Whole Foods | Wednesday | 14% | 19% | Buy |
The Bad
| Ticker | Company | Earnings Date | Forecast Sales | Forecast Earnings | My Take |
| CSCO | Cisco | Wednesday | 5% | 2% | Hold |
| DE | Deere | Wednesday | 10% | 8% | Hold |
| FOSL | Fossil | Tuesday | 12% | 21% | Hold |
| GM | General Motors | Thursday | 3% | 31% | Hold |
| GNC | GNC | Thursday | 13% | 31% | Hold |
| MDLZ | Mondelez | Wednesday | -34% | -33% | Hold |
| MHP | McGraw-Hill | Tuesday | 6% | 14% | Hold |
| SAVE | Spirit Airlines | Tuesday | 21% | -24% | Hold |
| SKX | Skechers | Wednesday | 19% | 72% | Hold |
| WM | Waste Management | Thursday | 1% | 0% | Hold |
| Z | Zillow | Wednesday | 58% | -100% | Hold |
The Ugly
CGNXNVDA
| Ticker | Company | Earnings Date | Forecast Sales | Forecast Earnings | My Take |
| AMAT | Applied Materials | Wednesday | -30% | -83% | Sell |
| ANGI | Angie’s List | Wednesday | 66% | 86% | Sell |
| AVP | Avon | Tuesday | -2% | -31% | Sell |
| BBW | Build-A-Bear | Thursday | -2% | -9% | Strong Sell |
| BWLD | Buffalo Wild Wings | Tuesday | 32% | 30% | Sell |
| DAVE | Famous Dave’s | Wednesday | -1% | -33% | Sell |
| GT | Goodyear Tire | Tuesday | -6% | 567% | Sell |
| H | Hyatt | Wednesday | 4% | -61% | Sell |
| NTAP | NetApp | Wednesday | 4% | -3% | Sell |
| OWW | Orbitz | Thursday | 4% | 75% | Sell |
| STRA | Strayer | Thursday | -7% | 37% | Strong Sell |
| WTW | Weight Watchers | Wednesday | -1% | 1% | Sell |
| WU | Western Union | Tuesday | -2% | -10% | Sell |
| ZIP | Zipcar | Friday | 11% | -33% | Sell |
In addition to earnings announcements, lately we’ve seen a barrage of new mergers and acquisitions deals that will affect several industry leaders and present new profit opportunities. I’ll have the full details on the latest “buyout buzz” on Wall Street in tomorrow’s daily blog.
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