Earnings Expectations for the Week of February 13

Analysts expect to see double-digit per-share earnings growth from Agilent Technologies A, Apache APA, CBS CBS, Comcast CMCSA, DirecTV DTV and Marriot International MAR when they report quarterly results this week. Other prominent reports on the schedule include those from Smucker SJM, Deere DE and MetLife MET, which are forecast to post earnings growth as well, and Abercrombie & Fitch ANF, Applied Materials AMAT, Campbell Soup CPB and General Motors GM, from which a decline in earnings is anticipated. Abercrombie & Fitch ANF and Nordstrom JWN kick off this season's crunch of retail earnings reports, which gets in full swing the following week. Fourth-quarter revenue for both of these retailers is expected to be more than 13% higher year over year. But while Nordstrom's EPS are forecast to be up 5.5% to $1.10, Abercrombie's are predicted to have slipped 18.8% to $1.12. Sixty days ago, Abercrombie's EPS estimate was $1.58, and it missed the consensus estimate in the previous quarter by nearly 20%. Avon Products AVP is expected to say Tuesday that its earnings fell eight cents from a year ago to $0.51 per share and that revenues also fell marginally. Expectations are high for apparel maker VF Corp. VFC, though: fourth-quarter EPS up 22.9% to $2.31 and revenues up 36.1% to $2.9 billion. Analysts predict all four prominent media companies reporting this week will post earnings growth: CBS CBS EPS up 13.2% to $0.53, Comcast CMCSA EPS up 17.1% to $0.41, DirecTV DTV EPS up 19.6% to $0.92, Discovery Communications DISCA EPS up 23.2% to $0.69. Full-year EPS forecasts for all four include strong year-over-year growth as well. But of the four, only CBS is expected to have weak revenue growth: flat for the quarter and up 2.2% for the year. And note that both Comcast and DirecTV fell short of consensus EPS estimates in the previous quarter. See also: Why Big Media Earnings May Beat Expectations. As mentioned above, Campbell Soup CPB is forecast to report on Friday lower per-share earnings: down 12.7% from a year ago to $0.62 for the fourth quarter and 7.1% lower to $2.36 for the year. Revenues for the quarter and the full year are forecast to be about the same as a year ago. Analysts are a bit more optimistic about earnings from JM Smucker SJM and Dr Pepper Snapple Group DPS. EPS for the former are predicted to be up 2.8% for the fiscal third quarter, while EPS for the latter are 10.7% higher for the fourth quarter and up 11.7% for the year. Note that Smucker's revenues are expected to be strong: more than 17% higher for the quarter. And fiscal third-quarter earnings for HJ Heinz HNZ are estimated at $0.85 per share, about the same as a year ago, with revenues up 6.2%. Expectations for tech companies reporting this week are mixed. Analysts are looking for EPS that are between a nickel and a dime higher than a year ago from Agilent Technologies A and NetApp NTAP. But Applied Materials AMAT and Nvidia NVDA are anticipated to say that EPS are down by double digits to $0.12 and $0.19, respectively. None of these four companies has fallen short of EPS estimates in the past five quarters. Revenues are forecast to be up between 7% and 23%, except for Applied Materials, which is expected to report a revenue decline. General Motors GM is forecast to post $0.41 per share for the fourth quarter, its lowest EPS since remerging from bankruptcy. But revenues for the quarter are expected to be up 3.6% to $38.2 billion, and full-year EPS are estimated at $3.91, a 23.0% increase from a year ago. Also, Goodyear Tire GT is expected to post higher EPS and revenues on Tuesday. See also: Will GM Ever Catch Up to Ford? In Wednesday's report, Deere's DE earnings are predicted to have risen three cents to $1.23 per share, while revenue rose 17.6% to $6.5 billion. Independent energy company Apache APA is expected to be one of the week's biggest earnings winners, with fourth-quarter EPS forecast to be 23.7% higher than a year ago to $2.87. But Waste Management WM EPS is expected to be the same as a year ago, while Vulcan Materials VMC is likely to post another net loss. And Marriot International's MAR fourth-quarter EPS are anticipated be 17.0% higher year over year to $0.47, while those of MetLife MET are forecast to have risen a dime per share to $1.24. And full-year EPS for both of them are expected to be up by double digits.