Earnings Expectations for the Week of May 21 (BBY, LOW, DELL, HPQ)

This earnings season may be starting to wind down, but there are still plenty of quarterly reports on the schedule. This week we will hear from more retailers, including Best Buy BBY, Lowe's LOW and Tiffany TIF. Tech companies Dell DELL and Hewlett-Packard HPQ are expected to post earnings declines. And food producers Campbell Soup CPB, HJ Heinz HNZ and Hormel Foods HRL are also on tap to share results for their most recent fiscal quarters. Best Buy, Lowe's and Other Retailers Analysts on average predict Best Buy's per-share earnings will come to $0.58, or 65.7% higher than the company's actual earnings for the year-ago quarter. That estimate is also up from $0.41 per share some 60 days ago. The consumer electronics retailer is also expected to say Tuesday that revenues for the quarter totaled $50.2 billion. On the heels of last week's solid earnings showing by Home Depot HD, earnings from rival big-box home improvement chain Lowe's are estimated to come to $0.42 per share for the first quarter. That would be up from an estimate of $0.39 per share 60 days ago and from a profit of $0.34 per share last year. Costco Wholesale is forecast to say Thursday its third-quarter EPS rose 16.1% year over year to $0.87 and that revenue came to $22.1 billion. Also, Tiffany's EPS are expected to be two cents higher than a year ago, while first-quarter revenues rose 7.3%. Analysts are looking for 15.4% EPS growth from Autozone AZO in Tuesday's fiscal third-quarter report. But Big Lots BIG and Urban Outfitters URBN are expect to report earnings declines of 1.4% and 13.0%, respectively, though both are predicted to post year-over-year revenue growth as well. Other retailers expected to report earnings growth this week include American Eagle Outfitters AEO, America's Car-Mart CRMT, Collective Brands PSS, DSW DSW, Express EXPR, Fred's FRED, PetSmart PETM, Rue21 RUE, Signet Jewelers SIG and Williams-Sonoma WSM. Dell and Hewlett-Packard This week's results from tech companies will be highlighted by PC makers Dell and Hewlett-Packard. The former is expected to post $0.46 per share on $14.9 billion in sales, down from $0.55 and $15.0 billion last year. The forecast for HP has EPS coming in at $0.91 per share on $29.9 billion in sales, down from $1.24 and $31.6 billion a year ago. HP is also expected to report job cuts on Wednesday. A decline in both EPS and revenue is anticipated from Analog Devices ADI in its Tuesday report, but earnings and revenue growth from NetApp NTAP for both its fourth quarter and full fiscal year. Mentor Graphics MENT and Synopsys SNPS also are expected to report earnings growth this week, while Avago Technologies AVGO, Compuware CPWR, Semtech SMTC likely will post lower EPS. A net loss is anticipated from Take-Two Interactive Software TTWO and Trina Solar TSL. Campbell Soup, Hormel, Heinz Analysts anticipate food producers Heinz and Hormel will say that their per-share earnings were higher than a year ago -- 10.1% for the former and 4.8% for the latter. Campbell Soup, though, is expected to report Monday that its EPS are a nickel lower than a year ago to $0.52. Its revenues are predicted to be flat year over year, while Heinz and Hormel are expected to post modest revenue growth. All three companies have met or topped consensus EPS estimates in the past three quarters. Medtronic, Patterson, Etc. The forecasts for medical device maker Medtronic MDT and medical goods supplier Patterson PDCO have fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year EPS up less than 10% year over year. Medtronic's quarterly revenues are expected to have slipped, though. Ralph Lauren RL reports Tuesday. Analysts are looking for EPS of $0.83, nine cents higher than a year ago, as well as revenues up 12.0% to $1.6 billion. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store CBRL, PVH PVH, Toro TTC and VeriFone Systems PAY also are expected to report year-over-year earnings growth this week. But lower per-share earnings are expected from Krispy Kreme Doughnuts KKD.