Google Stands Out Amid Low Earnings Expectations

• Overall, Wall Street expectations are muted for this week's earnings reports.
• Google will buck that trend with strong results, if forecasts are accurate.
• Expectations are also high for earnings from American Airlines, Eli Lilly, GM and Verizon.

We have arrived in the heart of the third-quarter earnings reporting season, and results will come fast and furious this week. But overall, expectations are fairly muted. Consensus forecasts from Wall Street analysts call for declining earnings from many of the most prominent companies reporting this week. However, expectations are high for the results from Alphabet Inc GOOGL, still more commonly known as Google. Strong earnings growth is also predicted for Eli Lilly and Co LLY and Verizon Communications Inc. VZ, accompanied by at least some growth in revenues. Some of the strongest year-over-year growth on the bottom line is anticipated this week from General Motors Company GM and American Airlines Group Inc AAL. Yet, in both cases the top line is expected to have shrunk marginally. Below is a quick look at what is expected from these and a peek at some of the week's other most prominent reports. See also: 23 Stocks With Growth 'Cheaper Than Value'

Alphabet

The company formerly known as Google will post earnings of $7.34 per share for its third quarter, if Estimize's consensus forecast is accurate. That would be up from $6.25 per share in the same period of last year. Note that Estimize underestimated earnings here in the previous period. The 169 Estimize survey respondents see revenue for the three months that ended in September at about $15.21 billion. That would be up more than 13 percent from the year-ago quarter. Watch for Alphabet to report after Thursday's closing bell.

American Airlines

When it shares its results first thing Friday, the consensus of 19 Estimize estimates is that this leading airline will show earnings of $2.66 per share. That would be up from $1.66 per share in the same period of last year. The consensus Wall Street earnings per share (EPS) estimate is up at $2.71. Revenue for the three months that ended in September will be less than 4 percent lower than a year ago to $10.86 billion, if Estimize is correct, though it overestimated revenue in the past few periods. Wall Street is a bit more pessimistic, with a $10.70 billion consensus forecast for the third quarter.

Eli Lilly

When it shares its results early Thursday, the consensus of nine Estimize estimates is that this pharmaceutical titan will show earnings of $0.79 per share. That would be up from $0.66 per share in the same period of last year. It is also higher than the Wall Street estimate of $0.75. Revenue for the three months that ended in September will be more than 2 percent higher than a year ago to $5.00 billion, if Estimize is accurate. Wall Street is slightly less optimistic, with a $4.98 billion forecast. Note that they both underestimated revenue back in the second quarter.

GM

The third-quarter forecast for this Big 3 automaker calls for EPS to have risen from $0.97 in the year-ago period to $1.15, according to 33 Estimize respondents. Also, revenue is expected to have retreated less than 2 percent to $38.71 billion for the three months that ended in September. The Wall Street forecast calls for $1.19 per share earnings and $38.78 billion in revenue for the quarter. Note that both Wall Street and Estimze have underestimated revenue in the past few quarters. GM is scheduled to release its results Wednesday before the regular trading session begins.

Verizon

In its report early Tuesday, this telecom giant is expected to report that its EPS came to $1.03 for the period that ended in September. That is a penny per share more than the Wall Street forecast, and up from the $0.89 per share Verizon posted in the year-ago period. The consensus of 36 Estimize estimates has revenues at $32.87 billion for the third quarter, lower than Wall Street expectations for $32.94 billion. Both would be up from the $31.59 billion reported in last year's quarter, but note that Estimize overestimated revenue in the previous two quarters. See also: 35 Stock Ideas Oppenheimer Analysts Love Right Now

And Others

As mentioned, Wall Street expectations are low for many companies scheduled to share their results this week. The consensus forecasts call for declining earnings, relative to the same period of last year, from Abbot Labs, American Express, Caterpillar, Coca-Cola, Discover Financial, Dow Chemical, eBay, Halliburton, IBM, Kimberly-Clark, Kinder Morgan, Lockheed Martin, Morgan Stanley, Procter & Gamble, Raytheon, Texas Instruments, Travelers, Union Pacific, United Technologies and Yahoo. And net losses are predicted for Amazon, Freeport-McMoRan and Vale. Yet, at least some growth in earnings is coming from AT&T, Boeing, Capital One Financial, McDonald's, Microsoft, Sirius XM, SUPERVALU and 3M, if the analysts are correct. Keep up with all the latest breaking news and trading ideas by following Benzinga on Twitter.