Earnings Expectations for the Week of September 5

Altera ALTR and Kroger KR are the only S&P 500 components currently on the schedule to report earnings this holiday-shortened week. Analysts on average expect the semiconductor maker to post earnings that are a nickel per share lower than a year ago. But earnings of the supermarket operator are forecast to be a couple of pennies per share higher than a year ago. Also on tap to release quarterly results this week are Men's Wearhouse MW, Smithfield Foods SFD and Talbots TLB. As mentioned above, San Jose-based chip maker Altera is expected to report that its per-share earnings fell a nickel per share from a year ago to $0.64. But third-quarter revenues are anticipated to have risen 8.0% to $569.5 million. In fact, revenues for the full year are forecast to grow 13.5%. And per-share earnings are predicted to grow 13.9% over the next five years. But the stock has not rebounded from the sell-off in August. The share price is nearly 2% lower than at the beginning of the calendar year. Yet the stock has outperformed competitor Nvidia NVDA over that time. Cincinnati-based Kroger, which announced last week that it would acquire Schnucks stores in the Memphis area, will post its second-quarter results on Friday. The supermarket operator is expected to show $0.43 per share earnings and $20.5 billion in revenues. A year ago, earnings were $0.41 per share and revenues totaled $18.8 billion. Kroger has not fallen short of consensus estimates in the past six quarters. The P/E ratio is 12.4 and the long-term EPS forecast is 9.5%. Fourteen of 20 analysts rate the stock a Buy or Strong Buy. The share price is more than 13% higher year to date. Expectations are high for industrial equipment maker Standex International SXI. Per-share earnings are forecast to be 90% higher than a year ago, as well as revenues up 12.2%. The New Hampshire-based company easily topped consensus estimates in the past four quarters. During the three months that ended in July, meat producer Smithfeld Foods authorized a new share buyback program and terminated its effort to acquire a controlling stake in Campofrio Food. Earnings for that period are expect to come in at $0.67 per share on revenue of $3.2 billion. That's up from $0.46 per share and $2.9 billion in the same period of last year. Smithfield has not fallen short of earnings expectations in the past six quarters. The stock has outperformed competitors Hormel Foods HRL and Tyson Foods TSN over the past 90 days. Analysts are looking for Houston-based Men's Wearhouse to report Wednesday that its per-share earnings rose 15.3% year over year to $0.98. And for the second quarter during which a new CEO took up the reins of this specialty retailer, revenues are expected to total $643.6 million. That would be a jump of 19.9% from a year ago. Analysts have underestimated EPS results for more than eight quarters. Shares are about 31% higher than a year ago and the stock has outperformed the broader markets year to date. Back in June, book publisher John Wiley JW posted net income and revenue growth for its fiscal fourth-quarter due to cost cutting and a stronger dollar. The consensus forecast for the first quarter calls for per-share earnings up 13.3% year over year to $0.75, as well as a 4.9% rise in revenues to $428.1 million. Earnings per share are predicted to rise 12.4% over the next five years. Note though that the New Jersey-based company missed earnings estimates in two of the past five quarters. Struggling retailer Talbots was downgraded by Wedbush analysts on Friday. And this coming Wednesday, the company is expected to post a net loss of $0.45 per share, as compared to $0.14 earnings per share a year ago. Revenues are expected to have fallen 12% as well. Other companies expected to report year-over-year earnings growth this week include executive recruiter Korn/Ferry KFY, Ulta Salon Cosmetics & Fragrance ULTA, Rhode Island-based United Natural Foods UNFI and payment systems equipment maker VeriFone PAY. Others anticipated to report a net loss this week include homebuilder Hovnanian Enterprises HOV and Ocean Power Technologies OPTT.