Earnings Expectations For The Week Of May 12: More Big-Box Retailers

Wal-Mart WMT kicked off earnings season for the big retailers last week with disappointing first-quarter results. Taking their turns on the earnings stage this week are Best Buy BBY, Home Depot HD, Target TGT and several more retailers. Below is a brief look at what analysts expect from these and some of the week's other most prominent earnings results. See also: Benzinga Weekly Preview: Packed Week Of Market Moving Events American Eagle Outfitters Analysts expect American Eagle Outfitters AEO to post break-even earnings results for its most recent fiscal quarter. That would be down from EPS of $0.18 a year ago. And revenues for the first quarter are estimated to total $648.73 million, which would be down from $679.48 million a year ago. Note that earnings per share (EPS) have not fallen short of consensus estimates in the past four quarters. But the consensus EPS estimate has dropped by two cents over the past 60 days. So far EPS and revenues for the current quarter are expected to be higher sequentially but again lower year over year. The retailer is scheduled to share its results Wednesday before the markets open. Best Buy The forecast for this consumer electronics big-box store operator calls for earnings of $0.20 per share and for revenue to total $9.20 billion for its most recent quarter. In the year-ago period, Best Buy posted a profit of $0.32 per share and sales came to $9.38 billion. Note that the retailer topped EPS estimates by more than 22 percent in the previous four quarters. So far, the consensus expectations for the current have year-over-year growth in EPS but another marginal decline in revenue. Look for Best Buy to share its results Thursday before the opening bell. Home Depot The leading home improvement superstore operator is forecast to report earnings of $0.99 per share in Tuesday morning's report. That would compare to the $0.83 per share in the same period of last year. Note that analysts underestimated earnings by less than 10 percent in the previous four quarters. The company also is expected to post revenues of $19.95 billion for the fiscal first quarter, which would be a gain of more than four percent relative to a year ago. So far, sequential and year-on-year gains are predicted for the current quarter on both the top and bottom lines. Staples In its report early Thursday, the specialty retailer Staples SPLS is expected to say that EPS fell from $0.26 in the year-ago quarter to $0.21 for the three months that ended in April. And per-share earnings fell short of consensus expectations by more than 15 percent in the previous period. Revenues for the first quarter are predicted to have retreated more than three percent to $5.62 billion. Revenue declines of less than three percent are expected for the current quarter and for the full year, as well. Per share earnings are expected to decline for both periods too. Target The first-quarter forecast for this Minneapolis-based retailer calls for earnings of $0.71 per share, on $17.02 billion in revenue, in Wednesday morning's report. That would compare to the $0.82 per share and $16.71 billion in sales reported in the same period of the previous year. Note that 60 days ago the consensus estimate called for $0.73 per share in earnings. The company beat EPS expectations by almost 14 percent in the previous period, but fell short in two of the three quarters before that. So far, gains on the top and bottom lines are forecast for the current quarter as well. See also: J.C. Penney Turnaround Still A Ways Off And Others Other retailers set to show earnings growth this week include Citi Trends, Dick's Sporting Goods, Dollar Tree, Foot Locker, GameStop, Hibbett Sports, L Brands, Lowe's Companies, PetSmart, Ross Stores, Shoe Carnival, Tiffany and TJX Companies. Earnings declines are forecast for Children's Place, Fresh Market, Gap and Urban Outfitters, as well as wider net losses from Aeropostale and Sears. Analysts also foresee earnings growth this week from Analog Devices, Brocade Communications Systems, DryShips, Hewlett-Packard, Intuit, Marvell Technology, Medtronic, NetApp, TiVo and Trina Solar. But Campbell Soup is expected to show a year-over-year decline in its per-share earnings. If analysts are correct, Salesforce.com's EPS will be the same as in the year-ago period. And the consensus forecast calls for a net loss from Renren in its report this week. The following week, look for earnings reports from Abercrombie & Fitch, Costco Wholesale and more. Keep up with all the latest breaking news and trading ideas by following us on Twitter.