Earnings Expectations For The Week Of May 25: Abercrombie, Costco And More

Among the earnings reports due this holiday-shortened week are those from retailers Abercrombie & Fitch ANF, Costco Wholesale COST and Dollar General DG. Strong results are also expected from semiconductor maker Avago Technologies AVGO and from homebuilder Toll Brothers TOL. Below is a brief look at what analysts expect from these and some of the week's other most prominent quarterly reports. See also: Week In Review: Retail Earnings Abercrombie & Fitch Analysts expect this purveyor of casual wear to say that it had a net loss of $0.19 per share in its fiscal first quarter. That would compare to a net loss of $0.09 a year ago. And revenues for the quarter are forecast to have fallen from $838.77 million a year ago to $797.86 million in the most recent period. Note that per-share earnings results exceeded expectations by double-digit percentages in the previous two quarters. But the consensus EPS estimate 60 days ago was -$0.18. So far, Abercrombie is expected to post a profit in the current quarter, but on revenue that fell more than four percent. The retailer is scheduled to share its results Thursday before the markets open. Avago Technologies This Singapore-based company is forecast to report earnings of $0.76 per share in Thursday's report. That would be almost 20 percent higher than in the same period of last year. Note that analysts underestimated earnings in the previous four quarters, by as much as 17.5 percent. The analog semiconductor maker also is expected to say revenues grew almost 21 percent from a year ago to $679.59 million for the fiscal second quarter. So far, strong sequential and year-on-year gains are predicted for the current quarter on both the top and bottom lines. Costco The fiscal third-quarter forecast for this membership warehouse operator calls for earnings of $1.09 per share, on $25.70 billion in revenue, in Thursday morning's report. That would be up from the $1.04 per share and $24.08 billion in sales reported in the same period of the previous year. Note that the consensus EPS estimate has remained steady over the past 60 days. But the company fell short of consensus expectations by more than 10 percent in the previous period, and it also missed estimates in the two quarters before that. So far, sequential gains on the top and bottom lines are forecast for the current quarter. Dollar General In its report early Thursday, this Tennessee-based discount retailer is expected to report that EPS increased from $0.71 in the year-ago quarter to $0.73 for the three months that ended in April. Per-share earnings matched consensus analyst expectations in the previous period. Revenues for the first quarter are predicted to have grown less than eight percent to $4.56 billion. Year-on-year revenue gains of more than eight percent are expected for the current quarter and for the full year. Per share earnings are expected to increase for both periods as well. Toll Bros. The forecast for this builder of luxury residential homes calls for earnings of $0.26 per share and for revenue to total $830.94 million for its fiscal second quarter. In the year-ago period, the company posted a profit of just $0.14 per share and sales came to $516.00 million. Note that the company topped EPS estimates by more than 25 percent in the previous two quarters. So far, the consensus expectations for the current quarter have strong sequential and year-over-year growth in both EPS and revenue. Look for Toll Brothers to share its results Wednesday before the opening bell. See also: Hewlett-Packard CEO Acknowledges Press Release Mistake And Others Analysts also foresee earnings growth this week from Jinko Solar, Michael Kors, Palo Alto Networks and Qihoo 360 Technology. But Big Lots, Chico's FAS, DSW, Express, Lions Gate Entertainment and SeaDrill are expected to show a year-over-year decline in per-share earnings. And the consensus forecast calls for a net loss from Renesola and from Workday in their reports this week. The following week the earnings season winds down, but look for quarterly reports from Ciena, Krispy Kreme and others. Keep up with all the latest breaking news and trading ideas by following us on Twitter.