Earnings Expectations For The Week Of December 8

Highlights on the earnings front this week will include quarterly reports from retailers Costco Wholesale Corporation COST, Lululemon Athletica inc. LULU and RadioShack Corporation RSH. Analysts expect each to tell a very different story.

Expectations are high for the results from home builder Toll Brothers Inc TOL, but less so from communications networking giant Ciena Corporation CIEN when they share their latest quarterly reports this week.

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Ciena

The fiscal fourth-quarter forecast for this telecommunications networking equipment supplier calls for earnings per share (EPS) to have slipped from $0.16 in the year-ago period to $0.13. Revenues for the period that ended in October are expected to have inched up 1 percent to $589.44 million in Thursday morning's report.

For the full year, analysts are looking for $0.76 per share earnings on revenue of $2.29 billion. That would be up nicely from the $0.54 per share and $2.08 billion Ciena posted in the previous year. So far, EPS are expected to be flat, both sequentially and year-over-year, in the current quarter.

Costco

The forecast for this warehouse club retailer calls for a profit of $1.09 per share and for revenue to come to $26.90 billion for its most recent quarter. In the year-ago period, the company posted EPS of $0.96 and revenue totaled $25.02 billion. That consensus EPS estimate is three cents higher than 60 days ago, but note that Costco missed consensus EPS forecasts in three of the past four quarters.

For the current quarter, there will be gains on both the top and bottom lines, sequentially as well as year-over-year, if analysts are correct. Look for Costco to release its quarterly results Wednesday before the opening bell.

Lululemon

In its report early Thursday, this Canadian purveyor of yoga apparel is expected to say that earnings retreated more than 15 percent from the year-ago quarter to $0.38 per share for the three months that ended in October. Note that EPS beat consensus estimates by almost 14 percent in the previous quarter.

Revenues for the fiscal third quarter are predicted to be almost 12 percent higher to $424.64 million, relative to the same period last year. So far the consensus forecast for the current quarter has revenue up almost 14 percent, but with a marginal slip in per-share earnings.

RadioShack

Analysts expect this struggling specialty retailer to report a net loss of $1.01 per share in its most recent quarter. That would compare to a $1.11 net loss per share in the year-ago period. Revenues are forecast to come in at $718.37 million for the three months that ended in October.

The consensus EPS estimate is the same as it was 60 days ago, but the analysts have far underestimated RadioShack's net losses in the past four quarters. The Sacramento, California-based retailer of electronics and hobby gear is also scheduled to report its results Thursday before the U.S. markets open.

Toll Bros.

When it posts its results first thing Tuesday, Toll Brothers is expected to reveal earnings for the most recent quarter came in at $0.73 per share. That would be about 26 percent higher than in the year-ago period. EPS far exceeded analysts' expectations in each of the past four quarters, while EPS for the full year are expected to have nearly doubled to $1.87.

The consensus forecast for this luxury home builder also calls for revenue to be up more than 27 percent from a year ago to $1.33 billion for the fiscal fourth quarter, as well as more than 45 percent higher to $3.89 for the full year.

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And Others

Other companies expected to post earnings growth this week include Analogic, AutoZone, Diamond Foods, HD Supply, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and SAIC. However, EPS will be the same as a year ago at Hovnanian Enterprises if the consensus forecast is correct, and lower earnings are anticipated from Adobe Systems, Conn's, Francesca's, Men's Wearhouse, Quiksilver and Vera Bradley. A net loss is anticipated from Avanir Pharmaceuticals, H&R Block, Peregrine Pharmaceuticals and Vail Resorts.