Costco And Micron Lead Calm Before The Earnings Storm

• Few earnings reports are scheduled for this week, ahead of the third-quarter reporting kickoff.
• Costco and Micron Technology are the highlights of the week, but expectations for them are quite different.
• Others reporting this week include Paychex and Walgreens.

One calendar quarter ends and another begins, but things will be quiet on earnings front before the third-quarter reports begin to roll in the following week. This week's highlights include Costco Wholesale Corporation COST and Micron Technology, Inc. MU, but the expectations could hardly be more different. Wall Street analysts by and large expect to see solid results from the former but sizable top and bottom line declines from the latter, relative to the year-ago period. Payroll services provider Paychex, Inc. PAYX is also scheduled to share its latest quarterly results this week. Here too the consensus forecast suggests solid results. Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc WBA may also report this week. When it does, analysts anticipate strong numbers for the quarter, especially on the top line. Below is a quick look at what is expected from these and a few of the week's other most prominent reports, as well as a peak at the coming third-quarter reporting kickoff. See also: How CBS Might Be Different Than Every Other Cable Play

Costco

This membership warehouse operator will post earnings of $1.68 per share for its fiscal fourth quarter, if Estimize's consensus forecast is accurate. That would be a dime per share more than in the same period of last year. Note that Estimize overestimated Costco earnings in the previous period. The 47 Estimize survey respondents see revenue for the three months that ended in August having fallen from $35.52 billion in the year-ago quarter to $36.54 billion. Here too Estimize overestimated sales in the previous period. Watch for the Costco to report before Tuesday's opening bell.

Micron Technology

In its report late Thursday, this maker of memory products is expected to say that earnings per share (EPS) tumbled to $0.44 for the three months that ended in August, down from $0.82 a year ago. Wall Street is even more pessimistic, with an EPS estimate of $0.33, which is down by a nickel from 60 days ago. The consensus of 77 Estimize estimates has revenues at $3.64 billion for the fiscal fourth quarter, and Wall Street is looking for just $3.56 billion. Both are handily lower than the $4.23 billion posted in the year-ago quarter, though the Wall Street estimate is closer to company guidance.

Paychex

The fiscal first-quarter forecast for this maker of business services provider calls for EPS to have grown from $0.47 in the year-ago period to $0.51, according to seven Estimize respondents. Yet, revenue is expected to have risen around 8 percent to $719.30 million for the three months that ended in August. Bottom-line results fell short of the expectations of Estimize in the previous period, but on the top line they exceeded that consensus estimate. Paychex is expected to release its latest results Wednesday before the regular trading session commences.

Walgreens

The timing of the Walgreens earnings report was unconfirmed at last check, but the consensus of 18 Estimize estimates has EPS at $0.83 and revenue totaling $28.89 billion for its fiscal fourth quarter. In the year-ago period, it posted $0.74 EPS on revenue of $19.06 million. Wall Street is a bit less optimistic on revenue, with a consensus estimate of $28.45 billion, but that is still more than 49 percent year-on-year growth, with almost as much expected again in the current quarter. Note though that both Wall Street and Estimize overestimated revenue back in the third quarter. See also: How Healthy Are Supermarket Stocks?

And Others

Among the handful of other companies scheduled to report this week, Wall Street anticipates seeing year-on-year EPS gains from Barracuda Networks, Cal-Maine Foods and Diamond Foods. But they foresee a smaller profit from McCormick, Progress Software and Synnex, and a net loss is forecast for Vail Resorts. As mentioned, the third-quarter earnings season kicks off the following week. First to step into the spotlight are Alcoa Inc AA, PepsiCo, Inc. PEP and Yum! Brands, Inc. YUM. Expectations are low for the leading aluminum producer and the snack and beverage giant. However, the operator of the Pizza Hut and Taco Bell chains will offer up strong earnings and revenue growth, if the consensus of Wall Street is correct. Also watch for upcoming reports from Monsanto and many others. Keep up with all the latest breaking news and trading ideas by following Benzinga on Twitter.