J.C. Penney to release earnings tomorrow -- what to expect?

Tomorrow morning, retailer J.C. Penney (NYSE:JCP) will be reporting earnings for its fiscal third quarter. If same-store sales growth figures for the retailer are any indication for tomorrow's earnings, then tomorrow JCP shares will most likely be trading up. But, then again, the market reacts strangely sometimes to good news, so who knows. With the holiday shopping underway, though, JCP's fourth quarter should be hefty just like almost any other retailer in existence.

For J.C. Penney's most-recent quarter, the retailer reported same-store sales growth -- sales in stores open at least one year -- of 8.1%. While September's figure was 8.7%, there was a 0.5% decline in August. Strange, as I would have though August -- at least the last half -- would have been strong due to the "back to school" shopping seasonality factor.

What to expect tomorrow morning? Just a little over a week ago, the retailer forecast third-quarter earnings from continuing operations of $1.22 per share, which was an increase from the $1.11 per share noted in a prior guidance. The retailer also said that November same-store sales are expected to grow by a low single-digit percentage range after high single-digit gains in both September in October. With these kinds of possible inconsistencies, stay tuned to BloggingStocks for the news tomorrow morning -- I'll be on it, all over it -- something like that.