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Bonds Are a 'Safe' Investment: A Big Lie Gets Even BiggerHalloween has come and gone but the earnings season rolls on. Among companies reporting next week are Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) and Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM), and here are a quickie earnings previews for them.
Cisco has offered upside surprises in every quarter for the past two years. When it reported fourth quarter 2007 results back in August, earnings were 36 cents per share, beating Wall Street estimates by a penny, and six cents more than in the same period of the previous year. For the full year, earnings were $1.34 per share, again beating expectations by a penny. But for the current quarter, analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial are only expecting another 36 cents per share.
The analysts' consensus recommendation is to buy Cisco, and has been for the past six months. The share price has been climbing since mid summer, and reached a 52-week high of $33.60 in mid October; it closed Friday at $32.51. It was trading in the low 20s a year ago.
For news about Cisco and its rivals that could influence Cisco's results, check out BloggingStocks' Cisco coverage.
Qualcomm's five-year earnings per share growth of 29.7 percent is better than its industry average and the S&P 500. Qualcomm hasn't missed Wall Street expectations since the fourth quarter of 2005. In its third quarter report back in July, Qualcomm's 55 cents per share beat analysts' expectations by a three cents. But analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial only expect earnings of 53 cents per share this quarter, or $2.00 for the full year.
The consensus recommendation from the analysts is to buy Qualcomm, and has been for at least six months. Qualcomm's share price is up since its slump in late summer due to legal issues, closing Friday at $41.34, but still has a ways to go to reclaim its 52-week high of $47.72 in May.
For more on the dispute with Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) and Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK), and other news that might influence Qualcomm's results, see BloggingStocks' Qualcomm coverage.
Cisco is scheduled to report earnings on Wednesday; Qualcomm on Thursday.
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