Among companies scheduled to report earnings next week are Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) and Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFMI). Here is a quick look at each of them.
HP has beat earnings expectations in every quarter since Q4 2004. When it reported third quarter results back in August, earnings were 71 cents per share, easily beating the consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, as well as the actual 52 cents per share in the same period of 2006. For the fourth quarter, analysts expect 82 cents per share, or $2.88 for the full year.
HP's 15.7% earnings per share growth forecast for the next year is better than the S&P 500, but nowhere near the computer hardware industry average of 76.2%. Yet, the analysts' consensus recommendation has been to buy HP for at least six months, and has been trending slowly toward strong buy. The share price reached a five-year high of $53.48 earlier this month, before slipping to close Friday at $50.75.
For news about HP and the tech sector that could influence the earnings results, check out BloggingStocks' Hewlett-Packard coverage.
Whole Foods fell short of Wall Street expectations in the first two quarters of 2007, but its 35 cents per share in the third quarter beat estimates by two cents, and was the same as EPS in the same period of 2006. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expect earnings of 30 cents per share for the fourth quarter of 2007 (a penny better than in Q4 last year), or $1.35 for the full year (four cents less than 2006).
Whole Foods' forecast earnings per share growth over the next year is 8.2 percent, and the consensus recommendation from the analysts is to hold Whole Foods. The share price reached a 52-week high of $53.65 in October, but has slipped since then and closed Friday at $45.31.
For more on mergers, management, and other news that may influence Whole Foods' results, see BloggingStocks' Whole Foods coverage.
HP is scheduled to report earnings on Monday, Whole Foods on Tuesday.
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