Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) CEO Reed Hastings says his biggest competitor isn't the one that his company is most often grouped with. It's not Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI), the largest brick-and-mortar rental chain, and it's not the internet -- where technological gains are making streaming video the wave of the future.

No, according to Mr. Hastings, the biggest competitor is Coinstar (NASDAQ: CSTR), the coin counting business that also happens to own Redbox, the network of 15,400 vending machines that rent movies for $1 per night. Redbox is installing another machine every hour.

With listed stocks getting knocked around, the New York Stock Exchange is considering extending temporary relief from listing requirements. Once a company is dropped from the exchange, it runs risks ranging from market cap loss to limited liquidity. But NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) CEO Duncan Niederauer was clear that the moves are not permanent. For now, the goal remains to protect companies that are at risk of being delisted. This comes after the S&P 500 fell 38% last year -- its worst performance since 1937.

The two rules that have been relaxed are the maintenance of a share price of at least $1 and a market cap of at least $15 million. The return of both measures was delayed back in April. Currently, 31 companies on the NYSE are at risk, including Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) and Lear Corp (NYSE: LEA).

Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX), a DVD-rental business that competes with Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI), was upgraded yesterday by Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities. He sees good tidings ahead for the company. He believes that Netflix will see higher margins and a healthy stream of earnings. His thesis centers on the fact that the subscriber base is likely to grow and that streaming movies will lower the cost of delivery.

Upgrades are tricky beasts. Ideally, an investor or, more likely, a trader, wants to be in the stock before the upgrade occurs. Buying a company after it's been upgraded requires a lot of due diligence. And you have to get over the fact that you might be buying at a high price.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) reported dismal Q1 numbers as same-store sales plunged.
• Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) dismal Q2 results were in line with analysts' expectations.
• Bankrate Inc. (NASDAQ: RATE) reported lower earnings and revenue for Q1 and offered no guidance.
• Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) earnings, revenue, and same-store sales all fell in the first quarter.
• Dr Pepper Snapple Group (NYSE: DPS) Q1 earnings declined but still topped analysts' expectations.

You know you're probably looking at a tough business situation when the first thing you see on an earnings release is a pair of bullet points related to financing strategies that are clearly meant to show the reader that a company is getting its house in order.

Such was the case with Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI) and its Q1 report, which came out Thursday after the bell. Remember, this is the company that, not long ago, received a notice about its woes.

Liquidity is the name of the game these days for Blockbuster. Too bad it isn't the company's business model. As far as that goes, the video-rental chain is still having its difficulties. Revenues dipped 19% to $1.1 billion. On an adjusted basis, net income came out to 19 cents per share versus 21 cents per share in the year-ago period.

As earnings season begins to wind down, some apparel retailers are scheduled to report quarterly results this week. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters anticipate that Walmart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT), the 800-pound gorilla in the space, will report that it earned $0.77 per share in the first quarter, about the same as in the first quarter of last year. But JCPenney Co. (NYSE: JCP), Kohl's Corp. (NYSE: KSS), Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN), and Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) are expected to report lower profits for the first quarter as consumers continued to hold off on spending. Macy's Inc. (NYSE: M) and Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) are expected to have swung to a loss year over year.

Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFMI) and Winn Dixie Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: WINN) are likewise expected to report declining earnings, while the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. (NYSE: GAP), parent of the A&P supermarket chain, is expected to have narrowed its net loss 68.9% to $0.28 per share.

Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) did a spectacular job in Q1. The famous DVD-rental-by-mail entity issued its quarterly numbers on Thursday after the bell. On an adjusted basis, Netflix delivered 40 cents per diluted share. That represented bottom-line growth of over 70%. I guess movies truly are resistant to recessions, huh? Revenues advanced over 20%.

According to earnings.com, that 40-cent figure means that management destroyed expectations since Wall Street was looking for somewhere around 31 cents per share. I should point out, however, that I've noticed that some other sources listed the expectations as being a little higher than 31 cents. No matter, Netflix beat the bottom line.

Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) became the latest company to get a vote of no confidence from its auditor yesterday as a declining economy, tight capital markets, and better-managed competitors have put the company in a tough spot.

In its report attached to the company's 10-K, the company's independent auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers wrote:

"The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements, the risk the Company may not successfully complete a refinancing of its credit facility scheduled to mature in August 2009 and obtain related amendments of financial covenants included therein, and/or the risk the Company may not have adequate liquidity to fund their operations raise substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern."

TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO - option chain) shares are headed higher today after Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) announced it will team up with TIVO to deliver movies directly to customers' television sets through TIVO digital video recorders. BBI will also sell TIVO products at its stores and website. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on TIVO.

TIVO opened this morning at $7.48. So far today the stock has hit a low of $7.10 and a high of $7.48. As of 11:20, TIVO is trading at $7.19, up 21 cents (3.0%). The chart for TIVO looks neutral and S&P gives TIVO a 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) reported better-than-expected Q1 results due to cost cutting.
• Best Buy Inc. (NYSE: BBY) received several upgrades ahead of its Q4 report on the demise of Circuit City.
• Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) crushed analyst's expectations for Q4 as same-store sales rose.
• China Direct Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: CDII) Q4 earnings prospects resulted in an analyst's dowgrade.
• Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) posted better-than-expected Q3 earnings and lifted its 2009 guidance.
• Energy Conversion Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: ENER) was downgraded after it lowered its guidance.
• FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) fell short of Q3 earnings and revenue expectations due to economic conditions.

Video chain Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI) reported earnings earlier this week for the fourth quarter. While there were some positive aspects to the story, I can tell you that the stock is not a buy at all, at least not from where I sit.

Okay, let me throw some of the good stats out at you. According to the press release, Blockbuster's same-store sales, or comps, are doing well. In Q4, domestic comps rose well over 4%. Free cash flow was positive. And earnings on an adjusted basis calculated out to $0.40 per share. That was a huge beat, since analysts were looking for $0.25 per share.

Shares of Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) were up 16.92% on Monday after Hollywood Entertainment founder Mark Wattles disclosed a 5.7% stake in the company.

In the 13-D filed with the SEC, Wattles made a point of expressing his confidence in the company's future:

On Tuesday, the Federal Reserve's FOMC holds two-day meeting on interest rates and will announce its decision on Wednesday. The Fed's Ben Bernanke will still be out and about this week, discussing the failure of Lehman Brothers later today, and ending up the week speaking at the Independent Community Bankers of America National Convention and Techworld.

Manufacturing will be in focus this week, starting with industrial production numbers for February and the Empire State Manufacturing Survey Diffusion Index for March scheduled to be released Monday morning. Tuesday morning will bring us the Producer Price Index for February, and Thursday morning comes the Philadelphia Fed Outlook Survey -- Diffusion Index Manufacturing for March.

Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI) shares trade at 38 cents, which is never a good sign. The stock has a 52-week high of $3.68. There have been rumors that the company may go into Chapter 11. So far, management has made at least a reasonable case that the talk about that is not true.

Blockbuster's future may have less to do with its sales than it does with its store leases: The movie rental chain has sent a letter to its landlords. According to The Wall Street Journal, "Blockbuster, struggling under a mountain of debt, wants rent reductions of as much as 30% and early lease terminations at thousands of its outlets."

Shares of Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI) tumbled 77% yesterday in the wake of a Bloomberg report that the company was exploring a possible bankruptcy filing.

But Dow Jones Newswires reported that the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis was hired to help the company explore efforts to raise additional capital, and that bankruptcy is not part of the discussion. A Blockbuster spokesperson has confirmed that report.

Shares of Blockbuster are down 92% over the past year and regardless of whether the company is exploring bankruptcy protection now, shareholders are in trouble: The company has $615 million in debt, a crippling burden for a company that's losing market share to Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX), which has flourished while the economy and consumer spending hit the bricks.