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

• Aeropostale Inc. (NYSE: ARO) beat profit expectations as revenue and same-store sales both increased.
• Aruba Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: ARUN) received an analyst's upgrade following its Q3 report.
• Buckle Inc. (NYSE: BKE) reported better-than-expected Q1 expectations as revenue surged.
• Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB) higher Q2 earnings beat expectations and sent shares upward.
• Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) reported better-than-expected Q3 earnings, sending shares higher.

Retail is abysmal right now, and apparel is getting totally hammered.

But one segment of that market is holding up pretty well: clothing for teens. The USA Today reports that Buckle (NASDAQ: BKE), Hot Topic (NASDAQ: HOTT), and Aéropostale (NYSE: ARO) were the only specialty stores this week to report positive same-store sales in March.

Mary Brett Whitfield, senior vice president at the management consulting and research firm Retail Forward, told the newspaper that "Teens are still growing and might actually need new clothes."

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

• Aeropostale Inc. (NYSE: ARO) reported strong Q4 numbers as same-store sales increased.
• American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE: AEO) same-store sales fell in Q4 but earnings met expectations.
• ArcSight Inc. (NASDAQ: ARST) continued its growth in Q3 and it forecast continued growth.
• Buckle Inc. (NYSE: BKE) posted a better-than-expected Q4 profit and continued same-store sales growth.
• Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) CEO said in a memo that it earned a profit in the first two months of this quarter.
• Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS) beat Q4 earnings estimates but same-store sales fell.

Last week, JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO) posted a quarterly loss and lowered its guidance. But as interest in alternative energy continues to grow, analysts polled by Thomson Financial are still looking for good things from solar energy concerns scheduled to report earnings this week.

Strong growth at Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) in the third quarter prompted it to lift its guidance back in October. Analysts expect the Chinese company to post profits that are 76.3% higher than a year ago, or $1.18 per share on revenues of $268.4 million (+225.0%). Though Trina Solar missed estimates in the second quarter, analysts on average recommend buying TSL. Shares are down 81.4% from a year ago and trading near an all-time low.

Earnings of rival LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) are expect to have risen 47.9% to $0.71 per share on revenues of $486.7 million (+206.6%). Also based in China, LDK has not missed estimates in recent quarters; in fact, it blew past expectations in the second quarter. Yet the consensus recommendation is to hold LDK. Like Trina Solar, LDK's shares are trading near an all-time low; the share price has fallen 50.0% in the past year.

Analysts anticipate third-quarter earnings for Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) to be a whopping 96.3% higher than a year ago, or $0.54 per share on revenues of $248.0 million (+154.5%). The company easily topped estimates in the previous quarter. ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) and Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP) are also expected to report earnings growth of 29.7% ($0.37 per share) and 23.8% ($0.42 per share), respectively. All three of these stocks reached 52-week lows last week, and all are considered buys.

Rival home improvement chains Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) and Lowe's Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) are scheduled to report quarterly results this week. Not surprisingly, given the ongoing housing slump, analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial on average expect both companies to post earnings lower than in the same period a year ago. For Home Depot, that's 61 cents per share, down 20.8%, and for Lowe's, 56 cents per share, down 16.4%. Meanwhile, cabinet maker American Woodmark Corp. (NASDAQ: AMWD), for whom Home Depot and Lowe's are major distributors, is also expected to report lower earnings: 11 cents per share, down 67.6%.

The presidential campaigns have prompted much discussion of energy policy and alternative energy sources. Some solar-energy-related concerns are scheduled to report this week, and expectations seem to be high. Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) is expected to report 81 cents per share earnings, up 67.9%; ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) is expected to post earnings of 32 cents per share, up 62.5%; and Suntech Power Holdings Co. (NYSE: STP) is expected to have earnings of 32 cents per share, up 21.9%. Even China Sunergy Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: CSUN) is expected to have swung to a profit of 3 cents per share, from a per-share loss of 14 cents a year ago.

Earlier this summer the Motley Fool took a look at investment opportunities in Nebraska. Apparently, only 18 public companies are based in the cornhusker state, the largest of which are familiar names to even the most casual investors: Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A), Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP), Conagra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG), and TD Ameritrade (NASDAQ: AMTD). But the Motley Fool also mentioned two smaller, less-familiar stocks: sporting goods retailer Cabela's Inc. (NYSE: CAB) and fashion retailer The Buckle Inc. (NYSE: BKE).

Sidney-based Cabela's was founded in 1961 and went public in 2004. Cabela's is considered a buy by the consensus of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, but a closer look shows that they are split between strong buy and hold. The share price reached a 52-week high of $28.80 in early August after Cabela's second quarter results beat Wall Street expectations. The price was $23.91at the close on Wednesday. The Motley Fool points to tough same-store sales and insider trading as reasons for Cabela's "sophomore slump." In other words, high expectations from the IPO have worn off and its time to consider buying. In addition, Motley Fool, like Consumer Reports before it, likes Cabela's VISA credit card. Cabela's was also recently included on S&P Small Cap 600 index, and it made the 2007 Forbes list of 100 best mid cap stocks. Cabela's will release third quarter results on November 1.