On Thursday afternoon, coffee king Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) will report third-quarter earnings. Currently, expectations call for a profit of 21 cents per share on revenue of $2.39 billion. A year ago, SBUX earned a penny per share in the third quarter, with revenue checking in at $2.52 billion. Fundamentally, SBUX has undertaken a number of cost-cutting measures included closing stores and cutting the prices on some of the company's easier-made beverages (this move was countered by raising the prices on some of SBUX's "more complicated beverages"). Worker layoffs have also had an impact on the company's bottom line. As for good news, SBUX announced that is going to keep 27 stores open that it had originally targeted for closing. This move was made after the firm reviewed its finances. I have long criticized SBUX for its spend-happy ways, but it seems that the company is trying to tame these tendencies. This does not mean that the firm doesn't still spend money loosely, but it is a start.

Oil giant Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) will get its chance to impress Wall Street before the market opens Friday when it reports its third quarter results.

The last time the company reported earnings was back in July when it was unable to meet analyst estimates by posting 87 cents per share verse estimates for 95 cents. Traders seem optimistic that the company will meet expectations this time around and are driving the stock up 2.5% in today's trading.

Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) will be reporting Q3 data after the bell today. Is the market excited over the Internet portal's prospects? Well, judging by the price action I'm seeing on my screen right now, I'd have to say the answer is a definite no. The stock is down 1.7% as I write this in early afternoon trading.

According to Earnings.com, Yahoo!, whose colleagues include Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), is expected to say it made 7 cents per share in the third quarter. That won't be so great, since it will represent an earnings decline compared to last year's income stat. Of course, we should remember that it won't be just about the earnings per share. We'll have to hear what management has to say about future prospects.

Soft drink giant The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) will be reporting its third quarter numbers tomorrow before the market opens.

The last time that Coca-Cola reported earnings was back in July when the company beat out analyst estimates by 3 pennies with a reported 92 cents per share. For the third quarter, analysts are expecting to the see the company show earnings of 81 cents per share.

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) is getting ready to release third-quarter numbers. They will be divulged on Tuesday, October 13, after the bell. What should investors expect?

Maybe some good stuff. At least, you might get that idea by looking at this corporate press release from the latter part of August. The document has the kind of title that shareholders love. The kind that talks about raised guidance for both revenue and gross margin. As we all know, Intel really watches the gross margin, so whenever there is good news on that front, it most certainly is a welcome sight.

Hotel giant Marriott International Inc. (NYSE: MAR) will get its chance to impress Wall Street tomorrow morning before the market opens when it reports its third quarter earnings numbers.

Analysts are expecting to see the company show earnings of 13 cents for the quarter, down from 34 cents per share during the same period last year. The last time the company reported earnings was on July 16 when it beat out analyst estimates of 21 cents per share by reporting 23 cents for its second quarter.

Snacks-and-soda stalwart PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) is scheduled to unveil its third-quarter results before the market opens this Thursday, Oct. 8. Heading into the report, analysts are expecting PEP to bank a profit of $1.02 per share, according to Thomson Reuters, fractionally lower than its year-ago earnings of $1.06 per share.

PepsiCo has a healthy history in the earnings spotlight, having exceeded Wall Street's consensus expectations in each of the previous three quarters. Judging by recent option activity, traders are speculating on another upside surprise from the Frito-Lay firm.

Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST), the popular warehouse store that competes with BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE: BJ) and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), will report Q4 earnings on Wednesday, October 7. How will the company do?

Don't look for growth, my friends. According to Earnings.com, estimates from Wall Street say that Costco will produce 77 cents per share in income. Unfortunately, that represents a 16% drop in the metric. Surprising? Maybe a little. After all, we're still suffering a bad economy, and you figure that people would want to cut costs by leveraging the bulk buying power of the Costco business model.

At the time of this writing, shares of Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM), a company that competes with McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), Burger King (NYSE: BKC), and Wendy's/Arby's Group (NYSE: WEN), were trading higher by well over 4%. Volume was doing well, too. Interestingly enough, Yum! Brands will be reporting Q3 earnings on Tuesday, October 6, after the bell. Does this mean that you should buy in ahead of the release?

On the surface, I suppose the market is telling you that Yum! Brands would indeed make a good earnings trade. Not only is the stock up nicely this afternoon, but it isn't too far from a 52-week high.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) will get its chance to impress Wall Street when it reports its most recent quarterly results Tuesday following the market close. The company will be reporting its fiscal first quarter numbers, and analysts are expecting slightly lower numbers that its first quarter last year.

The giant in sports apparel and footwear last reported earnings back on June 24 when it was able to outpace analyst estimates, and this time around analysts are looking for the company to show earnings of 97 cents per share. In its first quarter last year, the company reported earnings of $1.03 per share.

California based home builder KB Home (NYSE: KBH) will have its turn to impress Wall Street Friday morning when it reports its third quarter earnings numbers.

The last time that KB Home reported earnings was back on June 26 when it missed analyst estimates miserably. Analysts had been expecting to see the company show a loss of 64 cents per share for its second quarter, but the actual earning were much worse, with a loss of $1.03.

Before the market opens tomorrow morning, Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL) will be reporting its fiscal third quarter earnings results.

The last time the company reported earnings was back on June 18 when it was able to post 33 cents per share, above the 29 cents that analysts had been expecting. This time analysts are looking to see the company show earnings of $1.18.

Home improvement retailer Lowe's Companies (NYSE: LOW) will be reporting its second quarter earnings before the market opens on Monday, and there are some positive indicators that it may have been a good quarter for the company.

Over the past year, weak consumer confidence has put a strain on Lowe's, as home owners who have worried about job security and a weak housing market have put off home repair projects. As a result, Lowe's stock fell as low as $13.00 back in March, but has rebounded nicely over the past few months to its current trading price of $22.71.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) is going to be reporting its fiscal fourth quarter earnings tomorrow before the market open.

Going into tomorrow's earnings announcement analysts are expecting to see the company report earnings of 79 cents per share. For the same period last year the company had earnings of 92 cents per share.

So far this has been a pretty decent earnings season, and soft drink giant PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) gets its turn to impress Wall Street tomorrow morning when it releases its second quarter numbers.

The company will be announcing its second quarter earnings before the market opens tomorrow, and analysts are expecting to see earnings of $1.00 a share from the world's second largest beverage maker. For the same period last year PepsiCo posted earnings of $1.03.