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

• Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) reported a surprise Q3 profit due to cost cutting; revenue topped estimates as well.
• Avis Budget Group Inc. (NYSE: CAR) said a proposed offering of $250 million in notes could reduce earnings.
• Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX) earnings prospects garnered it an upgrade from one analyst.
• Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) earnings prospects resulted in an upgrade from one analyst.
• Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) lower Q4 earnings topped analysts' expectations, lifting shares.
• Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) higher Q4 earnings beat analysts' estimates but sales were just OK.

Family Dollar Stores (NYSE: FDO), like Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR), is benefiting from the soft economy. Consumers love paying low prices, so they flock to these retail business models like moths to a flame. And judging by Family Dollar's Q4 report, people are still having a great time saving money.

Net income increased over 13% to 43 cents per share, which was two pennies higher than Wall Street's forecasts, according to our earnings preview. Unfortunately, sales weren't so great. Total sales went up 2.6%, and same-store sales saw a mere 1% gain. I would have expected higher growth in the comps metric.

Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) kicks off another earnings season this week, and analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are looking for another net loss for the third quarter. Can we take that as a sign of things to come, or as a bellwether for the economy? Well, barring a big downside surprise, this will be the third narrower quarterly loss for Alcoa. But while Alcoa beat estimates in July, it missed them in April. Alcoa's shares, on the other hand, are up 145.6% since the March low, which is well more than twice as much either the Dow or the S&P 500.

During its third quarter, New York-based Alcoa continued restructuring efforts, remained a part of the DJIA Sustainability Index, and declared a quarterly dividend. It is expected to report a net loss of $0.12 per share for the three months that ended in September. That compares to a profit of $0.37 in the same period of last year. Third-quarter revenue is forecast to have fallen 38.3% to $4.5 billion. Analysts so far expect to see a profit in the fourth quarter, but not for the full year. Alcoa has missed earnings expectations in three of the past four quarters. The long-term EPS growth forecast is 20.0%, again much better than the S&P 500. The First Call consensus recommendation is to hold AA; CNBC concurs that now is not the time to buy. At $12.82, shares are 30.0% higher than three months ago, but 33.4% lower than a year ago.

Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) operates a chain of discount retail stores. As one of the great "dollar stores," it often leads the retail group.

The chart is loaded with bullish technical signals, including a gold cross, a new buy signal from the stochastic, and a build up of buying volume.

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Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR) reported a truly excellent quarter. The stats contained in the release are monumentally impressive. Dollar Tree increased sales almost 12% in Q2, a performance that essentially matched expectations. Per-share income soared 50% to 63 cents, beating estimates of 54 cents per share.

This is one of those situations where all the numbers point toward future growth. Margins increased, as did cash from operations (I enjoyed the fact that capital expenditures didn't go up too much). Same-store sales moved higher by 6.8%, and management's outlook for the rest of the fiscal year received a boost. And judging by the guidance, I'd say that Dollar Tree shares aren't overly expensive at the moment. Let's add a technical factor to go along with my opinion of the valuation: Dollar Tree closed Wednesday to the upside by well over 4% on the earnings news, not far at all from a 52-week high. The price action was accompanied by healthy volume.

Dollar Tree Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR), the nation's leading operator of dollar stores, is scheduled to discuss its second-quarter 2009 results tomorrow morning in a conference call at 9:00 AM ET. You can catch the live webcast of the call on the company's website.

In the three months that ended in July 31, Dollar Tree saw the retirement of a long-time board member. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report that its earnings grew 22.2% from a year ago to $0.54 per share. Revenue for the quarter is expected to be 11.2% higher to $1.2 billion, in line with preliminary results. Analysts so far expect the third-quarter results to be about the same. The Chesapeake, Va.-based company has topped earnings expectations in recent quarters, by as much as six cents per share.

Canadian banks are scheduled to step into the earnings spotlight this week, with third-quarter reports coming from Bank of Montreal (NYSE: BMO), Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE: BNS), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (NYSE: CM), Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE: RY), and Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE: TD). While Canadian banks on the whole held up better than their U.S. counterparts during the financial crisis, these five are expected to report that their earnings are still declining in the most recent quarter.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are looking for EPS for these banks to have fallen from 15% to 25% from a year ago. Their long-term EPS growth forecast is for between 10% and 12%, which is in the same range as U.S. rivals JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC), but better than Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) and Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C). Earnings multiples for these Canadian banks are 10x to 12x, but none of them have a First Call consensus recommendation is to buy. The Motley Fool, though, considers TD as a value stock and RY a stock poised to pop. All of them are trading much closer to their 52-week highs than lows, and shares of all are up more than 100% since March lows.

For the quarter in which Family Dollar saw a new global sourcing executive and declared a quarterly dividend, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect the North Carolina company to report that earnings rose 22.0% to $0.59 per share, a bit higher than Family Dollar's guidance. Revenue for the quarter is expected to be 8.3% higher to $1.8 billion. Earnings have met or topped estimates in the five past quarters.

Family Dollar (NYSE: FDO) is scheduled to report Q3 EPS on July 8. FDO closed at $27.95. FDO July 27.5 straddle is priced at $2.30, August 27.5 straddle is priced at $3.50. FDO July option implied volatility is at 54, August is at 43; verses its 26-week average of 48; according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement after EPS.

Pepsi Bottling (NYSE: PBG) closed at $33.80. PBG is scheduled to report Q2 EPS on July 8. PBG rejected PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) offer of the equivalent of $29.50 per share for two-thirds of PBG stock it doesn't already own in PBG on May 4. PBG July option implied volatility is at 32; August is at 34; below its 26-week average of 42, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

The second half of the calendar year has begun, and earnings return to the spotlight this week. As usual, Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) is among the first of the S&P 500 to report quarterly results. For the second quarter in which Alcoa agreed to sell its wire harness and electrical distribution business and its fastening systems business expanded into Morocco, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect the New York-based aluminum producer to report swinging to a net loss of $0.34 per share from a profit of $0.66 per share in the year-ago period. Second quarter revenue is expected to have fallen 48.3% to $3.9 billion. The full-year forecast is currently for a loss of $1.04 per share and revenue of $16.7 billion (-38.0%). Alcoa has missed expectations in the past three quarters, by as much as 17 cents per share. The long-term EPS growth forecast is 10.0%, which is better than the sector average. Alcoa slashed its dividend earlier this year, and the First Call consensus recommendation remains to hold AA. However, TheStreet.com recommends it as an against-the-grain pick. At $9.86, shares are down 12.4% since the beginning of the year, and recently have been bumping up against the 200-day moving average.

• Baird upgraded Con-Way (NYSE: CNW) and Old Dominion (NASDAQ: ODFL) to Outperform from Neutral due to the benefits of a likely bankruptcy of YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ: YRCW). Old Dominion's target was raised to $40 from $26 and Con-Way's was raised to $42 from $22.
• Citigroup upgraded Pride International (NYSE: PDE) to Hold from Sell as it believes higher valuation levels are warranted with the upcoming spin-off of Seahawk Drilling. Citi raised its target on shares to $25 from $18.
• Jesup & Lamont upgraded FedEx (NYSE: FDX) to Buy from Hold with a $63 target as it believes the worst is largely behind the company.
• Hewitt Associates (NYSE: HEW) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan.
• ArvinMeritor (NYSE: ARM) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
• Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at SunTrust.

Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR) saw a nice increase in its bottom-line profit. The retailer, which reported earnings for the first quarter earlier this week, said it made 66 cents per share, good for an increase of more than 37%. Revenues increased 14%, and same-store sales went up a whopping 9%. So many retailers would absolutely kill to have that same-store number.

It's no secret why Dollar Tree is thriving. Bad economy plus items-that-sell-for-a-dollar-each equals retail success. Brand equity is important. So is convenience. But a cheap price point oftentimes trumps all.

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

• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) easily topped Q4 earnings estimates but same-store sales fell.
• Brinker International Inc. (NYSE: EAT) forecast Q3 earnings that are well above analysts' estimates.
• Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ) said it narrowed its loss in Q4 despite restructuring costs.
• Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd. (NYSE: EXM) is expected to fall short of Q4 earnings expectations.
• Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) reported strong Q2 results and and raised its outlook for Q3.