"Because major U.S. pharmaceutical companies face patent expirations on blockbuster drugs, consensus earnings expectations for the group are modest," says Richard Moroney.

The editor of Dow Theory Forecasts explains, "One exception is Abbott Laboratories (ABT); Wall Street expects to increase earnings at a 10% annual rate over the next five years.

"Yet the market appears to discount that outlook, and the stock's price/earnings-to-growth ratio (PEG) of 1.2 is well below its peers.

Plenty of companies are reporting earnings this Wednesday morning, one of which is Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT).

The health-care giant reported third-quarter earnings of 95 cents per share, far better than last year's 69 cents per share. Taking items out of the equation, Abbott would have earned 92 cents per share, which is two cents better than the consensus estimate. Quarterly revenue matched the consensus estimate for $7.76 billion.

On Wednesday, Charles Schwab Corp. (NASDAQ: SCHW) reported that its lower first-quarter earnings easily topped analysts' estimates, and Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) said its higher first-quarter profit edged past Wall Street expectations. Shares of Schwab surged while those of Abbott Labs fell Wednesday.

San Francisco-based brokerage and investment manager Charles Schwab said it earned $218 million, or 19 cents per share, for the quarter, as compared to $305 million, or 26 cents per share, in the same period of the previous year. Total revenue fell 15% year over year to $1.11 billion.

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

• Abbott Laboratories Inc. (NYSE: ABT) first-quarter profit soared on overseas demand for Humira.
• Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) posted a bigger-than-expected loss, its sixth straight.
• Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) posted better-than-expected first-quarter results on strength overseas.
• CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) first-quarter profit soared on strong demand for grain, ethanol, and coal.
• eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) beat first-quarter expectations but the outlook was uninspiring.
• Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) first-quarter profit soared 42%, beating Wall Street estimates.
• Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) first-quarter earnings slipped but exceeded expectations.
• Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) beat first-quarter estimates and offered a disappointing outlook.
• J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT) missed first-quarter estimates on rising fuel prices.
• Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) first-quarter profit missed expectations and it warned of a coming decline.
• Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) first-quarter profits fell and missed analysts' expectations.
• Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE: RS) lowered its second-quarter outlook.
• Royal Philips Electronics posted a bigger-than-expected fall in profit on weak North America TV sales.
• Wolverine World Wide Inc. (NYSE: WWW) beat earnings estimates but shareholders were not impressed.
• Xerox Corp. (NYSE: XRX) posted a first-quarter loss that matched analysts' estimates.

Shares of drug company Abbott Laboratories Inc. (NYSE: ABT) were trading higher this morning after the company reported that its first-quarter profit jumped 35%, helped by strong international demand for its rheumatoid arthritis medication Humira. However, the stock is down 1% just before noon.

For the quarter, Abbott Laboratories reported that its profit climbed to $938 million, or 60 cents per share, boosted by higher sales of its prescription drugs and medical devices that benefited from favorable foreign exchange rates. Excluding special items, the company's earnings came in at 63 cents a share, beating analysts' estimations for quarterly earnings of 62 cents a share.

The pharmaceutical company also announced a 14% growth in revenues, to $6.77 billion, up from $5.95 billion a year earlier. Revenue during the period was helped by a 54% increase in its drug Humira sales which surged to $878 million in the first quarter. Analysts, on average, were expecting the company show $6.53 billion in revenue, according to Thomson Financial.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) announced that it swung to a profit in the fourth quarter from year-earlier results that were reduced by charges for acquisition costs. Abbott's drugs Humira, Depakote, TriCor, and Kaletra all posted double-digit sales gains.

For the quarter ending December 31, Abbott earned $1.2 billion, or 77 cents per share, compared with a loss of $476.2 million, or 31 cents per share, in the same period a year ago. Revenue rose to $7.22 billion from $6.22 billion, exceeding the $6.97 billion estimated by analysts polled by Thomson Financial.

Adjusted earnings, excluding certain items, rose to 93 cents per share, a penny better than analysts' consensus estimate. For the full year, Abbott earned $3.6 billion, or $2.31 a share, compared with $1.72 billion, or $1.12 a share, in 2006. Revenue increased 15% to $25.9 billion from $22.5 billion.

Shares were down about 2% to 56.20 by midday on Wednesday.

For more news on Abbott Labs, see BloggingStocks' Abbott coverage.

Monday March 5

• Landstar Systems Inc (NASDAQ: LSTR) to hold Q1 mid-quarter update conference call at 2pm.
• Federal Reserve St Louis Bank President William Poole to speak at 11am, Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh to speak at 2pm.

Tuesday March 6

• International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT), a "global company specializing in the design, development, manufacturing, distribution and sales of computerized gaming machines and systems products," to hold its annual shareholder meeting at 1pm.

Wednesday March 7

• Saks Inc (NYSE: SKS) to hold Q4 earnings conference call at 10am.
• PDUFA date for Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) Humira, a Tumor Necrosis Factor blocker, which is used to reduce the signs and symptoms of arthritis.
• PDUFA date for Merck and Co Incs (NYSE: MRK) Janumet, a treatment for Type 2 Diabetes.

Thursday March 8

• Monthly Same Store Sales to be reported by Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT), Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT), Aeropostale Inc (NYSE: ARO), Kohl's Corporation (NYSE: KSS), Pacific Sunwear of California Inc (NASDAQ: PSUN), Abercrombie & Fitch Co (NYSE: ANF), Gap Inc (NYSE: GPS) Nordstrom Inc (NYSE: JWN) and J.C. Penney Co Inc (NYSE: JCP).

Friday March 9

• PDUFA date for Eli Lilly and Company's (NYSE: LLY) Cymbalta, a treatment for depression.