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

• Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) lower Q4 earnings topped estimates and same-store sales also declined.
• Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) reaffirmed its earnings outlook but lowered its revenue forecast for the full year.
• Daimler AG (DAI) provided guidance for the year that included slashing its dividend, sending shares lower.
• Dell Inc. (DELL) lower Q4 earnings beat estimates by a penny but it didn't offer guidance, sending shares lower.
• Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (GT) easily topped Q4 earnings estimates and revenue increased as well.

Bright and early this morning, Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) lowered its forecast for fiscal 2010 sales. The company now expects sales to grow 2.5% to 3.5% during the current fiscal year, down from its previous projection for sales growth of 4% to 5%. However, earnings for 2010 are still expected to rise 9% to 11% on an annualized basis from $2.21 per share in fiscal 2009.

Campbell also announced this morning that it's launching "a comprehensive plan to boost the performance of its condensed soup portfolio" in the U.S. More than 60% of the company's condensed line will be spruced up with product improvements, sodium reductions, updated packaging, and a fresh marketing approach.

Monday afternoon, Campbell Soup (CPB) announced that it would continue to cut sodium in its SpaghettiOs canned pastas by as much as 35%, depending on the variety.

The sodium cut will have Campbell's ringed pasta offering a third less sodium than other canned pastas. This reduction is the second for SpaghettiOs in the past two years, which brings the food offering in line with government criteria for healthy main dishes. A one-cup serving of SpaghettiOs now has 600mg of sodium or less while providing the equivalent of a full serving of vegetables.

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

• American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (AEO) Q3 results were so-so, and it declined to offer a Q4 outlook.
• Benihana Inc. (BNHNA) was downgraded following its weaker-than-expected Q2 results.
• Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings revenue fell short of estimates.
• Deere & Co. (DE) Q4 earnings easily topped low expectations and its cash flow is strong.
• Dollar Tree Inc. (DLTR) strong Q3 numbers topped the Street view and it offered Q4 and full-year guidance.
• Eastman Chemical Co. (EMN) earnings prospects led one analyst to upgrade the stock.

Heinz (HNZ) reported second quarter results earlier in the week. Should shareholders be thankful for the data in the press release? I would guess that those who aren't the type to buy and sell on a dime, and are holding for the long haul, will find this consumer-products company's numbers good enough.

The business made 76 cents per share from continuing operations. Last year, a profit of 86 cents per share was recorded on the same basis. However, as several news items have mentioned, there was a gain of 18 cents per share in the comparable quarter relating to hedging activities. So, the current quarter actually turns out to look a lot better once a little context is attached.

Declining soup sales couldn't stem the tide of Campbell Soup's (CPB) earnings. The world's largest soup maker saw first-quarter earnings increase 17%, although soup sales dropped 3%.

The sultan of soup reported first-quarter earnings of 87 cents per share, six cents better than the consensus estimate. The strong results were attributed to lower costs and expenses. Unfortunately for Campbell, revenue did not meet expectations, totaling $2.2 billion when the Street expected $2.28 billion.

Campbell Soup Co. (CPB), which recently raised its quarterly dividend by 10%, is scheduled to discuss its fiscal first-quarter 2010 financial results in a conference call Monday, November 23, at 10:00 AM ET. You can catch the live webcast of the call on the company's website.

During the three months that ended in October, Campbell revamped its Chunky line of soups, was named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes, and debuted its first Times Square billboard. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect the world's biggest soup maker to report that earnings for that period rose 4.9% from a year ago to $0.81 per share. And revenue for the quarter is expected to be 1.5% higher to $2.3 billion.

ConAgra Foods (NYSE: CAG) issued Q1 numbers on Tuesday. The market wasn't too impressed by them, but they weren't bad, actually. Net sales were lackluster, I'll admit. They dropped about 3%. Earnings per share from continuing operations, on the other hand, really shined. They increased well over 60% to 38 cents. Net income from continuing operations on a dollar basis soared over 50%.

Even better, that 38-cents-per-share statistic was firmly ahead of Wall Street expectations. According to our earnings preview, analysts were looking for 34 cents per share.

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

• Best Buy Inc. (NYSE: BBY) was downgraded by one analyst ahead of next week's Q2 earnings report.
• Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB) better-than-expected Q4 and full-year profit failed to impact the share price.
• FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) boosted its Q1 earnings guidance ahead of next week's quarterly report.
• JoS. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. (NASDAQ: JOSB) saw its Q2 earnings jump higher than expected.
• Korn/Ferry International (NYSE: KFY) swung to a Q1 net loss as revenue plunged despite cost cuts.
• lululemon athletica inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) strong Q2 numbers topped estimates and drove shares higher.

Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB), a familiar name at the supermarket, reported Q4 earnings on Friday. The top line wasn't so hot as sales declined 11%. There were a few factors to consider with that decline, including currency translation and the issue of there being an extra week in the previous year's comparable quarter. I'm pretty satisfied with the context management provided for the challenged revenue. Also, sales essentially matched expectations, according to our earnings preview, which isn't so bad. The bottom line, however, deserves more than a passing grade. Adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations increased 15% to 30 cents, beating estimates by four pennies.

I like it. Furthermore, I enjoyed that adjusted per-share profit for the full fiscal year also beat forecasts. And you should take a look at the adjusted gross margin for both the quarter and the 12-month period. Campbell's management was able to expand the metric, a feat indicative of efficiencies and pricing strategies, according to the press release.

Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB), whose brands also include Pace, Pepperidge Farm, Prego, and V8, is scheduled to discuss its fiscal fourth-quarter 2009 results Friday in a conference call at 10:00 AM ET. You can catch the webcast of the call at the company's website.

For the three months that ended in July, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect the Camden, N.J.-based company to report that its earnings that are about the same a year ago, $0.26 per share. For the full year, the forecast is for a profit of $2.17 per share, up 3.7% from a year ago.

Investors and analysts may be wondering whether the market rally is really over, and whether this signals more trouble ahead for the economy. Well, the Federal Reserve is scheduled to release its next Beige Book report of economic conditions on Wednesday, offering a glimpse of where things stand. The Beige Book report in July suggested that, in some of the 12 Fed districts, the economy appeared to be stabilizing, suggesting that the recession may have reached its bottom, but offering little sign of a recovery. Retail activity remained weak and employment numbers were not good. Yet the minutes of the FOMC August meeting seemed a bit more optimistic about the economy.

In addition to the Beige Book report, the TIPP Economic Optimism Index is scheduled to be released Tuesday, and the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index comes out Friday. So by the end of the week, we could have a good gauge of the mood about the U.S. economy.

H.J. Heinz Company (NYSE: HNZ), a food company that shares space at the supermarket with products from Kraft Foods, Inc. (NYSE: KFT), ConAgra (NYSE: CAG), and Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB), issued first-quarter data on Thursday. Even though the effect of currency translations continues to put a cloud over the top-line performance, management did end up beating earnings expectations.

Net sales came in flat, and net income was 67 cents per share. Analysts were expecting 5 cents less, according to Earnings.com. Shareholders should be happy about that. When I covered Heinz's last quarter, I noted that expectations were essentially beat by a penny.

Analyst upgrades:

• Baird upgraded WinTrust (NASDAQ: WTFC) to Neutral from Underperform and raised its target to $20 from $13 citing the accretive purchase of AIG (NYSE: AIG) loans and reduced risk of a capital raise.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Coach (NYSE: COH) to Overweight from Neutral on expectations product sell-throughs and margin trends will improve in the coming quarters. The firm has a $32 target on the stock.
• RBC Capital upgraded Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB) to Sector Perform from Underperform and raised its target to $33 from $29. The firm cites Campbell's recent innovation, easy volume comps, and "reasonable" consensus estimates for its upgrade.
• Tata Motors (NYSE: TTM) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• Rockwell Automation (NYSE: ROK) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Buy at Goldman.

Food processor ConAgra (NYSE: CAG), whose products share space at the supermarket with Kraft (NYSE: KFT), Kellogg (NYSE: K), and Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB), is down in Thursday's afternoon trading by over 6% as I write this. The company released earnings for the fourth quarter earlier this morning. Sales increased 8% according to the press release. Adjusted earnings from continuing operations came in at 41 cents per diluted share. This result benefited from an extra week.

The per-share profit compared very favorably to the 18 cents earned in last year's similar quarter. However, in terms of analyst expectations, the performance was relatively unimpressive. Earnings.com indicates that 41 cents is what the market was looking for.