Best Buy (BBY) is scheduled to unveil its fourth-quarter results Thursday morning, with analysts anticipating a profit of $1.85 per share -- little changed from the big box retailer's year-ago earnings of $1.82 per share. Best Buy has been hot-and-cold on the earnings front; during the past four quarters, the company has topped consensus bottom-line estimates twice, and fallen short on two other occasions.

Ahead of the quarterly report, one options player built a bullishly biased spread on BBY. Right after the opening bell Wednesday morning, the trader purchased 358 April 32 calls, and simultaneously sold 716 April 35 calls. In other words, two April 35 calls were sold for every one purchased April 32 call. This strategy is known as a ratio call spread, and it's typically used by traders who are bullish on the underlying equity -- but with a very specific upside target in mind.

Online marketing specialist ValueClick (VCLK) is scheduled to unveil its fourth-quarter earnings after Tuesday's closing bell. Ahead of the announcement, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are anticipating a profit of 23 cents per share, on average, which would represent an improvement over ValueClick's year-ago earnings of 18 cents per share.

ValueClick has a strong history in the earnings spotlight, having surpassed analysts' bottom-line expectations in each of the past four quarters. However, a quick scan of the stock's sentiment backdrop reveals a nearly palpable pessimism among both traders and analysts.

Cosmetics giant Avon Products (AVP) unveiled its fourth-quarter earnings this morning, and the results fell short of Wall Street's expectations. AVP's quarterly profit slipped 15% to $229.5 million, or 53 cents per share. Excluding restructuring expenses, earnings from continuing operations declined to 59 cents per share from 68 cents in the year-ago quarter. Revenue rose 1.2% to $3.18 billion.

By contrast, analysts were looking for a profit of 67 cents per share on revenue of $3.28 billion. AVP's fourth-quarter performance was negatively impacted by currency fluctuations, as well as higher product costs.

Shares of Level 3 Communications (LVLT) have taken a turn for the worse, after the firm's fourth-quarter earnings report landed with a thud. The company confessed to a net loss of $52 million, or 3 cents per share, narrowed from its year-ago deficit of $182 million, or 11 cents per share. Revenue for the quarter declined to $921 million from $924 million.

The results actually surpassed Wall Street's consensus forecast, which called for a net loss of 10 cents per share on revenue of $920.1 million. However, traders seem none too pleased with Level 3's earnings performance, as the stock plummeted roughly 7% Wednesday morning. In particular, it seems the market may be taking issue with Level 3's warning that it expects free cash flow to be negative for fiscal 2011.

Shares of Patriot Coal (PCX) surged to a new annual high of $27.54 right out of the gate Tuesday, as traders cheered the energy issue's latest quarterly report.

Patriot announced that its fourth-quarter net profit dwindled 33% to $7.3 million, or 8 cents per share, from its year-ago results of $10.9 million, or 12 cents per share. Revenue for the quarter climbed 5% to $528.2 million, but selling and administrative expenses swelled 35% to $14 million. Likewise, Patriot's operating cost per ton increased 9.5% to $55.70.

Juniper Networks (JNPR) is on the upswing, with the stock catching a 6% boost Wednesday morning on the heels of a well-received fourth-quarter earnings report. Juniper reported a quarterly profit of $190.2 million, or 35 cents per share, substantially improved from its year-ago results of $22.9 million, or 4 cents per share. Excluding items, earnings improved to 42 cents from 32 cents per share on a year-over-year basis.

Meanwhile, revenue for the quarter increased 26% to $1.19 billion. Gross margin retreated slightly, falling to 66.6% from 67.1%.

Blue-chip burger baron McDonald's (MCD) was in focus Monday morning after the company unveiled its fourth-quarter earnings. The fast-food chain reported net income of $1.24 billion, or $1.16 per share, slightly improved from its year-ago profit of $1.22 billion, or $1.11 per share. Revenue for the quarter climbed 4% to $6.21 billion.

The fourth-quarter results were more or less in line with Wall Street's expectations, but the same can't be said of its December sales. Global same-store sales rose 3.7% across the board, led by an 8.9% gain in the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA). U.S. same-store sales increased 2.6% in December, while sales at restaurants open at least 13 months declined 0.5% in Europe.

Financial services firm State Street Corp. (STT) reported this morning that its fourth-quarter profit fell 84% to $81 million, or 16 cents per share, from its year-ago earnings of $498 million, or $1 per share. However, ex-items earnings arrived at 87 cents per share, up from 71 cents on a year-over-year basis. Revenue for the period slipped 10% to $2.04 billion, but rose 9.6% to $2.28 billion on an operating basis.

The adjusted results surpassed analysts' expectations, which called for a profit of 86 cents per share on revenue of $2.14 billion. However, traders seem less than pleased by STT's quarterly results. The stock gapped lower with the sound of Wednesday's opening bell, falling to a loss of about 4% in early trading.

Friday morning, the good folks at JPMorgan Chase (JPM) kicked off a wave of quarterly reports from the banking sector. Next week, we'll hear the latest earnings results from the likes of Citigroup (C), Goldman Sachs (GS), and Wells Fargo (WFC), just to name a few.

Of course, the biggest bank in the nation -- Bank of America (BAC) -- also has a quarterly report on deck. Ahead of next Friday's fourth-quarter release, one speculator opted to construct a high-volatility options strategy on BAC.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) has taken a drastic dive, with the stock staging a bearish gap with the sound of Friday's opening bell. Thursday night, the company unveiled its fiscal fourth-quarter results, and also confessed to a disappointing outlook for the first quarter.

Specifically, Green Mountain said it banked a fourth-quarter profit of $27 million, or 20 cents per share, up from its year-ago earnings of $14.1 million, or 12 cents per share. Sales for the quarter climbed 73% to $373.1 million. The results fell roughly in line with Wall Street's expectations, which called for a profit of 20 cents per share on revenue of $359.2 million.

Chinese gaming concern Perfect World (PWRD) took the earnings stage last night, with the company unveiling a third-quarter profit of CNY213.7 million, or $31.9 million -- down 26% on a year-over-year basis. Excluding items, Perfect World earned CNY4.53 per share, or 68 cents, compared to Wall Street's forecast for 53 cents per share. Revenue for the period rose 12% to CNY658.2 million.

Despite Perfect World's respectable third-quarter performance, analysts seem less than thrilled with the firm's fourth-quarter outlook. Citigroup downgraded the stock to sell from buy, while Credit Suisse lowered its opinion to underperform from outperform.

AutoZone Inc. (AZO) is scheduled to release its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings before the market opens Tuesday, Sept. 21. The retailer has a solid track record in the earnings spotlight, having exceeded analysts' per-share profit predictions in each of the past four reporting periods -- and AZO has managed to surpass Wall Street's consensus estimate by an increasingly wide margin in each sequential quarter.

Ahead of the report, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are anticipating AutoZone to bank a profit of $5.42 per share, up from $4.45 per share in the year-ago period. Sales are expected to arrive at $2.39 billion.

After the closing bell, SunPower Corporation (SPWRA) will take the spotlight to reveal its fourth-quarter earnings. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are expecting the solar concern to report net income of 49 cents per share, down from its year-ago profit of 70 cents per share. Sales for the period are expected to arrive at $491 million.

SunPower has a solid history in the earnings spotlight, having exceeded Wall Street's consensus expectations in three of the past four reporting periods. Judging by a recent uptick in call buying, some traders appear to be anticipating another upside surprise.

DryShips Inc. (DRYS) has a date in the earnings spotlight after Thursday's closing bell, with the drybulk shipper slated to release its fourth-quarter results. Analysts are expecting DryShips to report a profit of 23 cents per share, modestly lower than its year-ago earnings of 25 cents per share. The company has a decidedly mixed history on the earnings front; during the past four reporting periods, Dryships has topped analysts' consensus expectations twice and fallen short on two other occasions.

Ahead of the report, calls are the options of choice among speculative investors. During the past 10 days, traders on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and the International Securities Exchange (ISE) have bought to open 6.87 calls for every put on DRYS. In other words, option players have purchased nearly seven times more bullish bets than bearish.

Electronics retailer RadioShack Corporation (RSH) -- or "The Shack," if you take your cues from aggressively quirky marketing campaigns -- is preparing to unleash its fourth-quarter earnings results. RadioShack will take the earnings stage after the market closes next Monday, Feb. 22, with analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expecting a per-share profit of 58 cents. This would mark a modest improvement from the company's year-ago profit of 50 cents per share.

RadioShack has a mixed history in the earnings spotlight -- during the past four reporting periods, the company has surpassed consensus estimates twice, and fallen short on the other two occasions. However, there's just cause to believe that business is booming at The Shack, since the retailer scored a deal to sell a little gadget known as the iPhone in its retail outlets.