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

• Ann Taylor Stores Corp. (ANN) declining same-store sales offset better-than-expected Q3 earnings.
• Canadian Solar Inc. (CSIQ) reached a new 52-week high after Q3 results handily exceeded expectations.
• Dillard's Inc. (DDS) said that it swung to a Q3 profit due to cost cutting as revenue declined year over year.
• GameStop Corp. (GME) reported uninspiring Q3 numbers that included a slump in same-store sales.
• Home Depot Inc. (HD) lower Q3 earnings and revenue beat analysts' estimates, but shares still declined.

Jack in the Box (JACK) dropped in yesterday's after-hours session upon news of the company's Q4 results. You can't blame the bottom line for the poor stock performance. The fast-food joint earned 70 cents per share from continuing operations versus the 45 cents per share from continuing operations earned in the comparable quarter. Did such a growth rate deserve a nearly 6% cut in share price? Analysts were only looking for 55 cents per share, according to Earnings.com.

Well, Wall Street apparently wasn't satisfied with the outlook, as this Reuters article points out. Traders are obviously more concerned with where Jack in the Box may be heading as opposed to where it's been.

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

• Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) shares rose after it reaffirmed its full-year earnings and sales outlook.
• Automatic Data Processing Inc. (NASDAQ: ADP) will have low double-digit EPS growth, predicts one analyst.
• AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) posted a decline in earnings but a small rise in sales, sending shares lower.
• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) posted better-than-expected Q2 earnings and higher revenue.
• CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) rallied to a new 52-week high after topping analysts' Q2 earnings expectations.
• Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) reported better-than-expected Q3 results and raised its full-year guidance.

Analyst upgrades:

• Roth Capital upgraded MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) to Buy from Hold and raised its target to $90 from $70, citing encouraging Q2 results, new product cycle catalysts, a lift from Europe, and cost reductions.
• William Blair upgraded Costco (NASDAQ: COST) to Outperform from Market Perform after meeting with management as it believes sales and earnings could beat expectations over the next year.
• Credit Suisse upgraded Novellus (NASDAQ: NVLS) to Outperform from Neutral and raised its target to $29 from $23. The firm cites higher Samsung capex forecast, high leverage, and low expectations.
• Home Properties (NYSE: HME) and Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) were upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at FBC Capital, while Douglas Emmett (NYSE: DEI) and Duke Realty (NYSE: DRE) were raised to Market Perform from Underperform.
• Agilent (NYSE: A) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.
• Cytec Industries (NYSE: CYT) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at KeyBanc.

Analyst upgrades:

• Oppenheimer upgraded Gymboree (NASDAQ: GYMB) to Outperform from Perform following the company's Q2 results to reflect valuation and square footage growth from Crazy 8. The firm has a $52 target on the stock.
• KeyBanc upgraded Lululemon (NASDAQ: LULU) to Buy from Hold on expectations sales and margins will improve in the near-term due to clean inventory levels. The firm recommends a pair trade of long Lululemon, short Under Armour (NYSE: UA).
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Allied Capital (NYSE: ALD) to Market Perform from Underperform following the company's Q2 results and raised its target on shares to $3.50 from $1.
• Jack in the Box (NASDAQ: JACK) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.
• LogMeln (NASDAQ: LOGM) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• Barclays (NYSE: BCS) was reinstated with an Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. (NYSE: DPS), the bottler and distributor whose brands also include A&W, Clamato, Country Time, Hawaiian Punch and Motts, is scheduled to discuss its second quarter 2009 results tomorrow morning in a conference call at 9:00 AM ET, featuring CEO Larry Young and CFO John Stewart. You can catch the live webcast on the company's website.

For the quarter in which Dr Pepper entered a marketing agreement with Electronic Arts, Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) and expanded its product offerings to McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD) and Jack in the Box (NASDAQ: JACK), analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect the Plano, Tex.-based beverage giant to report that earnings fell 18.3% from a year ago to $0.49 per share, though that's up from better-than-expected $0.37 per share in the first quarter. Revenue for the second quarter is expected to be 3.4% lower to $1.5 billion. Earnings beat estimates in three of the past four quarters, by as much as 8 cents per share.

What's retirement? Well, as should be no surprise, the legendary former CEO of GE (NYSE: GE), Jack Welch, is redefining the concept. Basically, retirement means working on cool projects.

For example, he recently put together -- with his wife Suzy -- a reality show on MSN.com. It's about the travails of running a business. Oh, and it's also about branded content; that is, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) pitches its technology on the show.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Expedia (NASDAQ: EXPE) to Buy from Hold as they believe the company's fee elimination coupled with 2009 industry trends could lead to market share gains and that the valuation is compelling at current levels. Citigroup raised its price target to $14 from $9 on EXPE shares.
  
• Credit Suisse upgraded Lukoil (OTC: LUKOY) to Outperform from Neutral as it believes lower taxes and the ruble's decline will increase profitability.
  
• Soleil upgraded Jo Ann Stores (NYSE: JAS) to Buy from Hold as it believes the company's sales results in the first half of 2009 could top expectations. The firm raised its target price to $20 from $16.
• Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
  
• Bayer AG (OTC: BAYRY) was lifted to Buy from Neutral at Banc of America/Merrill.
  
• ManTech (NASDAQ: MANT) was raised at Wachovia to Outperform from Market Perform.