Earnings Expectations for the Week of May 14 (WMT, HD, ANF)

Last week, Kohl's KSS, Macy's M and Nordstrom JWN kicked off the parade of earnings reports from big retailers. Macy's and Nordstrom reported EPS growth; Macy's and Kohl's topped EPS estimates. This week, Walmart WMT, Home Depot HD and Target TGT are among the many retailers scheduled to step into the earnings spotlight. Here is a quick look what analysts anticipate from their earnings. See also: Comedy of Errors as Kohl's Sees Profit Fall Walmart In its Thursday report, earnings from the world's largest retailer are estimated to come to $1.04 per share for the first quarter. That would be an increase from last year's $0.97 a share. The consensus EPS estimate is unchanged over the past 60 days, but note that Walmart fell short of analysts' expectations by a penny or two in the previous two quarters. First-quarter revenues are expected to total $110.5 billion. That would be 6.1% higher than a year ago. Home Depot Home Depot, shares of which have pulled back from a recent multiyear high, is expected to say that its first-quarter 2012 earnings are 23.1% higher than a year ago to $0.65 per share. Note that the EPS estimate has risen four cents in the past 60 days. And analysts anticipate revenues for the quarter will have increased 6.6% to $17.9 billion. The home improvement superstore operator is scheduled to share its results Tuesday morning. Target On Wednesday, this Minneapolis-based retailer is expected to announce that its first-quarter earnings came to $1.01 per share on revenues of $16.8 billion. That would be up from $0.99 per share and $15.9 billion in the same period of last year. Target has fallen short of consensus EPS estimates in only one of the past ten quarters. See also: Target Stops Selling the Amazon Kindle Abercrombie & Fitch New Albany, Ohio-based specialty retailer Abercrombie& Fitch's ANF first-quarter earnings in its Wednesday report are forecast to have plunged 92.6% from a year ago to $0.02 per share. Note that per-share earnings were in line with consensus estimates in the fourth quarter and fell short by 19.7% in the third quarter. However, analysts on average expect first-quarter revenues to be 13.7% higher than a year ago to $951.3 million. See also: AEO & ANF: No Showers in April The Gap First-quarter 2012 earnings for this San Francisco-based retailer are estimated to total $0.46 per share on revenues of $3.5 billion in Wednesday afternoon's report. In the same quarter of last year, this khaki purveyor posted $0.40 per share and $3.3 billion. Analysts have underestimated the Gap's GPS EPS in the past five quarters. See also: Gap, Sears and Other Retail Stocks Up More Than 35% Year to Date Ross Stores The consensus forecast for Ross Stores ROST, which said its same-store sales increased 10% in March, calls for a profit of $0.93 per share on revenues of $2.3 billion. That would be an increase from $0.74 per share earnings and sales of $2.1 billion in the first quarter of last year. The EPS estimate is also up from $0.88 some 60 days ago. The company will share its results Thursday morning. See also: Seven Hot Retail Stocks to Rev Up Your Portfolio Dollar Tree This discount variety store operator, which is trading near a multiyear high, is expected to post first-quarter 2012 EPS that are 15.5% higher than a year ago to $0.97. And analysts predict revenues will have risen 6.6% year-over-year to $1.7 billion. Dollar Tree DLTR has topped consensus EPS estimates for more than ten quarters, and it is scheduled to announce results on Thursday. And Other Retailers This week, analysts anticipate double-digit percentage EPS growth from Advance Auto Parts AAP, Chico's FAS CHS, Dick's Sporting Goods DKS, Foot Locker FL, Hibbett Sports HIBB, Spartan Stores SPTN, TJX Companies TJX and Zumiez ZUMZ. They also expect more modest year-over-year earnings growth from Buckle BKE, Cato CATO and Staples SPLS. Per-share earnings from ANN ANN, Limited Brands LTD and Saks SKS are forecast to be about the same as a year ago. But earnings declines are anticipated from Aeropostale ARO, Brown Shoe BWS, Children's Place PLCE, Citi Trends CTRN, GameStop GME, Kirkland's KIRK and Stein Mart SMRT. And Bon-Ton Stores BONT, E-commerce China Dangdang DANG, JCPenney JCP, New York & Co. NWY and Pacific Sunwear of California PSUN are expected to post net losses for the most recent quarter. See also: Aeropostale and American Eagle Land on the Retail Throne Retailers scheduled to report results next week include AutoZone AZO, Costco Wholesale COST, Lowe's Companies LOW, Tiffany TIF and Urban Outfitters URBN.