Earnings Expectations For The Week Of October 28: Apple, Facebook, GM and More

The earnings crunch rolls on. This week's highlights include quarterly reports from the two biggest companies by market capitalization, Apple and Exxon Mobil, which are expect to post declining earnings. Per-share earnings from General Motors are expected to be the same as a year ago, and analysts are looking for earnings growth from Facebook and Berkshire Hathaway. Below is a quick day-by-day run down of analyst expectations for some of the week's most prominent reports. See also: Weekly Preview: FOMC Meeting Closely Watched Monday Apple AAPL steps into the earnings spotlight after the closing bell on Monday. The tech giant is expected to say that fiscal fourth-quarter earnings per share (EPS) slipped more than eight percent year-over-year to $7.93, while revenue rose less than three percent to $36.84 billion. The full-year forecast for Apple has EPS more than 10 percent lower to $39.41 on revenue that is up less than nine percent to $170.30 billion. The consensus EPS estimates for both the full year and the fourth quarter have been rising over the past 60 days. Others predicted to report year-over-year earnings growth on Monday include Biogen Idec BIIB, Burger King Worldwide BKW and Herbalife HLF. An earnings decline is expected from Merck MRK and Seagate Technology STX. Tuesday The week will bring quarterly results from several oil supermajors, and BP BP is expected to report Tuesday before the opening bell. The forecast has EPS down more than 38 percent year-over-year to $1.00, and revenue that is more than 34 percent lower to $61.30 billion. Aetna AET, Archer Daniels Midland ADM, DreamWorks Animation DWA and Electronic Arts EA are expected to post earnings declines as well when they report Tuesday. Analysts are looking for earnings growth from Baidu BIDU, Buffalo Wild Wings BWLD, Goodyear Tire & Rubber GT, IAC/InterActive IACI, JetBlue Airways JBLU and LinkedIn LNKD. Look for another net loss from Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia MSO and U.S. Steel X, while Nokia NOK is expected to have broken even again in the most recent quarter. Wednesday Before the opening bell, General Motors GM is expected to say that its third-quarter EPS came to $0.93 and revenue totaled $39.49 billion. That compares to $0.93 per share and $37.58 billion in revenue in the year-ago period. GM topped consensus EPS estimates by more than 10 percent in the previous two quarters. After the trading session ends, Facebook FB is expected to post earnings of $0.19 per share and $1.91 billion in revenues. That would be up year-over-year from EPS of $0.12 and revenue of $1.26 billion. The positive earnings surprise in the second quarter was more than 35 percent. Wednesday morning, also look for earnings growth from Comcast CMCSA and PriceSmart PSMT, earnings declines fromPhillips 66 PSX and Sodastream International SODA, and a net loss from Sprint S. Then later in the day, Avis Budget CAR, Boston Beer SAM, Expedia EXPE, Marriott International MAR, MetLife MET and Visa V are expected to join the earnings gainer parade. But the forecasts for Allstate ALL and Kraft Foods KRFT call for declines in EPS. Thursday Among the many reports Thursday will be those from Exxon Mobil XOM and Starbucks SBUX. For their most recent quarters, the oil giant is expected to post EPS of $1.78 and the coffee company $0.60 EPS. That would be down almost 15 percent and up more than 23 percent, respectively. As for revenue, Exxon's is forecast to be more than seven percent lower year-over-year, while that of Starbucks is about 13 percent higher. Exxon reports before the trading session and Starbucks after. Like Exxon, AIG AIG, AstraZeneca AZN, Barrick Gold ABX, Estee Lauder EL, First Solar FSLR, Newmont Mining NEM and Time Warner Cable TWC are forecast to post lower quarterly earnings. Analysts are looking for earnings growth from Avon Products AVP, Anheuser-Busch InBev BUD, Discovery Communications DISCA and MasterCard MA, but EPS the same as a year ago from ConocoPhillips COP. MGM Resorts MGM and New York Times NYT are likely to post small per-share net losses for their third quarters. Friday Warren Buffett downplays the importance of quarterly results, but the two surveyed analysts that do have EPS estimates for Berkshire Hathaway BRK expect them to come in at $1.53 on average, which would be up from $1.37 in the same period of last year. Investors likely will be more interested in any changes to the portfolio when the company reports Friday morning. Also Friday morning, Chevron CVX is expected to report that EPS grew almost six percent to $2.73 while revenue totaled $58.41 billion, or marginally higher than a year ago. But note that consensus EPS estimate has dropped by 34 cents in the past 60 days, and Chevron fell short of EPS estimates in the second quarter. See also: Barron's Recap: The Snail Economy Keep up with all the latest by following us on Twitter.