Earnings Expectations For The Week Of March 24: BlackBerry, Walgreen And More

While investors watch the ongoing standoff between the West and Russia, and hope for fresh signs of economic growth in the GDP and PMI numbers, more off-season quarterly reports will roll out this week. Highlights will include earnings results from

and

.

,

,

and

are among the others scheduled to take their turns in the earnings spotlight this week. Below is a quick look at what analysts expect from these and the other most prominent quarterly reports due out this week.

Analysts expect this Dublin-based consulting and outsourcing company to post earnings of $1.04 per share for its fiscal second quarter. That would be up from $1.00 a year ago. And revenues for the quarter are estimated to total $7.21 billion, which would be more than two percent higher than a year ago. Note that earnings per share (EPS) have not fallen short of consensus expectations in the past four quarters. Also that the EPS estimate has remained unchanged in the past 60 days. So far EPS and revenues are expected to be higher, both sequentially and year over year, in the current quarter. Accenture is scheduled to share its results Thursday before the markets open.

The forecast for this Canadian wireless company calls for a per-share net loss of $0.57 and for revenue to total $1.11 billion for its fourth quarter. In the year-ago period, it posted a profit of $0.22 per share and sales came to $2.68 billion. Note that net losses were deeper than expected in two of the past four quarters. For the full year, the consensus expectations are for a loss of $1.82 per share and revenue of $6.95 billion. That would compare with the $0.60 per share loss and $.11.07 billion in sales in the previous year. BlackBerry is scheduled to share its results Friday before the opening bell.

In its report Tuesday morning, the world's largest cruise ship operator is expected to post a per-share net loss of $0.08 for its most recent quarter, compared with a profit of $0.08 per share in the year-ago period. However, analysts underestimated its EPS in the previous four periods, by as much as 300 percent. Revenues are predicted to have retreated less than one percent to $3.56 billion for the three months that ended in February. So far, the company is expected to show revenue growth in the current quarter, and a profit that is smaller than in the same period of last year.

In its Thursday morning report, GameStop is expected to show earnings of $1.93 per share for its fiscal fourth quarter, as well as EPS of $3.04 for the full year. That would be down more than 10 percent and about four percent, respectively. The EPS have topped consensus estimates in recent quarters, by as much as 125 percent. The company also is expected to say that revenues grew more than six percent to $3.79 billion for the quarter and about three percent to $9.15 billion for the year. And the forecast for the current quarter so far calls for year-over-year growth on both the top and bottom lines.

The fourth-quarter earnings from this Canadian athletic apparel company are expected to come to $0.72 per share, on $516.80 million in revenue, in Thursday morning's report. That would be down from a profit of $0.75 per share and sales of $485.49 million in the same period of the previous year. The full-year forecast suggests earnings will have grown about two percent to $1.89 per share, while revenue will be almost 16 percent higher to $1.59 billion. So far, growth on both the top and bottom lines is predicted for the three-month period that ends in April.

When it shares its results early Tuesday, the largest drug retailer in the United States is expected to say its profit for the fiscal second quarter slipped by four cents per share from a year ago to $0.92. That consensus estimate also is down in the past 60 days from $0.93. In addition, the forecast calls for quarterly revenues of $19.61 billion, which would be up around two percent year on year. However, analysts thus far are looking for a more than six percent decline in revenue for the current quarter, as well as a sequential decline in per-share earnings.

Analysts also foresee earnings growth this week from Conn's, Finish Line, Brazilian airline Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes, McCormick & Co., Paychex, Red Hat, Restoration Hardware, Signet Jewelers, Sonic and Winnebago. However, Sabesp (the world's largest waste management company), Francesca's Holdings, Movado and PVH are expected to show a year-over-year decline in their per-share earnings. And the analysts are looking for net losses from Renesola and Uranium Resources when they report this week. The following week, look for quarterly results from Monsanto and others. Keep up with all the latest breaking news and trading ideas by following us on

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