Zacks Earnings Preview: Wal-Mart, Home Depot, J.C. Penney, Groupon and Target

Zacks Earnings Preview: Wal-Mart, Home Depot, J.C. Penney, Groupon and Target

PR Newswire

CHICAGO, May 14, 2012

CHICAGO, May 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks.com releases the list of companies
likely to issue earnings surprises. This week's list includes Wal-Mart
(NYSE:WMT), Home Depot (NYSE:HD), J.C. Penney (NYSE:JCP), Groupon
(Nasdaq:GRPN), Target (NYSE:TGT).

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Big Week for Econ News

The first quarter reporting season is winding down, with the bulk of the
earnings season now behind us. We have already seen results from 452 of the
S&P 500 companies thus far, and there is a lot to like this earnings season.
We will get results from around 195 companies this week, including 21 from the
S&P 500.

Total earnings for the 452 companies that have already reported results (as of
Friday, 05/11) are up a strong 7.9% from the year-earlier period, with 65.5%
of the reports coming ahead of expectations. Since the market has already
passed judgment on this earnings season, the reports coming out this week are
unlikely to be materially market moving, though we do have a number of
bellwether names on the docket, such as

Wal-Mart (NYSE:  WMT), Home Depot  (NYSE:  HD), J.C. Penney  (NYSE:  JCP) and
Groupon (Nasdaq:  GRPN).  

Greece will likely continue to dominate the headlines, though there is no
shortage of market-moving domestic economic reports either. From Retail Sales
to inflation and regional manufacturing surveys to Housing Starts, we have a
slew of reports on the economic docket this week.

Monday-5/14

  o There is nothing significant on the economic calendar this day.
  o The key earnings release is from Groupon, which recently had to restate
    past results. The company reports after the close. Tuesday -5/15
  o We have a very busy economic news day, with April Retail Sales and CPI
    coming out before the markets open, and the Empire State and Home builder
    Index coming out a little later.
  o The Retail Sales report is expected to be unchanged, following very strong
    showing in March. On the CPI front, we may see a repeat of Friday's PPI
    report, with the 'headline' declining and the 'core' showing no pricing
    pressures. The Empire State survey for May is expected to have improved
    following the very weak showing in April.
  o On the earnings front, Home Depot will report in the morning, while J.C.
    Penney will report after the markets close. Wednesday-5/16
  o Another busy day on the economic calendar, with Housing Starts for April
    coming out before the market opens, while the Industrial Production report
    comes out a little later.
  o Last month's Housing Starts data was on the weak side, though Permits came
    in better than expected. The expectation for the April reading is for an
    increase to 689K from March's 654K level. Industrial Production is
    expected to show strong gains following March's flat reading.
  o On the earnings front, Target (NYSE:TGT) reports.

Sheraz Mian is the Director of Research for Zacks.com.

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Contact: Sheraz Mian
Company: Zacks.com
Phone: 312-265-9211
Email: pr@zacks.com
Visit: www.Zacks.com

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