The Fool Looks Ahead

Monday
You don't need to put away your toys just because it's the start of a new trading week. I doubt Mattel (NYSE: MAT  ) would mind, as the company chimes in with its fourth-quarter report. Analysts expect earnings to climb 16%, to $0.67 a share. The Inside Value recommendation is coming off a strong third-quarter showing, so let's see whether the critical holiday season panned out for the leading toymaker.

Tuesday
Have it your way, Whopper fans. Burger King (NYSE: BKC  ) will serve up its flame-broiled quarterly report on Tuesday. Wall Street is looking for $0.26 per share, but it would be a shocker to see the analysts nail this one. The pros haven't had much of a handle on the world's second-largest burger chain since it went public last year. The company missed profit targets by $0.03 a share over the summer, only to bounce back and top forecasts by $0.04 cents in November.

Wednesday
You can't get much hotter than Google (Nasdaq: GOOG  ) these days, so tune in to the search-engine giant's numbers come Wednesday. The company has obliterated estimates in all but one quarter since Google went public in summer 2004. That's a pretty darn good batting average. Wait until you check out its slugging percentage!

Thursday
E-tail bellwether Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN  ) gets rung up on Thursday. The Motley Fool Stock Advisor newsletter pick has pulled off a pretty impressive feat through the first three quarters of 2006, registering accelerating top-line growth.

Amazon.com	Year-Over-Year Sales Growth
Q1 2006	+20%
Q2 2006	+22%
Q3 2006	+24%

Even if the trend ends with Thursday's report, the meatier answers will come from how well margins held up in the telltale holiday period.

Friday
Can you believe that one of the hottest stocks over the past year and change is actually the company behind the New York Stock Exchange? NYSE Group (NYSE: NYX  ) has been on a tear since its merger with Archipelago Holdings. NYSE Group, a Rule Breakers selection, is targeted to earn $0.46 a share for the period, yet the bigger questions may involve which huge global trading exchanges the company wants to acquire next.

Until next week, I remain,

Rick Munarriz

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz recommends windshield wiper fluid when trying to look forward. He does not own shares in any of the companies in this story. He is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early. The Fool has a disclosure policy.