The Fool's Look Ahead

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Monday
Fastener distributor Fastenal (Nasdaq:  FAST) kicks off the new trading week with its third-quarter report. Wall Street expects earnings to climb 24% to $0.51 a share. That's a welcome growth rate in this nervous environment, but Fastenal should be good for it. The company has topped analyst estimates in each of the past three quarters.

Tuesday
Earnings season kicks in with a ton of quarterly reports. Tuesday's bellwethers include Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) on the tech side and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) on the Big Pharma side. Both companies are looking to post small bottom-line improvements over their year-ago performances.

Wednesday
Financial services take the spotlight on Wednesday, with JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) reporting. Quarterly showings by investment brokers and banking behemoths used to feel inconsequential. These days, they define the market. Will either company keep gobbling up distressed banks? You may not get a direct answer, but you'll probably appreciate the weigh-in anyway.

Thursday
Intuitive Surgical (Nasdaq: ISRG) should shine on Thursday. The maker of the revolutionary da Vinci surgical robotic arms has beaten Wall Street's quarterly expectations every time since the latter half of 2002. Will it short-circuit this time, or once again land well ahead of the $1.27-a-share profit target?

Friday
Energy exploration giant Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB) puts the exclamation point with its quarterly report on Friday. If you think the week ahead is busy, just wait until the following week.

Until next week, I remain,
Rick Munarriz