7 Reasons to Worry About Next Week

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It looks like we're about to make it through the third quarter with our rally caps intact.

However, despite all of the recession-thumping chatter, several earnings reports due up next week may justify a market pullback.

Let's go over a few of the blue chips and seemingly recession-proof companies facing dire analyst forecasts next week. These are just some of the names that really jump out at me:

Company	Latest Quarter EPS (Estimated)	Year-Ago Quarter EPS
Jabil Circuit (NYSE: JBL)	$0.08	$0.30
Landec (Nasdaq: LNDC)	$0.07	$0.11
Nike (NYSE: NKE)	$0.97	$1.03
Walgreen (NYSE: WAG)	$0.39	$0.45
Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ)	$0.41	$0.45
Accenture (NYSE: ACN)	$0.63	$0.67
Global Payments (NYSE: GPN)	$0.65	$0.71

Source: Yahoo! Finance.

Clearing the table
When companies need to outsource electronic manufacturing, Jabil is a good name to have on a shortlist. This may be a cyclical company, but it's also the kind of business that responds well at the first whiff of a market recovery. Sadly, analysts see profits falling by 73% for Jabil's latest quarter.

Landec uses its proprietary plastic to wrap a variety of products, including fruits and veggies. This should be a recession-resistant company. Everyone needs to eat, right? Extending the shelf life of fresh produce is a good thing, right? Alas, Landec's bottom line apparently isn't as fresh as it was a year ago.

Folks shouldn't be paying a premium for Nike's swoosh during lean times. Yet while the company has historically found ways of expanding its athletic footwear and branded apparel in good times and bad, earnings are slated to shrink this time around.

Walgreen is a real shocker. The corner drugstore should be the poster child of all-weather performance. Prescriptions need to be filled, and where else are you going to buy a Halloween inflatable next month for less than $20?

Constellation Brands watches over a liquored-up lineup of wine, imported beer, and heartier spirits. Hard times often call for hard drinks, but the company's profitability apparently won't be as bubbly and buoyant as some of its customers, post-imbibing.

Accenture is the global corporate consultant with a nose for tech. Business consulting may seem like a hard sell during an economic downturn, but such tough times could also drive many corporations to turn to Accenture for proper positioning.

Finally, as a leading processor of electronic transactions, Global Payments should be a somewhat steady operation. Analysts don't see much of a dropoff in net income, but it's a decline nonetheless.

Why the long face, short-seller?
These reports probably won't be pretty. Many of these stocks are market darlings in seemingly healthy sectors, to boot. A drugstore calling in sick? A transactions enabler that isn't paying off? This won't be an attractive quarter, no matter how good you look in those sneakers, Nike. 

There is a silver lining, though. Investors are already braced for the worst with these reports. If there is an upside to this grim list, it's that lower profitability is already baked into next week's reports. It actually opens the door for unexpected surprises.

The more I think about it, the less worried I become.