Let Stronger Earnings Cheer You Up

"As January goes, so goes the year." That old market adage is now being debunked. While 2010 may have kicked off with an unflattering first month, the market has been kind in February and March. In fact, the Dow has now closed higher in each of the past five weeks.

But are the gains warranted?

I think so. Earlier today, I went over seven stocks that analysts see posting better quarterly results this week. However, that roundup really only scratched the surface. Thankfully, far more than seven companies are pegged to post year-over-year gains on the bottom line this week. Here are just a few more:

Company	Latest Quarter EPS (Estimated)	Year-Ago Quarter EPS
Allscripts-Misys (Nasdaq: MDRX  )	$0.16	$0.15
Pep Boys (NYSE: PBY  )	($0.03)	($0.38)
WD-40 (Nasdaq: WDFC  )	$0.38	$0.25
MSCI (NYSE: MXB  )	$0.30	$0.24
Penford (Nasdaq: PENX  )	$0.08	($0.87)
Sinovac (NYSE: SVA  )	$0.25	$0.06
Richardson Electronics (Nasdaq: RELL  )	$0.18	($0.65)

Source: Yahoo! Finance.

These companies occupy vastly different industries. From auto parts to biotech, investing research to clinical software, a healthy cross-section of sectors serve up winners these days.

These reports will have meaty implications. Pep Boys is one of the many auto parts retailers that thrived when cash-strapped consumers held on to their older cars. Seasoned automobiles need a little more maintenance. However, now that new car sales are flying through the sunroof, can the auto-parts specialists continue to put the pedal to the metal?

Elsewhere, Penford posted four consecutive quarterly losses before delivering back-to-back profitable quarters. Can this week's report take the company one step further out of its sea of red ink?

These reports won't be perfect. However, since many companies still haven't turned the corner financially, now isn't a time to get greedy. If Wall Street gives us at least 14 companies projected to post year-over-year increases this week, I'll take it.

Which of these seven companies do you think will keep improving in 2010? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.