Mr. Market may not be a meanie after all.
Sure, we live in tense times, where oil executives come under fire for attending a yacht race over the weekend, and household names get delisted.
I may have also jumped the pessimism gun over the weekend, singling out seven stocks projected to posts lower quarterly profits this week than they did a year ago. Thankfully, far more companies will likely unveil better news on the bottom line this week. Let's go over seven of them:
|
Company
|
Latest Quarter's EPS (Estimated)
|
Year-Ago Quarter's EPS
|
|
Adobe Systems (Nasdaq: ADBE )
|
$0.43
|
$0.35
|
|
Red Hat (NYSE: RHT )
|
$0.18
|
$0.15
|
|
Bed Bath & Beyond (Nasdaq: BBBY )
|
$0.48
|
$0.34
|
|
CarMax (NYSE: KMX )
|
$0.33
|
$0.11
|
|
Lennar (NYSE: LEN )
|
$0.00
|
($0.76)
|
|
Oracle (NYSE: ORCL )
|
$0.54
|
$0.46
|
|
Research In Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM )
|
$1.34
|
$0.98
|
Source: Yahoo! Finance.
Clearing the table
Desktop publishing giant Adobe may be Steve Jobs' favorite punching bag, but it's still selling plenty of Web authoring and graphical software. Investors taking the good with the bad will appreciate tomorrow's report. Adobe has put shareholders through five consecutive quarters of year-over-year declines, but that awkward streak should end this week.
Red Hat has cashed in on the open-source revolution through a subscriber-based model of Linux-flavored enterprise software. Growth is accelerating, as companies turn to Red Hat for cost-effective solutions.
Home furnishings retailer Bed Bath & Beyond avoided the mistakes that doomed rival Linens 'n Things during the economic downturn. Just as consumer-electronics superstores are thriving in a post-Circuit City environment, Bed Bath & Beyond is enjoying its competitive advantages over smaller survivors, as homeowners and apartment renters start sprucing up their digs again.
Used-car giant CarMax is cleaning up the industry with its haggle-free pricing and well-maintained inventory of pre-owned rides. CarMax has been rolling since last summer's Cash for Clunkers campaign jump-started the automobile industry, and there's no reason it should go into reverse now.
Lennar joins several other homebuilders that have come around over the past year. If the pros' prediction of breakeven results comes true, that'd be huge news for Lennar. Most of the real estate developers have been posting narrower deficits, but an actual profit would be a huge step for the Florida-based builder.
Enterprise software giant Oracle has a penchant for acquisitions as large as its CEO's ego. That's no insult: Oracle has found a way to acquire companies in earnings-accretive deals, and CEO Larry Ellison is one of the most charismatic corporate chieftains around.
Research In Motion legitimized the smartphone space with its BlackBerry devices. Android and iPhone handsets seem to be generating all the buzz these days, but Research In Motion continues to grow its user base with a strong foundation in the corporate world.
Cross those fingers, but know the fundamentals
Investors in these seven stocks have a right to be excited. They are all improving their financial situations, making them worthy of the gains that the market rally has bestowed upon them over the past year.
I wouldn't be uncomfortable owning any of these companies. They're doing the right thing, regardless of Mr. Market's mood swings.
The expectations may be high, but these seven stocks wouldn't have it any other way.
Are you a buyer or a seller of stocks these days? Share your strategy in the comment box below.
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