The Fool's Look Ahead

Recs

2

Monday
SYNNEX (NYSE: SNX) starts off the new trading week. The IT supply-chain solutions specialist is expected to post a profit of $0.46 per share for its latest quarter. That's slightly ahead of the $0.43 per share it generated a year earlier. But here's what the numbers don't tell you: SYNNEX has beaten bottom-line targets in each of the past nine quarters.

Maybe the pros have a hard time getting a handle on the company. Maybe SYNNEX is a serial sandbagger. You simply need to know that momentum's on its side to come out ahead once again on Monday.

Tuesday
If you're going to dress up on Tuesday, a red hat would be nice. Red Hat (NYSE: RHT), the enterprise software company that has successfully commercialized the Linux open-source platform, reports that day. Beyond its numbers, Fools should see whether the company sheds any light on its competitors. It's been nearly a year since Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) announced their plans to nibble at Red Hat's market. Tune in to see whether either attack has any teeth so far.

Wednesday
Few companies hand out employee checks on Wednesdays, but that's when you'll have to check on payroll specialist Paychex (NYSE: PAYX). The pros expect its net income to climb 11% to $0.39 per share. If not, let's just say that the reality check will be in the mail.

Paychex has plenty to prove. For years, it consistently smashed quarterly profits, but the pay-processing giant simply hasn't met expectations in each of the two previous periods.

Thursday
If you want to see some slopes, you don't have to hit one of Vail Resorts' (NYSE: MTN) properties. Just check out its lumpy financials. Its fiscal fourth quarter covers the powder-free months of May, June, and July, so you know that Vail will post a sharp loss in Thursday's report. The key here will be getting a read on how the company expects the upcoming snow-skiing season to turn out. 

Friday
It's sleepy on the earnings front, but don't expect Wall Street to catch a nap. Friday is the last trading day of the third quarter. You can expect a few subpar money managers to jockey for position in a practice known as "window-dressing," making sure that they show ownership of hot stocks in their quarterly reports. It's silly. It's pointless. For a lack of a better term, it's Wall Street.

Until next week, I remain,
Rick Munarriz

“Make Big Money With Options” Motley Fool CFO Ollen Douglass recently made over $100,000 buying options on 7 well known stocks. Now we’re committed to turning his small fortune into a massive one! And we want you to join us! Enter your email address to hear more:

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Related Tickers

12/1/2009 4:02 PM
MTN $39.00 Up +0.21 +0.54%
Vail Resorts, Inc. CAPS Rating: ***
SNX $28.75 Up +0.44 +1.55%
SYNNEX Corp CAPS Rating: *****
MSFT $30.01 Up +0.60 +2.04%
Microsoft Corp CAPS Rating: ***
ORCL $22.44 Up +0.36 +1.63%
Oracle Corp. CAPS Rating: ****

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