A mouse, a house, and some shopping for your spouse will play bit parts in the week of news that is waiting to happen.
Monday
Would Sam Walton approve of how Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT) is faring without him? The low share price probably wouldn't be all that appealing, but the company continues to grow consistently. Sales rise. Earnings rise. Even the company's dividend rate has taken a hike every single year since 1974. Sure, the company has had its share of image problems in recent years, but value investors seem to be rallying around the company as the stock has traded this cheap based on just about every gauge in ages. Can Wal-Mart get any cheaper? Let's see what Monday's report has to offer the bargain hunters lining up outside.
Tuesday
Another company that has been wooing investors with its dividend is La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB). In fact, the furniture specialist was recommended in Mathew Emmert's Income Investor newsletter last year. The company's 3.7% yield is awfully tempting. However, owning the stock hasn't been as relaxing as kicking back on one of the company's signature recliners. Last month, La-Z-Boy warned that a shortage of polyurethane foam caused by a Katrina-stricken supplier's outage would seriously impact the quarter's financials. This seems like a temporary stumbling block, right? Let's hear what the company has to say about this when it reports on Tuesday.
Wednesday
Homebuilder D.R. Horton (NYSE:DHI) follows, and it's going to be a report worth tuning into. Just a few days ago, Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) reduced its sales forecast for 2006. That turned heads in a sector that already had many investors jittery. As long as housing prices remained buoyant, real estate developers have been able to produce great results by selling new homes at marked-up premiums. However, after a dozen different rate hikes, it seems as if the Fed's impact is starting to have an effect on the red hot real estate sector. This isn't necessarily the beginning of the end. Toll still sees an uptick in new homes next year, and most homebuilders have record backlogs on their hands. However, the growth is definitely slowing down. Will Horton hear a hoot? That's what's Wednesday is all about.
Thursday
M-I-C? See, it's CEO Bob Iger's first quarterly report as CEO of Disney (NYSE:DIS). K-E-Y? Why? Because folks got fed up with Michael Eisner. Then, faster than you can spell "M-O-U-S-E," the company is back to report on its pivotal summer season. Did the brutal hurricane season rain on attendance at its Florida parks? How is ABC faring so far in the new programming season? How many burning bridges has Iger been able to mend in Eisner's absence? Iger's take on these things and more will follow on Thursday.
Friday
Retailers have been a mixed bag lately. That's why even the typically sleepy Friday will have something worth staying awake for when Ann Taylor (NYSE:ANN) sheds some light on its latest quarter. The company is doing some things right lately. For instance, it produced great comps just last month. As we head into the critical holiday season, that's vital for a company looking to win over the gift buying hordes.
Want to learn more about the companies waiting to report earnings this week? Check out:
- Don't Tell Sam Walton He's Dead
- La-Z-Boy's Uncomfortable Warnings
- Dear Iger ...
- Early to Ann's Party
Until next week I remain,
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz recommends windshield wiper fluid when trying to look forward. He does own shares in Disney. T he Fool has a disclosure policy. He is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.
