If you've been waiting for some of Wall Street's biggest movers and shakers to step up to the earnings stage, have we got a week for you. The market will be rumbling as such companies as Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) report alongside the revved-up Ford (NYSE:F) and General Motors (NYSE:GM). The carmakers will be watched closely after leading auto retailer AutoNation (NYSE:AN) reported June weakness of both domestic brands earlier this month.
Along with a beaker's worth of pharmaceuticals companies such as Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) sharing the podium, you might even find yourself looking past prolific Motley Fool Stock Advisor newsletter recommendations Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) and eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY).
And that would be a shame. In EA's case, you have the most dominant video game maker ready to relish the recent price cuts on video game console hardware. In eBay, you have an online company that has erected the format's widest and deepest moat.
Who doesn't love eBay? I mean, sure, you may hear folks complaining about the auction site's fees and the awkward My eBay 2.0 interface -- or even grander Internet auction concerns such as fraud -- but in the end everyone returns to eBay.
Still growing quickly, the company managed to grow revenues by 59% this past quarter as topping the $3 billion sum for the entire year appears to be all but a given. It seems easy when you realize the two pillars of eBay's magnetism: Auction sellers flock to where the buyers are, and auction buyers will go where the sellers are.
Perhaps that's why it will be worth joining the herd on Wednesday, gathering around to see what eBay has to say. That's one thing you can say about eBay: It will bid for your attention.
When will eBay mature? Will it ever happen? What are the pros and cons of doing business on eBay? Will the stock always appear overpriced yet rise above it? All this and more -- in the eBay discussion board. Only on Fool.com.
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz is a satisfied eBay user -- with 137 positive feedbacks to show for it -- but he does not own shares in the company. Come to think of it, he does not own shares in any companies mentioned in this story.
