It's going to be a value meal of earnings in the week ahead with the burger and soda giants posting quarterly results. Want some fries with that? Don't worry. Some other companies are definitely fried.
Monday
Want to play my new board game? With Mattel
OK, this is how you play. Pick a company and then listen to both conference calls. Move forward one space every time that your company mentions that it is optimistic about the upcoming holiday season, has a new plaything that knocked 'em dead earlier this year at the toy show, or feels comfortable in raising its profit guidance. Move back one space every time that it singles out the competition by name, flexes irrational exuberance over its older toy lines, or mentions a lack of visibility in projecting earnings.
Cool? If not, you can always brand this board game a bored game.
Tuesday
If you ran into the 2002 version of yourself -- beyond explaining away the extra few pounds that you may have tacked on -- you would probably throw your earlier self for a loop if you suggested catching up at McDonald's
Wednesday
Bid thee well eBay
Thursday
On a day on which hundreds of worthy companies are set to reveal their results, Microsoft
However, the stock has been trading in a pretty narrow range over the past three years. You can't fault the company for trying. Mr. Softy closed out its fiscal year over the summer in grand fashion along with hiking its dividend and announcing a massive share buyback. Will the company kick off fiscal 2005 in even grander fashion? We will know when the company posts its fiscal first-quarter results on this day.
Ringing in with its caffeinated buzz, Coca-Cola
Friday
Earnings? Done. Nextel
Will that kind of resiliency win it a recommendation in our new Rule Breakers newsletter? Probably not, but there's no harm in hitting the redial button every three months.
Until next week I remain,
Rick Munarriz
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz has never run into the 2002 version of himself though he would probably have a few stock tips to share if it ever did happen. He does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this story.