Dot-com giants and the maker of the Model T will color in the week that lies ahead.
Monday
After an abridged trading week, earnings season kicks off with some dot-com bellwethers reporting on their March quarters. The week will start quietly enough with a collection of bankers like Wachovia (NYSE:WB) stepping up. After merging with First Union five years ago, Wachovia has become the country's fourth-largest bank. Analysts expect the company to earn $1.12 a share come Monday morning. It will be a steady yet definite increase from the $1.03 per share it earned a year earlier.
Tuesday
If it's Tuesday, it must be Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO), as the search engine pioneer is set to report its first-quarter results. The company will have plenty to say if it's looking to elaborate on recent developments like its decision to scale back on proprietary content, the industry's click fraud disputes, and a comScore report showing the company losing market share in its flagship search services. Yes, the company may very well have some good news to share, too. Analysts expect the company to earn just $0.11 a share for the period, a sum that is lower both sequentially and year over year.
Wednesday
And the dot-com hits keep coming with eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) reporting in the middle of the week. The company's overseas business and its PayPal financial payment service have been growing quicker than the company's domestic auction stronghold, but jaded investors were treated to a little acceleration domestically in the middle of last year. We'll see where things stand and how the company is integrating its Skype acquisition.
If eBay isn't enough, Apple Computer (NASDAQ:AAPL) will also report on Wednesday. The company has been nibbling back computing market share, and its iPods continue to sell like, well, iPods.
Thursday
Two days after Yahoo! reports, we'll get the other paid search bookend when Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) announces its first-quarter results. Google doesn't provide investors with guidance, so Wall Street has been off in the past. It undershot the company's earnings potential through its first four quarters as a public company, and then it overestimated Google's profitability in the most recent quarter. Is this the quarter in which analysts finally figure Google out? Don't bet on it.
Friday
A little more old school and with a lot more mileage, Ford (NYSE:F) closes out the trading week with its quarter's numbers. Along with General Motors (NYSE:GM), the stateside automakers have struggled lately. Higher gas prices have swayed drivers to smaller, fuel-efficient imports. Is the company making inroads toward a turnaround?
Until next week, I remain,
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Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz recommends windshield wiper fluid when trying to look forward. He does not own shares in any of the companies in this story. The Fool has a disclosure policy. Rick is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.
