Shopping bags and hospital bags will color in the week that lies ahead.
Monday
Don't you dare turn on CNBC on Monday. It's Memorial Day. The stateside markets are closed. Relax. Catch up on the flurry of earnings reports that have come in over the past few weeks. Celebrate Memorial Day as you see fit before calling it a day.
Tuesday
OK, you can wake up to CNBC now. Tuesday brings Albertson's (NYSE:ABS) up to the checkout line. Groceries can be a brutal business. Even before warehouse clubs and organic retailers began popping up all over the place, the supermarket chains were anemic producers. Albertson's was a standout, often producing net margins of 3% that may seem meager but were actually twice as fat as the industry average.
Albertson's has been on a bit of a roller coaster ride since then, bouncing back before crashing down like a wobbly pyramid of cantaloupes in Aisle 4. Analysts expect earnings to dip to $0.25 a share in its first quarter. That's a bit below the $0.29 per share that Albertson's earned a year earlier, and it would mark the fourth consecutive quarter of lower earnings for the grocer.
Wednesday
If you want to see how the other half lives after digging into Albertson's, Costco (NASDAQ:COST) chimes in on Wednesday. Warehouse clubs like Costco, BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ), and Wal-Mart's (NYSE:WMT) Sam's Club have ignited an interest in bargain-priced groceries in gargantuan sizes.
Costco was one of the earliest Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendations. The shares have more than tripled the S&P 500's return since being singled out four years ago. Wall Street is looking for profits to grow 16% higher, though it bears noting that Costco has beaten analyst estimates in three of the past four quarters.
Thursday
Discussing the quarter that truly matters, Jackson Hewitt (NYSE:JTX) will let us know how the tax-preparation business played out last month. It should be a good showing. Earlier this month, Jackson revealed that it filed 10.2% more tax returns and generated an average of 13.5% more on each one. This came after shortly after market leader H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) had to make the ironically classic confession of flubbing its own taxes. Well played, No. 2. Well played.
Friday
We will close out a rather quiet trading week with Medical Action Industries (NASDAQ:MDCI). The maker of low-tech disposable health-care goods has been a solid performer, with its shares nearly doubling over the past three years. It was around that time that we first took a closer look at the company and liked what we saw. Let's see whether the company's quarter won't be as disposable as its wound dressings and containment bags.
Until next week, I remain,
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. He is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.
