To keep you ahead of the curve during earnings season, The Motley Fool's retail sector will give you a preview of which companies will be reporting during the week of Jan. 8-12. In the process, we'll let you know what happened last quarter so that you'll have an idea of what to expect this time around.
January is typically a slow month for retailers in terms of post-holiday sales as well as earnings releases. But that's not to say there will be a void of good content coming down the pipe. Far from it.
Midrange restaurant Ruby Tuesday (NYSE:RI), which got hit with an analyst downgrade this week, reports earnings next week. Last quarter, Jeremy MacNealy commented that though performance was a bit light, the company is still poised for a turnaround.
Last time we checked on California Pizza Kitchen (NASDAQ:CPKI), Wall Street was hurling tomatoes at the company for not being able to live up to its previous guidance. Wall Street doesn't like to be caught with mozzarella on its face. Will this quarter be any different? Let's hope so; otherwise, there will just be an even bigger mess in the kitchen.
While that's about it for earnings releases, some additional news on December sales results will continue to trickle in. Many in the home-decor sector will report how they fared over the holiday. Will there will be some good news from Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM), Restoration Hardware (NASDAQ:RSTO), or Tuesday Morning (NASDAQ:TUES)? The last we reported, William-Sonoma's Pottery Barn had a crack, Tuesday Morning needs to get comps moving in the right direction, and Restoration Hardware has been surpassing expectations, so more good news would help to establish a nice trend.
We'll also find out how master bling-slinger Tiffany (NYSE:TIF) did over the holiday. I know I didn't help its cause -- I'm afraid to even walk in one of its stores. International sales have been adding some shine to the company, though, and we'll see whether folks abroad piled on some additional sparkle in December.
We'll close the week with a song, or at least some impressive riffs, as Guitar Center (NASDAQ:GTRC) will let us know whether sales are on the rise or out of tune. Our own Rick Munarriz, known to have a soft spot for Guitar Center, reported that things were looking up for the musical-instrument retailer after it recently dropped its pick. We'll see whether it's back playing a sweet tune.
In case you were still recovering from some serious New Year's Eve fun and weren't able to keep up with our retail news from this week, we've summarized the best for you. And that's just a small way for us to say thanks for being a devoted reader.
Fool on!
Retail editor and Inside Value team member David Meier is ranked 420 out of 19,280 participants in Motley Fool CAPS and does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned. You can view his TMF profile here. The Fool takes its disclosure policy very seriously.
