Monday
How does kicking off the week with breakfast at Tiffany (NYSE: TIF) sound? The high-end jeweler reports its fourth-quarter results on Monday morning. Analysts expect earnings to climb 13% to $1.21 a share during the holiday period.
It's an important report for Tiffany, which has historically earned more in the final quarter than its first three periods combined. The upscale retailer is also riding a welcome trend, besting expectations in each of the past five quarters.
Tuesday
Jabil Circuit (NYSE: JBL) follows on Tuesday. Wall Street expects the electronic manufacturing specialist to post a profit of $0.18 a share for the quarter, a respectable 29% improvement over last year's showing. Jabil is coming off a fiscal 2007 that saw sales climb 20% higher but profits fall sharply.
Wednesday
Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) and Paychex (Nasdaq: PAYX), two companies that lend a hand to companies in entirely different ways, report on Wednesday. Whether it's enterprise software through Oracle or payroll processing through Paychex, both firms are expected to grow their bottom lines during the period.
Thursday
ConAgra (NYSE: CAG) checks in on Thursday, with a $0.39-per-share profit target that's flat with last year's showing. The company's been making headlines for all of the wrong reasons over the past year, after recalls of pot pies and its Peter Pan peanut butter. This doesn't necessarily make ConAgra the Mattel of foodstuffs, but are better times ahead? Check in on Thursday to see whether ConAgra has growth in its future.
Friday
The week closes with Steelcase (NYSE: SCS) on the earnings stage. I love checking the reports from office supply makers like Steelcase and Herman Miller (Nasdaq: MLHR), because they make great gauges for the state of corporate sentiment. If companies are scared, they're not buying more office furniture.
Until next week, I remain,
Rick Munarriz
