With a fresh week just around the corner, a new set of economic data reports and earnings releases is on the way. Since these reports have a large effect on Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.41%) and the other major indexes, it can be helpful for investors to know what's being released in the coming week so they can know what to watch for. So let's look at what earnings releases and economic reports are on the way in the next few days.
Earnings reports to watch out for this week
On Monday, the only notable earnings report will come from Urban Outfitters, which is scheduled to report after the closing bell. Analysts estimate that revenue will come in at $927.86 million, with earnings per share of $0.55.
On Tuesday, American Eagle Outfitters and Dick's Sporting Goods are both scheduled to report before the opening bell. Analysts expect revenue of $1.04 billion and earnings of $0.26 per share for American Eagle, and revenue of $1.93 billion and EPS of $1.11 for Dick's. Caesars Entertainment will report after the bell, with expected revenue of $2.12 billion and an EPS loss of $1.49.
On Wednesday, Express reports before the bell, while Krispy Kreme and Vail Resorts will announce after the market closes. Express is expected to report revenue of $722.02 million and earnings of $0.59 per share, while analysts are looking for Krispy Kreme to post revenue of $119.59 million and earnings of $0.13. Vail is slated to announce sales of $471.16 million and EPS of $1.87.
We'll get more retail reports on Thursday, as Dollar General reports before the bell and Aeropostale and Ulta Salon will announce after the market closes. Revenue expectations for Dollar General are $4.61 billion, with EPS set at $1.02. Analysts are looking for $684.93 million in sales and an earnings loss of $0.31 per share at Aeropostale. Wall Street expects Ulta Salon to report revenue of $856.38 million and $1.07 in earnings per share.
Finally, on Friday The Buckle is expected to report revenue of $350.53 million and $1.21 earnings per share before the opening bell.
Economic reports
Wednesday will bring us the week's first major economic report, as the Mortgage Bankers Association is expected to release data on mortgage loans through the Purchase Applications Index, which measures the number of applications mortgage lenders receive. That figure tells investors a lot about the health of single-family-home sales and housing construction.
Thursday will bring the weekly jobless claims figure, and economists expect to see 330,000. Claims last week fell to 323,000, which was lower than expected. Before the 2007 recession, the average number of claims was around 320,000, a number economists consider the normal churn of the U.S. economy.
We'll also get February's retail sales figures on Thursday. In January, retail sales fell 0.4% from December, but economists expect a 0.2% increase in February over January. Auto sales will draw a lot of attention, as poor weather got the blame for holding down visits to dealerships in December and January, pulling the index lower. The snow continued in February, so it'll be intriguing to see whether the numbers improved.
Finally, on Friday we'll see the Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index. In February the index reading came in at 81.6, and economists expect an 81.8 reading this time. This report will be the preliminary estimate for March, with the final reading coming out later in the month, but it still gives investors a good idea about how consumers in general are feeling about the economy, which tends to be a predictor of how well businesses will perform in the future.
