There's never a dull week on Wall Street. Let's go over some of the news that will shape the week to come.
Monday
The market kicks off the new trading week with Cal-Maine (CALM 3.48%) reporting its latest quarterly results. The country's largest producer and distributor of shell eggs is hoping that the only thing running is its profitability. Analysts see a profit of $1.41 a share, up nicely from the $1.27 a share that it posted a year earlier. Then again, they were also holding out for earnings of $1.40 a share a year earlier during the same quarter, only to see Cal-Maine fall short.
Thankfully the yolk's been on the naysayers after that. Cal-Maine has blown past Wall Street's bottom-line targets with ease in two of the three subsequent quarters. It merely met expectations in the other quarter.
Tuesday
It's been a rocky road for companies toiling away in online education. The for-profit players specializing in post-secondary education have had to deal with accusations that their virtual classrooms lack the knowledge retention of physical schools. There have also been knocks on aggressive marketing tactics and crummy student loan repayment rates over the years.
It's against this backdrop that Apollo Group (APOL) is reporting on Tuesday. The company behind the iconic University of Phoenix online campus is expected to post double-digit declines in revenue and profitbaility. Sluggish enrollment trends will do that, but it's worth noting that Apollo has found a way to blast through pro estimates with ease every single quarter over the past year.
Wednesday
It's showtime for Amazon.com (AMZN 1.75%), as the leading online retailer has set up a media event that promises to "provide an update on our video business" in New York City on Wednesday.
There has been chatter for months about Amazon introducing a streaming set-top solution. The device that would take on Roku, Chromecast, Apple TV, and others was rumored to be coming out late last year, but clearly Amazon missed that holiday shopping window.
A more recent rumor indicated that Amazon was ready to roll out a free ad-supported streaming service based on its Amazon Prime platform, but the e-tail giant shot that down a few days ago.
Thursday
It will be Micron Technology (MU -0.71%) with a starring role on Thursday as the memory chip giant reports. Analysts see the DRAM leader posting a healthy profit, reversing a year-ago loss on a big surge in revenue. As a tech bellwether, Micron is likely to move the market if its numbers swing one way or the other.
Friday
The final trading day of the week is typically quiet, but one of the few companies reporting on Friday this week will be CarMax (KMX 2.64%). The auto retailer has singlehandedly cleaned up the used-car market with its clean showrooms, wide selection, and haggle-free pricing.
CarMax's report should provide a great snapshot on how secondhand cars are selling these days. Wall Street's sold. It sees double-digit percentage growth on both ends of the chain's income statement.
