Mickey Mouse, hungry mouths, and cleaning house will all factor in the week that lies ahead. Let's take a closer look.
Monday
In a transformation worthy of one if its own rags-to-princess hand-drawn fairy tales, Disney (NYSE:DIS) will be kicking off the week with its fiscal first-quarter earnings in a much kinder climate than it was facing a year ago. That was when shareholder disappointment with the company culminated in a rocky annual meeting in which most of the votes that were physically cast called for the ouster of CEO Michael Eisner from the company's board. While he agreed to step down a few months later, it was the company's performance that ultimately won many of its loudest cynics over. With its once struggling ABC network relevant again and theme park attendance growing, Disney doesn't have to worry about trying to force itself into that glass slipper anymore. It just fits.
Tuesday
If you're hungry for Taco Bell, KFC, or Pizza Hut, I'd love to suggest some finer cuisine, but it's fairly obvious that all three quick-service chains are popular. Those three pillars of value-priced edibles make up Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM), and Tuesday will find the company posting its final 2004 results. The company had already projected 14% in earnings growth over the course of the year and at least a 10% uptick in profits for 2005. Most of that strength is coming from the company's aggressive push overseas, especially in the populous country of China. But, no, that doesn't mean that KFC will be renamed CFC.
Wednesday
If there's a rumble in the jungle, we may as well check to see what's in Amazon's (NASDAQ:AMZN) belly. The popular online retailer and Motley Fool Stock Advisor newsletter recommendation will shed some more light on its seasonally charged December quarter. It had already reported that, quite predictably, the 2004 holiday shopping season was its strongest ever. The site's most active shopping day translated into 2.8 million items being ordered -- or roughly 32 items a second. So, sure, sales will be strong, but will margins hold up? We'll know soon enough.
Thursday
The cola wars aren't as heated as they used to be, though it's not as if either Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) or Pepsi (NYSE:PEP) will be calling a truce any time soon. Thursday will be Pepsi's turn to report from the trenches. While Pepsi has always lagged Coke in case volume, it also has a wide range of products and is the market leader in salty snacks through its various Frito-Lay lines. In fact, Pepsi was also the company that spun-off Yum! Brands as a way to key in on chips and sodas. So while Coke has stuck close to its beverage roots -- and it's pretty darn good at it -- Pepsi has had no problem dabbling in everything from Quaker instant oatmeal to Gatorade sport drinks and Tropicana fruit juices.
Friday
The time has come, but has Time Warner (NYSE:TWX) come around? After a difficult digestion process between Time Warner and AOL -- which for years had many wondering exactly who was swallowing whom -- the speculation of what Time Warner will do with America Online will no doubt continue when the company is quizzed about its latest quarterly reports on Friday.
It would be a mistake to give up on AOL so quickly. Despite suffering through two years of declining subscriber counts, the popular online service still commands 22 million subscribers willing to pay a premium for the online surfing experience. That's why AOL and its proprietary interface can't be ignored; the company's core users make up a mighty and lucrative target audience for advertisers.
Need to brush up on the companies that will be in the news this week? Then check out:
Until next week I remain,
Rick Munarriz
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz favors Coke products over Pepsi, but good luck talking him out of a bag of barbecue-flavored Fritos. He does own shares in Disney. 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.
