Screens, genes, and magazines will color in the week that lies ahead.
Monday
We'll kick off the new trading week by screening the results of LG Philips (NYSE:LPL). Second only to Samsung in the booming world of liquid crystal display televisions, the joint venture between Korea's LG Electronics and the Dutch Philips NV consumer-electronics conglomerate has posted higher earnings in three straight quarters. That streak is likely to end Monday, with Wall Street expecting the company to post a loss of $0.02 per share for the period. Don't worry. It will still be a significantly narrower loss than the $0.14 a share it lost a year earlier.
The flat-screen industry has been a hit for retailers, but the lower selling prices find the manufacturers looking to make up the difference in volume. We'll learn a little more come Monday morning, when LG Philips shows us "the big picture."
Tuesday
Even though many associate biotech with risky upstarts and tenuous pipelines, Genentech (NYSE:DNA) is as blue-chip as the red-hot sector can get. The company has been consistently profitable, with plenty of cancer-killers and cardiovascular treatments on the market. Tuesday afternoon will find the company spilling the beans on its fiscal first quarter.
Wednesday
Circuit City (NYSE:CC) plugs in on Wednesday. As one of the consumer-electronics superstore chains to benefit from the plasma- and LCD-television revolution, Circuit City's report should be good. It just happens to cover the holiday quarter, which is when Circuit City -- like many retailers -- earns far more than the other three periods combined. The company earned $0.58 a share a year earlier during the quarter. Wall Street is looking for that healthy sum to improve to $0.76 a share.
Thursday
We'll have a double shot of old-school newspapers as both Tribune (NYSE:TRB) and New York Times (NYSE:NYT) report on their quarters. Even though both companies have embraced the Internet as a perpetual disseminator, sluggish subscription levels in the print world have weighed heavily on the companies and their peers.
Friday
How heavy has the burden been on the newspaper industry? If Thursday's reports don't shade the sector in the appropriate hues, you'll have Knight Ridder (NYSE:KRI) chiming in on Friday. Despite the stock market taking the day off, Knight Ridder is still slated to speak up. Stagnant earnings growth found the company accepting a buyout bid from McClatchy (NYSE:MNI) last month. With its fate all but sealed, it will be interesting to see what Knight Ridder has painted.
Until next week, I remain,
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz recommends windshield wiper fluid when trying to look forward. He does not own shares in any of the companies in this story. 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.
