The Fool's Look Ahead

A mouse, a house, and your tax-planning spouse all factor huge in the week of earnings that lies ahead.

Monday
If you had to boil down the home improvement realm to two retailers it would be Home Depot (NYSE:HD) and Lowe's (NYSE:LOW). While Home Depot is significantly larger, Lowe's has been kicking its rival in the orange apron over the past couple of years as customers have taken a shine to Lowe's format, which features brighter lights and an environment more conducive to female shoppers. So it's kind of fitting that the week should start with Lowe's reporting its quarterly results with Home Depot following its competitor a day later.

Back in September, in an uncharacteristically bold move, Lowe's put out an upbeat forecast for the next two years and change. Yes, in a world in which companies are lucky to dole out a target for the upcoming quarter, Lowe's is throwing down the hard hat for the next 10. Now we will see whether it built that optimism on a solid foundation.

Tuesday
For years, Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) CEO Carly Fiorina was seen as the corporate world's top female executive. However, Fortunehanded that title to eBay's (NASDAQ:EBAY) Meg Whitman this year. It's easy to see why. While Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendation eBay has continued to trounce expectations, Fiorina is still having a hard time digesting the questionable acquisition of Compaq. The companies were producing higher revenues as stand-alones than they are now. While margin improvements may ultimately vindicate Fiorina's call to gobble up Compaq, the market is taking it one quarter at a time. Let's see how many skeptics Fiorina wins over this time when the company announces its final results for the 2004 fiscal year. Wednesday

Tax-planning software specialist Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) gets "into it" as it reveals its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2005. While investors shouldn't expect much from this seasonal company -- it typically posts a loss in its July and October quarters before coming on strong in the January and April periods -- Wall Street has every reason to get excited after Intuit raised its guidance last month. It is looking to earn as much as $2.01 a share on $2 billion in revenue this year. Attractively priced at a little more than 20 times earnings, catching the company now before its financials heat up later in the fiscal year may not be such a taxing decision to make.

Thursday
It's been a rough couple of years as Disney (NYSE:DIS) has been trying to prove that it's not some Mickey Mouse company. Well, it is some Mickey Mouse company -- it is the Mickey Mouse company -- but sluggish performance at ABC, its animation studio, and its theme parks has kept the stock colder than Walt's frozen body. That sentiment is starting to thaw lately (and, don't worry, Walter Elias Disney was never laid to rest in a cryogenic state -- that's an urban legend). The company is gearing up for big theme park celebrations next year as Disneyland turns 25, and thanks to hit shows such as Lost and Desperate Housewives,ABC is hot again! It will wrap up its fiscal year on Thursday, back to where it was in peak form back in 2001, and with double-digit profit growth expected over the next few years, Disney's shares may start heating up.

Friday
Remember Doctor Bombay from the Bewitched series? Well, how about a Bombay (NYSE:BBA) in need of a doctor? The house furnishings retailer has been a bit of a broken home lately. While the company held up well last year, 2004 has been more bomb than Bombay as the company has struggled to win over shoppers with its merchandise mix. For example, the company suffered a humiliating 19% slide in same-store sales for the month of August. While the housing boom should be levitating all of the purveyors of housewares, Bombay appears to be as distant to the sector's strength as its name implies. Calling Doctor Bombay. Calling Doctor Bombay. Emergency. We need you right away.

Until next week I remain,

Rick Munarriz

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz has never donned an orange apron, though he did peck out this week's preview on an HP computer. He owns shares in Disney.