Broth and floss will play bit parts in the week of news ahead.
Monday
Is that a chill in the air? That pesky cold front making things nippy outside? Man, wouldn't you love to be Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) right about now? The canned-soup giant isn't all about the broth, of course. The company also makes sure that your grocer's shelves are stocked with plenty of Pepperidge Farms baked goods, fine Godiva chocolates, and Pace salsas. The foodstuffs juggernaut kicks off the abridged trading week with its fiscal first-quarter report.
The company went into the period with favorable momentum. In its previous quarter, Campbell saw earnings rise by 28% on a modest 5% uptick in sales. That kind of hearty margin growth should be canned and passed on to shareholders. We'll see if the company can keep improving its operating efficiency.
Tuesday
It will be raining dollars as Dollar General (NYSE:DG) and Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) take turns unveiling their third-quarter reports. The thrifty retailers have been neglected lately by run-of-the-mill investors. That kind of negligence often triggers a Pavolvian reaction in contrarian investing guru Philip Durell. In fact, he recommended the purchase of Dollar Tree to Motley Fool Inside Value investors over the summer. Can a discounter be discounted to the point where the bargain retailer itself is the real bargain? It's a loaded question. Let's see what Tuesday's rain brings.
Wednesday
It figures. A day before you start feasting on pumpkin pie and cranberry-dipped turkey, a dentistry specialist has something to say. Naturally, Patterson Dental (NASDAQ:PDCO) won't be telling you to floss regularly or lecturing you about the evils of gingivitis. The company just wants a little podium time in the morning to let the market know how its quarter fared. Investors will be listening, though, as the maker of dentistry, veterinary, and rehabilitation products has poked Wall Street with two straight disappointing quarters.
Just a thought, here. If the company's conference call starts with "We will now administer the Novocaine," I recommend you rinse, spit, and bolt for the exit.
Thursday
Thanksgiving is all about the Fs. Family. Feasting. Football. Financial reports. What? Doesn't the market take the day off? Sure. Wall Street is closed in observance of the holiday. However, the markets are open everywhere else. One company worth checking out will be Nintendo (NASDAQ:NTDOY). The company's report happens to be come just two days after the debut of the anxiously anticipated Xbox 360. Perhaps Nintendo will shed a little more light on its next-generation gaming console. It certainly doesn't want to give Microsoft too much lead time; Nintendo's Gamecube has slipped to No. 3 in the sales rankings of video game consoles.
Friday
Leftovers. That's the breakfast of champions as American shoppers gear up for Black Friday. This is the day when the holiday shopping season kicks off in earnest, with stores offering big deals to woo the gift-buying public. With some economists projecting a rather lackluster showing at the retail level, expect some huge deals as chain stores look to fill up their registers with discounted receipts.
As always, it will be interesting to see how the online retailers perform. Popular destinations like Motley Fool Stock Advisor pick Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Motley Fool Rule Breakers recommendation Overstock.com (NASDAQ:OSTK) have been growing much faster than their brick-and-mortar counterparts in recent years, and dot-com shopping continues to devour market share. Will it mean an easier time finding a parking space at the local mall? Uh ... good luck with that.
Want to learn more about the companies waiting to report earnings this week? Check out:
- Campbell's May Be a Hearty Idea
- When Dollars Run Dry
- Another Cavity for Patterson
- Nintendo's Revolutionary Controller
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. T he 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.
