To keep you ahead of the curve during earnings season, The Motley Fool's retail sector will give you a preview of which companies are reporting in the upcoming week -- in this case, the week of Nov. 6-10. In the process, we'll let you know what happened last quarter so that you'll have an idea of what to expect from this quarter.
Next week, we'll see an interesting assortment of companies reporting their quarterly performance. The Fool has covered some of the names well in the past; some of them we haven't covered much at all.
The week starts off with Big 5 Sporting Goods (NASDAQ:BGFV), natural-foods grocer Wild Oats Markets (NASDAQ:OATS), and the granddaddy of department stores, Federated Department Stores (NYSE:FD), home to Macy's and Bloomingdale's.
The last time we reported on Big 5, it was having some trouble. We'll now have a chance to see whether things are turning around for the sporting-goods retailer.
It's been an up and down year for Wild Oats, and the last time we checked in on the company's performance, it was on the rise. But it's hard growing up next to a giant in the organic- and natural-food business. You know who I'm talking about. Let's see whether some more sunshine made its way down to Wild Oats.
Federated has been in the news recently, with financier and corporate agitator Carl Icahn saying he wanted to increase his stake in the company to $500 million. We'll look for some clues why after we see Federated's quarterly performance.
Thursday is a big day. Retailers J.C. Penney (NYSE:JCP), Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN), and Charlotte Russe (NASDAQ:CHIC) will give us an idea of how well the American consumer is holding up these days.
J.C. Penney was "making cents" last quarter, while Urban Outfitters was finding life on the streets to be a bit mean. And I didn't speak very highly of Charlotte Russe when I used it as an example of "bad growth" earlier this year. Will these companies see a change in their fortunes? We'll find out in a few short days.
I can't think of a better way to end the week than with a gourmet pie from California Pizza Kitchen (NASDAQ:CPKI), especially because Rick Munarriz wrote in October that its delectable pizza designs have been translating into improved performance. Investors can hope to learn on Thursday that the streak will continue.
No companies report in this sector on Friday, so that may be the day that I try to win the World Cup on my Sony PlayStation. I'll let you know how I fared.
In case you missed it because you were shopping until you dropped, here's a summary of what happened this week in the world of retailing. And be sure to check out what the Fool's best and brightest analysts say about the companies we've talked about right here, come next week.
Fool on!
Retail editor and Inside Value team member David Meier is ranked 90th out of more than 12,000 players in Motley Fool CAPS and does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned. You can view his TMF profile here. The Fool takes its disclosure policy very seriously.
