Coming Week: Shopper Spotlight

Retail Round-Up

In terms of profit reports, it's all about the almighty consumer in the coming week as retailers dominate the earnings lineup.

"We're now in the tail-end of the earnings season, and we want to end on a high note," says Mendelsohn. "The forward guidance hasn't been very positive. Certainly, retail sales are going to continue to remain very important."

The onslaught begins with the world's biggest retailer, Wal-Mart(WMT). Investors will be closely watching to see how the company's bottom line fared during a holiday period in which it recorded its first monthly same-store sales decline in a decade and sought to undercut rivals on prices, potentially hurting margins.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call expect the Bentonville, Ark., giant to post earnings of 90 cents a share, up from 84 cents last year, on $99.33 billion in revenue.

Fellow Dow component Home Depot (HD) also will report its quarterly figures Tuesday morning. The report will be the first since CEO Robert Nardelli left the company amid criticism for the retailer's declining sales and stagnant stock price.

Wall Street is looking for the home improvement retailer to report fourth-quarter earnings of 50 cents a share, down from 60 cents a year earlier, on sales of $20.8 billion.

On Wednesday, retailers reporting include Abercrombie & Fitch(ANF), TJX (TJX) and Zale (ZLC).

J.C. Penney (JCP) will report its results Thursday, and Home Depot rival Lowe's(LOW) joins the fray on Friday.

Away from retail, computer titan Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) will report its fiscal first-quarter earnings on Tuesday. Analysts project earnings of 62 cents a share and revenue of $24.28 billion. A year earlier, the company reported a profit of 48 cents a share and revenue of $22.66 billion.

Other companies reporting in the week include Elan(ELN), Whole Foods(WFMI), H&R Block (HRB) and Toll Brothers(TOL).

Staff reporter Gregg Greenberg contributed to this report.

1 What would best describe your stance heading into the coming week of trading? Bullish Bearish Neutral 2 Which of these sectors do you think is set to move up in the coming week? --Choose One--Aerospace and DefenseAirlinesAutomobilesBeverages and Food ProductsBiotechnologyCommercial BanksComputers and PeripheralsConsumer NondurablesEnergy Equipment & ServicesHMOs and HospitalsHomebuildingInsuranceIntegrated OilInternet, Software ServicesInvestment Bankers and BrokersMediaMultiline RetailPharmaceuticalsPrecious MetalsSemis, Semi EquipmentTelecom EquipmentTobacco and AlcoholWireless CommunicationsUtilities 3 Which of these sectors do you think is set to move down in the coming week? --Choose One--Aerospace and DefenseAirlinesAutomobilesBeverages and Food ProductsBiotechnologyCommercial BanksComputers and PeripheralsConsumer NondurablesEnergy Equipment & ServicesHMOs and HospitalsHomebuildingInsuranceIntegrated OilInternet, Software ServicesInvestment Bankers and BrokersMediaMultiline RetailPharmaceuticalsPrecious MetalsSemis, Semi EquipmentTelecom EquipmentTobacco and AlcoholWireless CommunicationsUtilities View the results without voting

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