Get in Shape for Earnings Season: Wal-Mart

TheStreet.com Reload: The Last Four Weeks of Dow Earnings

Verizon

From VZ Preview: Alltel Deal Could Get Pricier:

On the [Verizon earnings conference] call, we'll be listening to determine how the company is navigating this weak macro picture. Usually, you see some traditional line loss offset by wireless and broadband. We'll see how those FIOS subs hold up, however, when they are losing their jobs. I [Ben Thomas] would say the over/under for new FIOS subs [subscriptions] is probably around 225,000. Look for landline losses of around 650,000.

Also, listen for comments on the Alltel deal. Given the credit freeze, there may be a few hiccups closing this. I'm not saying that it doesn't happen, but it might wind up costing more.

Read the full version of VZ Preview: Alltel Deal Could Get Pricier (RealMoney access required).

From VZ Controlling Costs Very Well:

Verizon reported a decent quarter given the macro backdrop, with wireless doing a little better than expected offset by a faster drop-off in wireline.

The company added 2.1 million wireless subs, 225,000 FIOS subs and lost 571,000 wireline subs. The FIOS subs were right in line with my preview, but the wireline losses were not as bad as expected.

Read the full version of VZ Controlling Costs Very Well (RealMoney access required).

From Verizon Meets Estimates; Shares Rise:

The New York phone giant recorded net income of $1.67 billion, or 59 cents a share, compared with net income of $1.27 billion, or 44 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted for one-time items, Verizon said it had a profit of 66 cents a share, which matches the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

Following rival AT&T's (T Quote)own earnings report Wednesday [Oct. 22], which showed greater-than-expected growth in its wireless division thanks to Apple's (AAPL Quote) iPhone 3G, there was concern Verizon Wireless would see slower growth.

"We did see some churn to the iPhone during the quarter," said COO Denny Strigl on the Verizon's conference call, before adding that the wireless division still outperformed expectations. "Our plan is to certainly grow at the kinds of numbers you have seen in this quarter. We'll meet the competition head on."

On the wireline side, Verizon's core business continued to erode, just as AT&T had reported last week. Wireline revenue fell 1.7% from a year ago to $12.2 billion as customers disconnect second lines or shift to competing services.

Read the full version of Verizon Meets Estimates; Shares Rise. (Related: What AT&T's Earnings Say About Verizon)

Updates: Cramer's 'Stop Trading!': Viva Verizon and They Just Don't Get Verizon! (on TheStreet.com TV).

Plus, to listen to Verizon's conference call, click here.

Kraft Foods and Procter & Gamble

From KFT Preview: Handling the Private-Label Challenge:

It is indicative of this bear market that even Kraft, a consumer staples stock with big problems, is beginning to look cheap now at $27.

Much like loan losses on mortgages, I believe that nobody really knows how high private-label penetrations and their attendant negative margin pressure can go in this recession, especially for poorly positioned food companies. There are lots of other better positioned consumer packaged goods stocks that are also very cheap at this juncture.

So, the focus for the call should be on reading the tea leaves for future price increases, volume gains and percentage price differentials between private-label and Kraft offerings.

Read the full version of KFT Preview: Handling the Private-Label Challenge (RealMoney access required).

TheStreet.com TV Rewind: Rising Food Costs, Fat Returns (Video, July 28)

To help you make sense of Kraft's latest earnings, get some context with David Peltier who dissects Kraft's strong earnings report from the previous quarter.

To watch the video, click the player below:

Updates: Kraft's Adjusted Earnings Flat and KFT Slices at Margins (RealMoney access required).

Plus, to listen to Kraft's conference call, click here.

From PG Preview: Currency, Commodities and the Consumer:

The company is really a mid-single-digit "organic grower" (ex-currency) with a stable and consistent earnings stream. Procter & Gamble is also a prodigious cash flow and free cash generator, generating almost $5 a share in cash flow and about half that in free cash flow over the trailing four quarters.

It will be interesting to hear management's comments and guidance about the three C's: currency, commodities and, ultimately, the consumer (excluding the U.S.). While a stronger dollar and a penny-pinching consumer are potential negatives, sharply lower commodity costs and higher margins are one big positive.

Read the full version of PG Preview: Currency, Commodities and the Consumer (RealMoney access required).

Plus, don't miss this recent Procter & Gamble-focused video on TheStreet.com TV: Best Brands, Super Stocks (Sept. 17: Robert Millen, co-manager of the Jensen Portfolio, says the best stock ideas for a downturn can be found on supermarket shelves.)

Updates: Procter & Gamble Profit Rises 9% and Consumer Remains the Wild Card for PG (RealMoney access required).

Plus, to listen to Procter & Gamble's conference call, click here.

Exxon Mobil

From XOM Preview: Perched Upon a Pile of Cash:

I [Scott Rothbort] constantly ponder what management is going to do with the company's [Exxon Mobil] huge cash war chest of nearly $40 billion. I would not rule out additional stock buybacks at these depressed levels nor would I rule out a strategic acquisition.

Read the full version of XOM Preview: Perched Upon a Pile of Cash (RealMoney access required).

Updates: Exxon Mobil Has New Record Profit and Investors Jittery About XOM's Outlook (RealMoney access required).

Plus, to listen to Exxon Mobil's conference call, click here.

Chevron

From CVX Preview: Weather's a Wildcard:

CVX [Chevron] is expected to earn $3.25 on revenue of $86.79 billion... As with its peers, I expect CVX to better estimates on strong upstream results.

Read the full version of CVX Preview: Weather's a Wildcard (RealMoney access required).

Update: A Few Words on CVX Earnings (RealMoney access required).

Plus, to listen to Chevron's conference call, click here.

American Express

From AXP Preview: Be Braced for the Worst:

American Express is clearly hurting from the current economic slowdown. Business travel is being severely curtailed with the loss of financial services corporate travel quite apparent. High energy costs during the summer and recessionary forces also put a dent in consumer-based travel. Both transaction volumes and dollar volumes will decline for card usage. On top of all this is a deteriorating credit environment, which should lead to further loss reserves and writedowns at the card unit.

Read the full version of AXP Preview: Be Braced for the Worst (RealMoney access required).

Updates: Worries Underlie American Express Beat They Just Don't Get AMEX! (on TheStreet.com TV) and AXP Takes the Good With the Bad (on RealMoney).

Plus, to listen to American Express's conference call, click here.

Caterpillar, DuPont, Pfizer and 3M

From CAT Preview: Hanging in There?:

Despite Caterpillar's reputation for cyclicality, the stock has held up better than most in the recent market retreat. That's probably because there are fewer clouds over this company than most.

The company is expected to earn about $1.52 a share on $12 billion of sales for the quarter just ended.

Like many other U.S. companies, Caterpillar has suffered from the weakness of the U.S. housing market.

Unlike some U.S. companies, Caterpillar has an ace in the hole in terms of foreign sales, which represent just half of the total. Key customers here are in Brazil, Russia, India and China. Because its agricultural equipment represents a major part of the solution, Caterpillar's stock price (and earnings) have benefited recently from the rapidly growing demand for food in these countries, which has also lifted the prices of food and fertilizer shares. Other potential areas for rising profit are infrastructure and oilfield services.

On the conference call, I would be listening for the mix of U.S. vs. foreign sales, as well as for the internal mix of stateside sales.

Read the full version of CAT Preview: Hanging in There? (RealMoney access required).

Updates: Caterpillar Net Falls on Higher Materials Costs and Street Skins the CAT on Uncertain Outlook (on RealMoney).

Plus, to listen to Caterpillar's conference call, click here.

From DuPont Earnings Fall on Charges:

Sales in the quarter rose 9% to $7.3 billion. Continuing growth in emerging markets, where sales increased 25%, contributed to 16% sales growth outside the U.S., the company said in a press release Tuesday.

DuPont said higher selling prices more than offset a 16% increase in raw material, energy and freight costs.

Read the full version of DuPont Earnings Fall on Charges.

Plus, to listen to DuPont's conference call, click here.

From PFE Preview: Deep Value Dose:

Pfizer is a mature drug company, and its heyday of 12% to 15% earnings growth based on one or two key drugs such as Viagra is probably over. Similar to peers... it is basically a manager of a large portfolio of medications of varying sizes and profitability. The sum total is quite impressive: Consensus earnings estimates are for 55 cents a share on $12 billion of sales in the third quarter and $2.15 a share on $48 billion of sales for all of 2008.

Individual drugs (as opposed to drug companies as a whole) are subject to "royalty trust" pressures, declining sales and profit bases. Key concerns for Pfizer in this regard are Lipitor, a cardiovascular drug, and Zoloft, an antidepressant.

Read the full version of PFE Preview: Deep Value Dose (RealMoney access required).

Updates: Pfizer Narrows Full-Year Forecast, Top Dividend Stock to Buy Now and PFE Sees Strength in Overseas Markets (on RealMoney).

Plus, to listen to Pfizer's conference call, click here.

From 3M's Profit Tops Expectations:

Net income for the quarter was $991 million, or $1.41 a share, up from $960 million and $1.32 a share in the same period last year.

During the latest quarter, sales rose 10% in the industrial and transportation segment to $2 billion. In the health-care division, sales were up 10.7% to $1.1 billion, and safety, security and protection services had a 27.1% revenue increase to $974 million.

Read the full verison of 3M's Profit Tops Expectations.

Plus, to listen to 3M's conference call, click here.