4 Earnings Reports Bigger Than RIM's

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Many investors looked forward to Research in Motion's (RIMM) quarterly conference call. TheStreet provided excellent coverage. We even ran a live blog of the proceedings.

The level of interest should not come as a surprise. It's only natural to want to follow the trail of blood as a company collapses, in most pathetic fashion, right in front of our eyes.

After Thursday's earnings call, a friend asked if I was going to write a RIM article. I told him "no" because I have nothing left to say. I have called a play-by-play of the RIM implosion since March of last year. Frankly, I'm tired of hearing RIMM bulls call the bottom.

But, really, there's another, more salient reason to not write about RIM. They're irrelevant. They run in a space dominated by incredibly innovative companies. And, in a few cases, more innovative than they appeared a short time ago. RIM no longer enters into any equation that matters in the broad spaces you could argue it still (loosely) competes in.

RIM was an opening act to earnings season. One of those odd occasions when slapstick comedy primes the audience for hard-driving rock bands.

Earnings season officially gets under way when Apple (AAPL) reports. As of this writing, according to Yahoo! Finance, that event takes place on Monday, July 16. Intel (INTC) reports on Tuesday, the 17th -- that's confirmed by the company. Also confirmed by the company, Microsoft (MSFT) on Thursday, July 19. On the same day -- company-confirmed as well - Verizon (VZ).

These reports should give investors a pretty good feel for what's going on across several spaces, some of which are tightly connected.

For Apple, we'll focus on how sales of the third-generation iPad progressed in the company's fiscal year Q3. Don't expect any color on iTV, but it would be nice. If Apple beats its own low expectations and, even more so, if it blows away consensus estimates again, will the stock continue the somewhat familiar pattern of new heights, swift pullback and persistent stagnation at higher lows? While that might frustrate investors, it's been a rewarding trend over the long term.

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