MARKET SNAPSHOT: Retailers Close Out Earnings Season

By Wallace Witkowski, MarketWatch Home Depot, Lowe's, Target report results

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Earnings season wraps up this week as the last Dow component and most of the remaining S&P 500 companies report. Retail earnings, which took a hit with poor September sales, will again be in focus.

Stocks finished up for the fourth week in a row with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) and the S&P 500 Index (SPX) both up 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index gaining 1.2%. Upward momentum on the S&P 500 appears to be running out of steam as the index has closed above its 5-day moving average 21 days in a row, something that's only happened three times in the past 20 years.

Home Depot is the last of the Dow components to report this season, and reports this week will be dominated by retailers. Just over 20 S&P 500 companies will report this week.

The concern at the beginning of earnings season that a stronger dollar would put a dent in profits was warranted.

Profit and revenue from companies with more than 50% of their sales outside of the U.S. fared significantly worse than counterparts that rely mainly on domestic sales this season, according to John Butters, senior earnings analyst at FactSet.

The good news is that most retailers reporting this week rely solely on North American sales. They'll need that help. The bad news is that the final month of the quarter, September, saw the first dip in retail sales in eight months. Plus, the consumer discretionary sector, of which retail is a part, is the worst performing this season when it comes to earnings growth.

During the past week, retailers that reported results missed consensus sales estimates for the third quarter, with the notable exception of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.(WMT).

That makes holiday sales -- those of the current quarter -- all the more crucial. So far, there's a shred of optimism as October sales rose 0.3%, or 0.5% when gasoline sales were stripped out.

Notable companies reporting earnings this week

 
Report Date        Company/Ticker (FactSet EPS / revenue estimate) 
Monday, Nov. 17    Urban Outfitters Inc.  (41 cents / $813 million)Tyson Foods Inc.  (76 cents / $10.29 billion)Agilent Technologies Inc.  (67 cents / $1.81 billion) 
Tuesday, Nov. 18   Home Depot Inc.  ($1.13 / $20.46 billion)Dick's Sporting Goods Inc.  (41 cents / $$1.53 billion)TJX Cos.  (85 cents / $7.44 billion)Medtronic Inc.  (96 cents / $4.37 billion) 
Wednesday, Nov. 19 Target Corp.  (47 cents / $17.55 billion)Staples Inc.  (36 cents / $5.93 billion)L Brands Inc.  (39 cents / $2.32 billion)Lowe's Cos.  (58 cents / $13.55 billion)Williams-Sonoma Inc.  (63 cents / $1.12 billion)Keurig Green Mountain Inc.  (76 cents / $1.16 billion)Salesforce.com Inc.  (13 cents / $1.37 billion) 
Thursday, Nov. 20  Best Buy Co.  (24 cents / $9.09 billion)Dollar Tree Inc.  (64 cents / $2.07 billion)Gap Inc.  (76 cents / $3.97 billion)GameStop Corp.  (61 cents / $2.21 billion)Ross Stores Inc.  (87 cents / $2.55 billion)Michaels Cos.  (26 cents / $1.09 billion)Intuit Inc.  (loss of 20 cents / $621.1 million)Marvell Technology Group Ltd.  (29 cents / $976.9 million)Autodesk Inc.  (22 cents / $601.8 million)Splunk Inc.  (1 cent / $107.2 million) 
Friday, Nov. 21    Ann Inc.  (73 cents / $657.8 million)Foot Locker Inc.  (79 cents / $1.72 billion)Hibbett Sports Inc.  (61 cents / $221.3 million) 
 
 

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