So much for thinking that earnings season was over.  Next week we have a another round  of earnings, with the big focus being retail mixed with some technology earnings.  On deck is Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) and larger rival The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD).  We also have DJIA component Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) due with earnings Tuesday morning, and others reporting next week are Target Corporation (N
YSE: TGT), Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT), DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS), Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR), Gamestop Corporation (NYSE: GME), Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD), Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL), and Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM).

Monday morning will be Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW). Thomson Reuters has estimates for the home improvement retailer of $0.30 EPS and $11.76 billion in revenue; next quarter estimates are $0.18 EPS and $10.48 billion in revenue.  Shares are trading around $22.00 and the 52-week range is $19.35 to $28.54.  The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE: HD) is on deck Tuesday morning and Thomson Reuters has estimates for the larger home improvement retail destination of $0.48 EPS and $16.61 billion in revenue; next quarter estimates are $0.25 EPS and $14.65 billion in revenue. Shares are trading around $31.60 and the 52-week range is $26.35 to $37.03.  As you can see, both are in the lower-half of their 52-week trading bands.  As the housing market improvement keeps getting kicked down the road, expectations here are low.  Home Depot’s market cap is $52.6 billion versus $30.7 billion for Lowe’s.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) will be the week’s second DJIA.  Thomson Reuters has estimates for the world’s largest retailer of $0.90 EPS and $102.4 billion in revenue; next quarter estimates for the important Christmas quarter are $1.28 EPS and $117.55 billion in revenue.  Shares are trading around $54.00 and the 52-week range is $47.77 to $56.27.

Target Corporation earnings are due Wednesday morning.  Thomson Reuters has estimates for the retailer of $0.68 EPS and $15.61 billion in revenue; next quarter estimates for the important holiday season are $1.39 EPS and $20.9 billion in revenue.  Shares are trading around $54.00 and the 52-week range is $45.11 to $58.52.

Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) is due with its earnings Wednesday afternoon.  Thomson Reuters has estimates for the semiconductor equipment maker of $0.31 EPS on $2.59 billion in revenue; next quarter’s estimates call for $2.63 billion in revenue.  Shares are trading around $12.65 and the 52-week range is $10.27 to $14.94.