Major Earnings Previews For The Week Ahead (C, WFC, EBAY, GS, XLNX, AXP, BAC, GOOG, INTC, IBM, ISRG, MSFT, UNH, GE, SLB)

This shortened week is the first week full of many major companies reporting earnings season.  We will have a clear direction for the financial leaders and many of the technology leaders after this week is over. 

We have many key earnings, including some DJIA components, as follows: Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C); Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC); eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY); Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS); Xilinx Inc. (NASDAQ: XLNX); American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP); Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC); Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG); Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC); International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM); Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG); Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT); UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH); General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE); and Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB).

We have added in Thomson Reuters consensus data, as well as other bits of data and color if applicable.

Tuesday, January 17

Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) both lead Tuesday morning off with earnings, and each are important.  Wells Fargo is the healthier of the two and it does not trade at a discount to book value like its peers because it is deemed the least penalized of the money center banks in the new lower-trading and less risk environment.  Both pulled back after J.P. Morgan earnings, but both were up handily so far this year.

Citi has estimates of $0.49 EPS and $18.54 billion in sales. 

Wells Fargo has estimates of $0.72 EPS on $28.08 billion in sales. 

Wednesday, January 18

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) has a bit of a neutral bias going into Wednesday’s earnings after the close as it is still mostly a domestic story for auctions, with PayPal being the biggest boost.  Earnings estimates are $0.57 EPS and $3.32 billion in revenues.

Read Also: DJIA Expected 12% Gains in 2012 to 13,678

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) is due on Wednesday morning and the earnings estimates have been cratering ahead of the report.  The current target is $1.24 EPS on $6.54 billion in sales, but the earnings targets were above $2.00 EPS recently and the street expected almost $3.00 just about 90 days ago. 

Xilinx Inc. (NASDAQ: XLNX) is due after the close on Wednesday and it is in the middle of its 52-week range.  The consensus estimates are $0.37 EPS and $500.38 million in revenues.

Thursday, January 19

American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) is due on Thursday after the close and earnings estimates are $0.98 EPS and $7.92 billion in sales.  As with the rest of the lenders and credit cards, we expect to hear continued improvements in credit metrics regarding the customer base.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC), the most unpopular of the big banks today, is set for Thursday morning and the consensus earnings estimate is $0.23 EPS on $24.08 billion in revenues.  This has been the best DJIA stock so far in 2012 and it is a bit more than just interesting that earnings estimates have ratcheted higher over the last ten days.  The huge discount to book value is again likely to be less material than in years passed.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) estimates are $10.48 EPS on $8.4 billion in sales. With display advertising having been a bit weak, the drop in the last week from $670 down to $625 should have tempered some of the very bullish expectations that had been building.

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) already warned so all we are going to say is “watch to see if the Thai floods resolution is closer to being rectified as other companies have guided.  Its warning took the wind out of the sails, even if it has a very high dividend.  The consensus earnings estimate is $0.61 EPS on $13.72 billion in sales.

Read Also: The 24/7 Wall St. 2012 Model Dividend Portfolio

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) may have Warren Buffett behind it and it may have a new CEO, but the stock has not exactly gotten off to a great start.  Shares are down about 10% from the year high and the heaviest of the heavy weighted DJIA components accounts for almost 10% of the DJIA.  The earnings estimate is $4.62 EPS on $29.74 billion in sales.  The most recent guidance offered for 2011 was “to at least $13.35 EPS from at least $13.25 EPS” and that valued IBM at a premium to the bulk of the large technology outfits.  Keep a close eye on the order backlog to make sure the company is replacing its growth: The September-end figure was down to $137 billion, versus a June figure for backlog of about $144 billion. 

Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) is nota market-mover, but it could impact how medical device outfits are treated due to its excessively high share price and with DaVinci sales expected to be strong.  Estimates are $3.33 EPS and $483.7 million in sales. 

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) was already in the news for what was taken as a warning of the PC segment sales.  That should have been known after the endless warnings we have seen from hardware makers.  Shares are also at the highest pre-earnings handle that they have been in a year.  Estimates are $0.77 EPS and $20.94 billion in sales.

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) is reporting its fourth quarter results on Thursday and earnings estimates are $0.08 EPS on $4.12 billion in sales.  The big question is whether or not the airliner can manage to get its 2012 earnings estimates back up to where they need to be.  All results and backward comparisons for the quarter will be consolidated with the AirTran numbers in them.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) will be the first of the large health insurers to report.  Earnings estimates are $1.03 EPS and $25.7 billion in revenues.  While not expensive by any major amount, health insurance stocks are no longer cheap on forward earnings multiples and the dividends are still a bit too low for many investors.

Friday, January 20

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) is set to report earnings on Friday morning of $0.38 EPS on revenues of almost $40.2 billion.  GE continues to improve its internal workings and continues to improve its customer credit metrics in the GE Capital operations faster than most expected.  The company’s dividend hike and buyback have shown that it is returning to normal sooner than expected even if the total portfolio changes is going to look like a decline in revenues on the surface.

Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) will be the first of the oil services giants to report earnings.   Earnings estimates are $1.09 EPS and $10.8 billion in revenues.

You are invited to sign up in the box below to join our morning email list to receive news directly in your inbox each morning. We include major analyst upgrades and downgrades, IPO and M&A news, earnings reports, special situation developments, observations on Warren Buffett and key market gurus, as well as special exclusive feature stories.

JON C. OGG