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Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AMGN, AON, EQT, EXEL, IPI, ERIC, MDVN, NKE, NIHD, NYX, POT, RAX, RRC, SYMC, TSLA, UA, UNH)

Administrator — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:27:50 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street brokerage and research firms this Tuesday morning.

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) Reiterated Buy and Raised target to $80 at Argus.
AON Corporation (NYSE: AON) Raised to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.
EQT Corporation (NYSE: EQT) Raised to Hold from Sell with $50 target at Canaccord Genuity.
Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXEL) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Intrepid Potash (NYSE: IPI) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
LM Ericsson Telephone Co. (NASDAQ: ERIC) Maintained Buy but target now at $14 from $19 at Argus.
Medivation, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDVN) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) Raised to Buy at Argus.
NII Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: NIHD) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) Cut to Sector Perform at RBC Capital.
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Rackspace Hosting Inc. (NYSE: RAX) named Momentum stock of the day at Zacks.
Range Resources Corporation (NYSE: RRC) Raised to Hold from Sell with $59 target at Canaccord Genuity.
Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC) Reiterated Buy and $24.00 price target at Argus.
Tesla Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
Under Armour, Inc. (NYSE: UA) Raised to Buy at Needham.
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

If you enjoyed the top analyst calls, you can 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, special situation developments, observations on Warren Buffett and key market gurus, as well as special exclusive feature stories.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: AMGN, AON, EQT, ERIC, EXEL, IPI, MDVN, NIHD, NKE, NYX, POT, RAX, RRC, SYMC, TSLA, UA, UNH

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

Administrator — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:27:19 +0000

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.

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.

Filed under: Calendar, Earnings, The Week Tagged: AXP, BAC, C, EBAY, GE, GOOG, GS, IBM, INTC, ISRG, MSFT, SLB, UNH, WFC, XLNX

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ALL, AMZN, BX, CTL, CB, DRI, FSL, GEOI, GOOG, JDSU, LNKD, BTU, PEG, DGX, TLB, TRV, UIS, UNH, URBN, WSH)

Administrator — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 13:25:40 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Wednesday morning.

Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) Started as Hold with $225.00 price target “due to low margins through 2012″ at Canaccord Genuity.
The Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX) Raised to Buy with $20.00 price target at Argus.
CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE: CTL) named as value stock of the day at Zacks.
Chubb Corporation (NYSE: CB) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) Cut to Hold from Buy at Argus.
Freescale Semiconductor Inc. (NYSE: FSL) Reinstated as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
GeoResources, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEOI) Started as Buy with $43 price target “on a concentrated Eagle Ford/Bakken exposure” by Canaccord Genuity.
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) was initiated with a ‘Buy’ rating and $725.00 price target “on robust growth and great value” by Canaccord Genuity.
JDS Uniphase Corporation (NASDAQ: JDSU) Started in new coverage as Buy with a $14.75 price target at Jefferies.
LinkedIn Corporation (NYSE: LNKD) Started as Buy with $85 price target as “growth trumps valuation” by Canaccord Genuity.
Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE: BTU) Downgraded to Neutral from Buy with $43 price target by Goldman Sachs.
Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (NYSE: PEG) Downgraded to Neutral from Buy with $33 price target at Goldman Sachs.
Quest Diagnostics Inc. (NYSE: DGX) Started as Hold with $51 target at Auriga.
The Talbots, Inc. (NYSE: TLB) maintained Neutral with $3.00 fair value by Janney Capital Markets.
Travelers Cos. Inc. (NYSE: TRV) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) added to the US Focus List at Credit Suisse.
Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) Maintained Neutral with $23.00 price target at Janney Capital Markets.
Willis Group Holdings, PLC (NYSE: WSH) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ALL, AMZN, BTU, BX, CB, CTL, DGX, DRI, FSL, GEOI, GOOG, JDSU, LNKD, PEG, TLB, TRV, UIS, UNH, URBN, WSH

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AA, BHI, BRCM, CFN, CHTR, C, FNF, FSLR, GS, HAL, LULU, M, PGR, QCOM, UNH, URBN, VMW, WHR)

Administrator — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 12:22:06 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Tuesday morning.

Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) Started as Buy at Stern Agee.
Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) Started as Buy at Societe Generale.
CareFusion Corporation (NYSE: CFN) Started as Market Perform at BMO.
Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR) Started as Outperform with $60 target at Credit Suisse.
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) cut estimates and cut target to $45 from $50 at Credit Suisse’ Maintained Sell at Argus.
Fidelity National Financial (NYSE: FNF) named Value stock of the day at Zacks.
First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Cut to Hold at S&P Equity Research (late-Monday call).
The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL) Started as Buy at Stern Agee; Reiterated Buy at Canaccord Genuity.
Lulelemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) Started as Neutral at Macquarie.
Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) Started as Outperform at Macquarie.
Progressive Corp. (NYSE: PGR) Cut to Hold at Argus.
QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) Started as Hold at Societe Generale.
UnitedHealth Group, Inc. (NYSE: UNH) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) Started as Underperform at Macquarie; Started as Outperform at FBR.
VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AA, BHI, BRCM, C, CFN, CHTR, FNF, FSLR, GS, HAL, LULU, M, PGR, QCOM, UNH, URBN, VMW, WHR

Media Digest (9/20/2011) Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

247wallst — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 10:19:17 +0000

Obama offers a $3.6 billion deficit reduction plan that includes a tax on the rich. (Reuters)

S&P cuts Italy one notch and says its outlook is negative. (Reuters)

Head of UBS (NYSE: UBS) seeks a vote of confidence from his board. (Reuters)

Samsung may take legal action against Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) on the iPhone. (Reuters)

Broken China IPOs may get private equity money. (Reuters)

China to continue to buy U.S. debt. (People’s Daily)

The SEC looked into trades just before U.S. debt was downgraded. (WSJ)

Greece says conversations with EU and IMF leaders about a bailout were productive. (WSJ)

Merkel’s ally party says it opposes bailout investments. (WSJ)

Citigroup (NYSE: C) aggressively solicits credit card use. (WSJ)

General Motors (NYSE: GM) may expand its relationship with China car company SAIC to improve sales in the world’s most populous nation. (WSJ)

Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS) may get EPA approval to drill in Arctic waters off Alaska. (WSJ)

China’s Xinjiang Goldwind to build a wind farm in Illinois. (WSJ)

Some consumer groups oppose an Express Scripts (NASDAQ: ESRX) and MedcoHealth Solutions (NYSE: MHS) merger. (WSJ)

A generic version of blood thinner Lovenox to appear on the market after a year of legal fighting. (WSJ)

Chrysler nears a deal with the UAW. (WSJ)

STX kills a bid for a majority control of South Korean chip maker Hynix Semiconductor. (WSJ)

Copper reaches a one-year low. (WSJ)

Apple now worth $23 billion, more than Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM). (WSJ)

More economists view an orderly default of Greece as better than years of austerity and perhaps a depression. (NYT)

Growing number of Americans worry about being laid off. (NYT)

Aetna (NYSE: AET), Humana (NYSE: HUM), Kaiser Permanente and UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) would give patient information to a nonprofit group. (NYT)

Airbus raises estimate for long-term demand of commercial planes. (NYT)

Siemens (NYSE: SI) moves 6 billion euros to the ECB to lower risk. (FT)

Ireland’s economy begins to recover. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Filed under: Press Digest Tagged: AAPL, AET, C, ESRX, GM, HUM, MHS, RDS, SI, UBS, UNH, XOM

Media Digest (9/1/2011) Reuters, WSJ, FT, Bloomberg

247wallst — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 10:29:31 +0000

IMF head Lagarde shows independence from Europe in many of her decisions. (Reuters)

The Justice Department sues to block AT&T (NYSE: T) buyout of T-Mobile. (Reuters)

Sony’s (NYSE: SNE) tablet PCs to be priced at $499 and $599, making it harder for them to challenge sales of the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPad. (Reuters)

A new lawsuit says Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) tracks customer behavior without consent. (Reuters)

Japan regulators back merger of the LCD businesses of Sony, Toshiba and Hitachi (NYSE: HIT). (Reuters)

In an agreement with New York State, Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) to end robo-signing. (WSJ)

New data shows the rebound of the German economy continues. (WSJ)

Bank of New York’s (NYSE: BK) board pushes out CEO Robert P. Kelly. (WSJ)

Brazil’s central bank makes an unexpected rate cut. (WSJ)

Facebook adds new music services. (WSJ)

Apple criticized for its environmental practices in China. (WSJ)

The U.S. wastes as much as $60 billion on contracts during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. (WSJ)

Banks working on T-Mobile deal buyout could lose $150 million in fees. (WSJ)

Switzerland greatly cuts the size of its stimulus package. (WSJ)

Eurozone inflation flat in August. (WSJ)

UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH) buys a partnership of 2,300 doctors in California. (WSJ)

SEC seeks comments about the use of derivatives by mutual funds. (WSJ)

IMF and eurozone economists fight over bank balance sheet projections. (FT)

August junk bond deals at their lowest since 1995. (FT)

Sony says access to content will make its tablet PCs more attractive to consumers. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Filed under: Press Digest Tagged: AAPL, BK, BNK, GS, HIT, MSFT, SNE, T, UNH

Winners & Losers of Health Insurance Earnings (UNH, AET, WLP, HUM)

Administrator — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 18:11:01 +0000

Earnings season is so far turning out to be a mixed bag and is so far being overshadowed by the elected officials in Washington D.C. threatening a gridlock that could ultimately result in a U.S. default. What is almost ironic is that the health insurance operators are actually beating estimates despite healthcare reform. Earnings have been solid from UnitedHealth Group, Inc. (NYSE: UNH), Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET), and WellPoint Inc. (NYSE: WLP) so far this earnings season. We also are awaiting Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) to report its earnings.

UnitedHealth Group, Inc. (NYSE: UNH) reported earnings of $1.16 EPS versus $0.94 EPS estimates, while revenues rose over 8% to $25.23 billion that was mostly in-line with estimates. The medical loss ratio was 81.4%, unchanged from the prior quarter. In another boost to guidance, UnitedHealth put earnings at $4.15 to $4.25 per share and said that it expects revenues to hit that level.

Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) reported second-quarter earnings of $1.35 per share soundly beating consensus estimates of $1.08 per share. The company reported quarterly revenues of $8.32 billion in line with consensus estimates of $8.31 billion. The company raised FY 2011 earnings guidance from $4.20 -$4.30 to $4.60 -$4.70. Prior to Aetna’s revised guidance analysts had looked for earnings of $1.05 per share for the third quarter ending September, 2011 on consensus revenues of $8.36 billion and FY 2011 earnings of $4.71 on revenues of $34.8 billion. The shares recently closed at $42.62 and its 52-week range is $26.42 to $46.01.

WellPoint Inc. (NYSE: WLP) reported second-quarter earnings of $1.83 per share besting consensus estimates of $1.80 per share. The company reported a 4.8% year-over-year increase in quarterly revenues of $14.88 billion exceeding consensus estimates of $14.67 billion. Analysts have been looking for 2011 third-quarter earnings of $1.69 per share on consensus revenues of $14.93 billion. The shares recently closed at $73.56 but traded down on second-quarter reports. Its 52-week price range is $48.61 to $81.92.

Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) is set to report earnings on August 1, 2011. Estimates from Thomson Reuters are $2.06 EPS on $9.32 billion in revenues. For 2011, the current estimates are $7.07 EPS on $36.67 billion in sales. At $75.75 today, the 52-week range is $45.36 to $84.32 and analysts have a consensus target of $88.22 on the stock.

Since before the July 19 earnings, UnitedHealth has seen shares go from $51.95 down then up to $52.87 before closing at $48.89 on Wednesday. Shares are back up at $50.65 today and the consensus price target from Thomson Reuters is $59.82.

This week’s pre-earnings level on Aetna was $42.62 and shares hit $41.72 on Wednesday before recovering to $42.78 today and the consensus price target from Thomson Reuters is $49.92.

This week’s pre-earnings level from Wellpoint was $73.56 and shares closed on Wednesday at $68.70 versus only $68.94 today and the consensus price target from Thomson Reuters is $88.20.

So far it is UnitedHealth that is a the winner of the health insurers in this earnings season. Shares hit a 52-week high of $50.89 today, still leaving about 20% before hitting the all-time highs of 2005 to 2006. Moody’s even liked the UnitedHealth earnings enough that it raised its corporate credit ratings to ‘A3′ with a stable outlook because of a consistent earnings profile and showing consistent revenue growth.

It turns out that healthcare reform has so far been much better for the health insurers than many would have guessed. You see who is winning so far, and don’t be surprised when these companies play Pac-Man even further when it comes to buying up business by consolidating the smaller health insurers.

Jon C. Ogg & Jim Berdou

Filed under: Earnings, Financial Stocks, Healthcare Tagged: AET, HUM, UNH, WLP

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AMD, AXP, AZN, CCI, DF, HBAN, ERIC, MHS, NFLX, SNDK, SZYM, TLAB, UNH)

Administrator — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 12:16:40 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Friday morning.

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE: AMD) Raised to Market Perform at Wells Fargo; Raised to Buy at Canaccord Genuity.
American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) Reiterated Buy and raised target to $65 at Argus.
AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE: CCI) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Dean Foods Company (NYSE: DF) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
Huntington Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: HBAN) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
LM Ericsson Telephone Co. (NASDAQ: ERIC) Reiterated Buy with $19 target at Argus; Raised to Buy at S&P Equity Research.
Medco Health Solutions Inc. (NYSE: MHS) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) Maintained Outperform with $280 target at Credit Suisse.
SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) Maintained Sell at Zacks; Reiterated Buy at Gleacher.
Solazyme, Inc. (NASDAQ: SZYM) Started as Outperform at Baird.
Tellabs Inc. (NASDAQ: TLAB) Maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) Reiterated Buy as Value at Zacks.

You are invited to join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, dividend trends, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AMD, AXP, AZN, CCI, DF, ERIC, HBAN, MHS, NFLX, SNDK, SZYM, TLAB, UNH

UnitedHealth Growing Earnings Through Reform (UNH)

Administrator — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 12:20:59 +0000

UnitedHealth Group, Inc. (NYSE: UNH) reported second quarter revenues and earnings and it appears that the world of healthcare insurance is not being killed yet by “reform.” Revenues increased 8 per cent year-over-year at $23.7 billion versus analysts’ expectations of $25.3 billion. The company posted earnings of $1.16 per share handily beating analysts’ estimates of $0.91 per share.

The second quarter 2011 medical care ratio was 81.4 percent, a drop of 10 basis points year-over-year.

Based on its second quarter results, the company updated guidance for the year. UnitedHealth now forecasts 2011 revenues of $101 billion and net earnings in the range of $4.15 to $4.25 per share. Both revenue and earnings guidance were largely in line with prior consensus estimates of $101.5 billion for revenues and earnings of $4.17 per share.

The shares recently closed at $51.95 and shares have fluctuated from up marginally to down marginally in pre-market trading. The 52-week price range is $29.55 to $53.50.

JIM BERDOU

Filed under: Earnings, Financial Stocks, Healthcare Tagged: UNH

The 15 Corporate Earnings That Will Rule The Markets This Summer (AA, YUM, JPM, GOOG, C, AMZN, AMR, AN, MSFT, AAPL, KO, JNJ, UNH, INTC, EMC)

Administrator — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 10:31:33 +0000

24/7 Wall St. is probably not alone in noticing that there were very few earnings warnings issued by the major companies that dictate market trends going into the end of June. That and some recovering economic trends and lower commodity prices have all contributed to a feeling that the woes of Europe, as well as the woes of Japan and the tightening of China, are not quite as strong of headwinds that will easily kill the bull market. Earnings season is approaching fast and we are soon to get a direct reporting bias from many of the country’s top corporations. Whatever the reporting trend comes out to, the rest of the summer’s stock market bias is about to be set by this wave of earnings reports.

We have identified 15 of the first corporate earnings reports due in the next two weeks that are likely to set the broad tone for the market this summer. These top 15 companies are as follows: Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA), Yum! Brands Inc (NYSE: YUM), J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C), Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), AMR Corporation (NYSE: AMR), Autonation Inc (NYSE: AN), International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Coca Cola Co. (NYSE: KO), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), UnitedHealth Group Inc (NYSE: UNH), Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC), and EMC Corp (NYSE: EMC).

We looked at the current Thomson Reuters expectations for the past quarter and the coming quarter, and we have also added in data on prices and on recent trading ranges. More importantly, we have shown why these matter, what other companies or sectors they matter to, and added in additional color of what to look for on each.

Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA) will kick earnings off for the summer on Monday, July 11 and Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.35 EPS and $6.32 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.36 EPS and $6.36 billion in revenues. At $16.23, the market cap is roughly $17 billion and the 52-week trading range is $9.92 to $18.47. Alcoa has a dual purpose for investors. It can influence all of the metals and industrials, but some even try to interpolate “The Alcoa Effect” to a broader earnings season. Just because it is a DJIA component does not give it that right, but that is how some try to think. It did actually make our value screen of basic materials stocks in recent days. The obvious area to watch is future orders and pricing. We are not overly concerned with what it says about last quarter, but whether or not it comments about business picking up now for the second half. The look-back question is whether higher alumina prices have offset weakness out of Japan, India and China.

Yum! Brands Inc (NYSE: YUM) reports on Wednesday, July 13, and Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.61 EPS and $2.70 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.84 EPS and $3.03 billion in revenues. At $56.30, the market cap is roughly $26 billion and the 52-week trading range is $38.43 to $57.04.YUM! is no McDonald’s, but the investment community is likely to treat many aspects of the fast-food and casual dining segment based upon its report. What will matter is whether or not it offers a clearer picture for the casual dining trends domestically. It will also act as a bellwether for the Chinese food and entertainment spending markets, where it is the go-to stock to make that determination. YUM! is also still working through PR issues at the Taco Bell level, even if the ‘problems’ were not exactly correct. Yum! could still be a top dividend rival of McDonald’s in the years ahead.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) reports on Thursday, July 14, and Thomson Reuters has estimates of $1.22 EPS and $25.22 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $1.19 EPS and $24.65 billion in revenues. At $40.56, the market cap is roughly $161 billion and the 52-week trading range is $35.55 to $48.54. Chase Bank is not the bank of the U.S., but it is “The Bank of the Privileged.” Investors will still try to use this as a benchmark “for the rest of us.” We continue to expect the individual credit metrics in credit card delinquencies and also in charge-offs to show improvement and we expect this bank to have been a beneficiary of all of the recent consumer credit improvements. The wild card is going to be the aftermath of Dodd-Frank and the higher imposed reserves that will be implemented after this year. It could be a serious drag to that continued earnings recovery. Another hint we will be looking for is a “raised guidance” of a sort as far as its dividend is concerned.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) did not confirm its earnings report until just this week. It is set to report earnings on Thursday, July 14. The online search giant, and online conglomerate, has estimates of $7.86 EPS and $6.53 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $8.30 EPS and $6.85 billion in revenues. As a reminder, those sales are ex-TAC, or ex-Traffic acquisition cost revenues. This matters for anything internet-related. It also matters for anything related to off-line advertising as well. It was just a short period ago that Google was tanking and heading well under $500.00, but a recent analyst call reiterated its same $800 price target.

Filed under: Business Services, Calendar, Compensation, Consumer Electronics, Corporate Governance, Earnings, Earnings Warning, Economy, Editor's Picks, Financial Stocks, Index, Large Cap Stocks, Metals, Transports Tagged: AA, AAPL, AMR, AMZN, AN, C, EMC, GOOG, INTC, JNJ, JPM, KO, MSFT, UNH, YUM