Top Earnings Previews for Thursday (AMD, AN, COF, CMG, ETFC, FCX, GOOG, KEY, MSFT, MS, NOK, PM, SNDK, LUV, TRV, VZ)

Thursday will mark yet another important day for this earnings season. The second quarter became more challenging for many companies, as we noted about so many tech warnings weighing on shares last week. We have provided some brief earnings previews with Thomson Reuters consensus estimates on each, with some added color if applicable.

The following major companies are scheduled to report on Thursday: Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD); AutoNation Inc. (NYSE: AN); Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF); Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG); E*TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC); Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX); Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG); KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY); Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT); Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS); Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK); Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM); SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK); Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV); Travelers Companies Inc. (NYSE: TRV); and Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ).

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) already has warned and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) guided lower as we expected. We said last week that there were just too many technology warnings for these companies to be immune. Shares are now less than $5.00 and the warning is already known.

AutoNation Inc. (NYSE: AN) will be interesting to watch since we have seen both Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) and General Motors (NYSE: GM) talk about a growing weakness in auto sales. Oddly enough, North American sales may have held up so far while international sales from the Big Two have suffered. Estimates are for $0.59 EPS and $3.73 billion in revenue.

Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF) is still absorbing its recent acquisitions, so earnings could be all over the place. Estimates are for $1.29 EPS and $5.16 billion in revenue.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) is highly followed, since its stock price is nearly $400. It is ironic that some Chipotle customers might not be able to afford even one share of Chipotle stock. Estimates call for $2.30 EPS and $707.14 million in revenue. Next-quarter estimates are $2.37 EPS on $713.6 million in revenue. The consensus price target is roughly $445 on this stock.

E*TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC) has to be watched, after every single online brokerage has talked about lower and lower trading volumes. With shares close to $8.00, the consensus price target is only about $9.30 now, as any and all hopes of a buyout have faded. Estimates are for $0.11 EPS and $457.4 million in revenue.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX) is expected to report earnings of $0.77 EPS and $4.48 billion in revenue. With shares close to $33, the consensus target price is still almost $50 per share.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) keeps getting reports of advertising deceleration, and it remains a stock in which shareholders have no power at all. Now with Marissa Mayer leaving to run Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO), it seems as though there is a toss-up here, with Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) still capturing a lot of the media attention that used to be given to Google. With shares around $575, the consensus price target is still above $730 on the stock. Google’s consensus estimates are $10.05 EPS and $8.4 billion in revenue.

KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) is another one of the 7 Safest Banks in America, and estimates are for $0.18 EPS and almost $997.5 million in revenue. At $7.96 the consensus price target is $8.67 and the 52-week range is $5.59 to $8.82.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) will be watched closely as a key tech stock. The Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) warnings cannot bode well, and as we said last week, there were just too many technology warnings for these great tech giants to all be immune.  Estimates are $0.62 EPS and $18.11 billion in revenue.

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Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) still trades well below book value and trades as though it is troubled. At $14.30 or so, the consensus target price is just above $20.00 per share. Earnings estimates are for $0.43 EPS and $7.7 billion in revenue.

Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) should fall in the realm of “who cares!” by now, but many are still hoping for a Hail Mary turnaround. With the Lumia smartphone price being cut in half we cannot have any grand ambitions here. Nokia may need to just focus on the cheap cellphones for the underprivileged in emerging markets, who are still getting their first or second cellphone ever. Operating losses are expected.

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM) may have a significant currency issue as its business is all outside of the United States. Estimates call for $1.34 EPS and $8.01 billion in revenue.

SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) already warned, and it was another one we warned about last week as having too many technology peers issuing warnings to be immune. Estimates are for $0.19 EPS and $1.02 billion in revenue; estimates for the next quarter are for $0.34 EPS and $1.22 billion in revenue.

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Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) remains one of the top airlines, But what is holding it back is that it may have overhedged at higher oil prices and therefore may be paying too much for its jet fuel. Estimates are for $0.32 EPS and $4.58 billion in revenue. Estimates for the coming quarter are at $0.32 EPS and $4.51 billion in revenue. One group sees record revenues and earnings for airlines this quarter.

Travelers Companies Inc. (NYSE: TRV) is the DJIA component that often gets overlooked. Estimates for the financial giant are $1.38 EPS and $5.98 billion in revenue.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) keeps hitting new 52-week highs as investors keep chasing after this dividend. Verizon is weeks or a couple of months away from (likely) hiking its dividend, but we fear that a dividend bubble has been forming here with shares trading above $45.00 and with the consensus analyst price target being down at just over $42 on the stock. The dividend bubble also pertains to rival AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T). Estimates are for $0.64 EPS and $28.56 billion in revenue. Analysts will be using its iPhone data to interpolate Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) earnings, which are due next week.

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JON C. OGG