US Earnings Preview: Goldman Sachs, Google, Intel, Safeway

Large-cap companies will dominate the earnings headlines this week.

Six Dow components, including Intel (INTC), are scheduled to release third-quarter results. Joining them will be Goldman Sachs (GS) and Google (GOOG). In total, we have confirmed reports from 72 companies, 29 of which are in the S&P 500.

There will be quite a bit of economic data published, including CPI and industrial production and capacity utilization. We will also get the minutes from the September Fed meeting, which will be scrutinized for any talking points about the pace of the recovery.

• Wednesday: September retail sales, Fed minutes, August business inventories, weekly crude inventories, weekly mortgage applications
• Thursday: September Consumer Price Index (CPI), October Philadelphia Fed survey, weekly initial jobless claims, weekly natural gas inventories
• Friday: September industrial production and capacity utilization, preliminary October University of Michigan sentiment

Both Council of Economic Advisers Chair Christina Romer and Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Donald Kohn will speak at the National Association for Business Economics’ Annual Meeting in St. Louis on Tuesday. Romer has a morning presentation and Kohn will speak in the afternoon. Also on Tuesday, New York Federal Reserve Bank President William Dudley will talk to the Institute of International Bankers.

Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo will testify before a House subcommittee on Wednesday afternoon. His testimony will focus on the state of the banking industry. Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher will appear at a conference in Dallas on Friday. The conference is co-sponsored by SMU’s business school.

Though Monday is Columbus Day, both the stock and futures markets will operate on normal hours.

Though stocks are poised to continue the rally, a good reaction to the third-quarter results will be required to get the Dow firmly above 10,000. The key will be whether business conditions improved enough to enable companies to surpass both revenue and earnings forecasts.

Keep in mind the number of reports will jump substantially next week.

Companies That Could Issue Positive Earnings Surprises

Fairchild Semiconductor International (FCS) has topped expectations for 4 consecutive quarters. Another positive surprise could be in works as 4 analysts recently raised their third-quarter profit projections. These revisions have pushed the Zacks Consensus Estimate a penny higher to 7 cents per share. The most accurate estimate is even more bullish at 9 cents per share. FCS is scheduled to report on Thursday, Oct 15, before the start of trading.

More than half of the covering analysts raised their third-quarter profit forecasts on Goldman Sachs (GS) over the past 30 days. These revisions resulted in a 63-cent upward revision in the Zacks Consensus Estimate, to $4.07 per share. The most accurate estimate is even more bullish at $4.16 per share. Last quarter, GS beat expectations by $1.41 per share. Goldman Sachs is scheduled to report on Thursday, Oct 15, after the close of trading.

The third-quarter Zacks Consensus Estimate for Google (GOOG) has risen 2 cents over the past 30 days to $4.66 per share. Positive revisions by about a quarter of the covering analysts are behind the optimism. The most accurate estimate is even more bullish at $4.72 per share. Google has topped expectations for 4 consecutive quarters. Google is scheduled to report on Thursday, Oct 15, after the close of trading.

Five analysts have raised their third-quarter profit forecasts on Intel (INTC) during the past 4 weeks. Due to the fact that more than 30 analysts cover INTC, the changes did not move the Zacks Consensus Estimate from its current level of 27 cents per share. They did, however, result in a slightly more bullish most accurate estimate of 28 cents per share. The semiconductor company has topped expectations during 3 out of the last 4 quarters. Intel is scheduled to report on Tuesday, Oct 13, after the close of trading.

Companies That Could Issue Negative Earnings Surprises

Safeway (SWY) has missed expectations for 4 consecutive quarters. Recent earnings estimate cuts by 2 analysts suggest another disappointment could be forthcoming. The revisions pushed the Zacks Consensus Estimate down a penny to 31 cents per share. The most accurate estimate is more bearish at 28 cents per share. Safeway is scheduled to report on Thursday, Oct 15, before the start of trading.

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