It's been awfully quiet on the earnings front in recent weeks, and there's a reason: This is the time of year when accountants are nailing down the financials for the fiscal quarters that ended in September. Later this week, the conference calls will begin trickling in, and then it will be a deluge of quarterly reports until early November.
Semiconductor stocks climbed higher Friday following the financial results of bellwether chip giant Intel. But despite the robust results that beat Wall Street's estimates, analysts expect the industry's revenue growth will cool off to 5% for the year, versus the 30% seen last year.
Alcoa, Intel and JPMorgan Chase will kick off a new earnings season this week when they report their results for the fourth quarter of 2010. Here's what analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect, followed by a glance at what's coming up on the economic calendar.
Intel's stock is up just 2% this year compared to the Nasdaq's 17% rise, and investors fret that the explosive growth of smartphones and tablets will crimp the market for the PC chips that produce the bulk of Intel's revenue. But the tech giant has a plan.
Intel announced Friday that it is increasing its quarterly dividend by 15% to 18 cents per share, and the world's largest microchip maker said it's on track to have its "best year ever."
Intel, the world's largest microchip maker, reported better than expected results Tuesday, setting a positive tone for a spate of tech companies set to report earnings in the next few weeks.
These are among the big-name companies posting third-quarter results this week. Analysts are looking for increased profit growth from all of them. Also on tap: Producer prices, consumer sentiment and consumer prices.
Technology bellwether Intel blew past Wall Street's projections Tuesday, reporting the best quarter in its 42-year history and giving investors a cause for optimism heading into the third quarter. Shares soared in after-hours trading.
Stocks vaulted higher Tuesday as industrial bellwethers Alcoa and CSX reassured the market about the pace of the economic recovery. All three major averages extended their winning streaks.