Investors Focus on Deluge of Earnings
Earnings season heats up this week, with results expected from marquee technology companies Intel Corp., IBM Corp. and Microsoft Corp., as well as a slew of banks and car companies.
Investors are hoping corporate America will dish out some positive predictions for the months ahead, but earnings for the quarter are expected to be the worst in a decade--down 22%--and that could put Wall Street in a blue mood.
About 80 companies in the S&P; 500 are scheduled to release their corporate scorecards this week, making it one of the busiest weeks in the earnings reporting period.
High-tech companies whose results will be on investors’ radar screens include Apple Computer Inc., Compaq Computer Corp., software maker Sun Microsystems Inc., Nortel Networks, Advanced Micro Devices, EBay Inc. and Yahoo Inc.
A number of financial services companies are expected to report this week as well, including J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Citigroup, Wells Fargo & Co., Bank One Corp. and FleetBoston Financial Corp.
The automobile industry will issue a hefty share of the week’s key corporate scorecards, including results from Ford Motor Co., which recently announced 35,000 job cuts worldwide; General Motors Corp. and auto parts suppliers Delphi Automotive Systems Corp. and Visteon Corp.
Earnings reports also are expected from blue-chip diversified manufacturer United Technologies Corp. , Bermuda-based Tyco International, a manufacturing and service company with dominance in undersea telecom cable, and No. 4 U.S. retailer Sears, Roebuck & Co.
