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The week ahead: Earnings appetizer

Tech watchers will get a taste of earnings news this week as industry stalwarts report their performance during the second quarter and set the tone for the upcoming earnings season.

4 min read
Following are some of the notable tech-related events scheduled for the week of July 8 through July 12.

Tech watchers will get a taste of earnings news this week as industry stalwarts report their performance during the second quarter and set the tone for the upcoming earnings season.

Yahoo will announce earnings Wednesday. Analysts surveyed by First Call expect the Internet portal to report earnings of 2 cents a share compared with 1 cent a share in the same quarter last year.

Redback Networks also reports on Wednesday. Wall Street estimates the telecom equipment maker will post a loss of 17 cents a share versus a loss of 26 cents last year.

Fellow telecom equipment maker Juniper Networks continues the mood on Thursday. Investors expect the company to lose 1 cent, down from the profit of 9 cents a share Juniper chalked up last year during the second quarter.

The Internet faithful will get a sense of how the online advertising market fared last quarter. DoubleClick, a provider of advertising services for Web sites, will release earnings on Thursday. Stock watchers expect the company to post earnings of zero cents for the second quarter. DoubleClick lost 7 cents a share during the same quarter last year.

Oracle reported earnings last month, but investors will still try to pick up some clues on the database software maker's financial health this week. The company holds its analysts' day this Wednesday.

Consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, which means that Wall Street will watch closely for two data reports Friday that will give some hints on the mindset of the U.S. consumer.

The Department of Commerce will release retail sales data for June, and the University of Michigan will announce figures on its index of consumer sentiment.

The holiday-inspired inactivity on the conference front last week seems to have spilled over into this week. However, Jupiter Media Metrix will host Plug.In in New York City starting Monday and will try to lure tech enthusiasts back from the beaches.

The event will address the future of digital entertainment such as music and movie distribution services during a year that saw many file-swapping services crumble under the weight of entertainment industry lawsuits.

The information was gathered from First Call, Hoover's Online, CCBN's StreetEvents, MSN's Moneycentral and CNET Investor.

Other events scheduled this week:

Tech Events
Monday, July 8
  • Plug.In, hosted by Jupiter Media Metrix, takes place at the New York Hilton in New York City, July 8-9. The event will focus on the future of digital music content such as services that offer access to music over the Internet and on the MP3 format. Speakers include U.S. Congressman Rick Boucher, EMI Group Executive Vice President John Rose, and Brad Shaw, senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications at Gateway.

  • The Information Systems Audit and Control Association will host a conference on financial audits using information technology at the New York Marriott Marquis in New York City, July 8-12. The event is for IT auditors, financial auditors, accountants, and security and control professionals and will focus on the technology and expertise needed to perform audit practices and procedures.

  • Chipmaker Intel is expected to release its Itanium 2 product chips line designed for high-end servers.

Wednesday, July 10
  • Database and business software maker Oracle will hold a meeting for analysts July 10 at its headquarters in Redwood Shores, Calif.

Earnings

Wednesday, July 10

  • Redback Networks makes optical gear for telecommunications carriers. Per-share consensus estimate for the second quarter: loss of 17 cents.

  • Yahoo operates a popular Web portal. Per-share consensus estimate for the second quarter: profit of 2 cents.

Thursday, July 11
  • DoubleClick provides advertising services for Web sites. Per-share consensus estimate for the second quarter: zero cents.

  • Juniper Networks manufactures optical equipment for telecommunications carriers. Per-share consensus estimate for the second quarter: loss of 1 cent.

Economic Reports

Monday, July 8

  • The Consumer Credit report by the Federal Reserve shows the monthly debt assumed by consumers for purposes other than home mortgages. May credit is expected to shrink to $6 billion from $8.8 billion in April.

Wednesday, July 10
  • The import and export price index from the Department of Commerce indicates the percentage change in import and export prices for June. No estimates were available,

  • Wholesale Inventories represents the percentage change in the amount of goods in wholesale inventories in the United States. This number is expected to fall 0.4 percent for the month of May from a drop of 0.7 percent in April.

Thursday, July 11
  • Initial Claims refers to the number of people who filed for unemployment benefits each week as reported by the Department of Labor. Claims will be reported for the week ending July 6.

  • The Producer Price Index is not expected to change in June versus last month's decrease of 0.4 percent. The core PPI, which excludes food and energy prices, is expected to advance 0.1 percent from no change in May. This Labor Department index tracks the cost of what manufacturers pay for raw goods to make products.

Friday, July 12
  • Retail Sales for the month of June are expected to increase 0.6 percent compared with May's decline of 0.9 percent as reported by the Commerce Department. Excluding automobile sales, Wall Street expects retail sales to rise 0.4 percent versus the previous month's drop of 0.4 percent.

  • The Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index is a measure of consumer confidence as reported monthly by the University of Michigan. Experts expect a preliminary reading of the July index to show a rise to 93.3 from June's 92.4.