• Subscribe
  • Log In
  • Home
  • Daily Diary
  • Asset Class
    • U.S. Equity
    • Fixed Income
    • Global Equity
    • Commodities
    • Currencies
  • Sector
    • Basic Materials
    • Consumer Discretionary
    • Consumer Staples
    • Energy
    • Financial Services
    • Healthcare
    • Industrials
    • Real Estate
    • Technology
    • Telecom Services
    • Transportation
    • Utilities
  • Latest
    • Articles
    • Video
    • Columnist Conversations
    • Best Ideas
    • Stock of the Day
  • Street Notes
  • Authors
    • Bruce Kamich
    • Doug Kass
    • Jim "Rev Shark" DePorre
    • Helene Meisler
    • Jonathan Heller
    • - See All -
  • Options
  • RMPIA
  • Switch Product
    • Action Alerts PLUS
    • Quant Ratings
    • Real Money
    • Real Money Pro
    • Retirement
    • Stocks Under $10
    • TheStreet
    • Top Stocks
    • Trifecta Stocks
  1. Home
  2. / Investing
  3. / Stocks

The Week Ahead: Here Come the Earnings

Use the growing information flow to touch up your investment mosaic.
By CHRIS VERSACE
Jul 06, 2014 | 06:00 PM EDT
Stocks quotes in this article: AA, FAST, WFC, FDO, ARII, GBX, TRN, GM, GE, HON, TRW, DAN

Last week was bookended by the end of the June quarter and the Fourth of July holiday. If we were to look at the week as if it were a football game, it was half time of the year. I hope you had a great holiday weekend with your family, friends and loved ones.

Even though last week was a shortened one, we received more data that point to the continued month-over-month improvement in the U.S. economy. Markit Economics and HSBC reported their monthly Purchasing Managers Indexes (PMI) figures for China, the eurozone and the United States. All regions continued to grow, with the U.S. posting the strongest month-over-month growth, while Chinese manufacturers signaled the first improvement in overall operating conditions over the last six months in June.

The improving U.S. economy was echoed by the ISM manufacturing report that was also out last week, which showcased continued strength in new order growth and the better-than-expected headline number for the June employment report. While much above consensus expectations, the labor participation rate was little changed. But the mix of jobs created was better than it has been in several months. Also surprising on the upside was June auto sales, particularly for General Motors (GM), which continued to buck all the headline issues over the last few months.

I realize I must sound like a broken drum, but the above is bullish for companies like General Electric (GE), Honeywell (HON), Parker Hannifin (PH) and others that serve the industrial markets, as well as automotive components suppliers such as TRW Automotive (TRW), Dana Holding (DAN) and others.

Bookending the monthly jobs data, we'll get the JOLTS, the job openings report for May, on Tuesday. Aside from the regular weekly data (see the economic calendar below), the most meaningful piece of data ahead of us will be the FOMC minutes from its June meeting. Compared with last week, this coming week will be pretty quiet on the economic data front and that means the start of corporate earnings will be in focus. It all kicks off with Alcoa's (AA) earnings report after Tuesday's market close. While there are other companies, such as Fastenal (FAST), Wells Fargo (WFC) and Family Dollar Stores (FDO) issuing their June quarter results next week the real deluge happens over next few weeks.

As we start to get those reports, my advice is to use the growing information flow to touch up your investment mosaic. For example, a few weeks back I recommended shares of American Railcar (ARII) to Real Money Pro subscribers as way to play rebounding rail traffic and the need for tank cars. Last week, The Greenbrier Companies (GBX) reported strong quarterly results, highlighted by a pick-up in orders, particularly for tank cars. While it signals that transport activity is rising, which is a good sign for the economy, Greenbrier's results also mean subscribers should continue to hold shares of both American Railcar and Trinity Industries (TRN).

The following is a more detailed look at what you can expect over the next several trading days. Be sure to check back midweek for the Corner of Wall & Main, in which Lenore Hawkins and I dish on the first half of the trading week and other key matters and thoughts, as well as how to play it all.

Economic Calendar

Tuesday, July 8

JOLTS -- Job Openings (May)

Consumer Credit (May)

Wednesday, July 9

MBA Mortgage Index (Weekly)

Crude Inventories (Weekly)

FOMC Minutes (June)

Thursday, July 10

Initial & Continuing Jobless Claims (Weekly)

Wholesale Inventories (May)

Natural Gas Inventories (Weekly)

Friday, July 11

Treasury Budget (June)

Earnings Calendar

Monday, July 7

Penford (PENX)

Tuesday, July 8

Alcoa 

AeroVironment (AVAV)

Container Store Group (TCS)

Wednesday, July 9

Bob Evans Farms (BOBE)

WD-40 (WDFC)

Thursday, July 10

Barracuda Networks (CUDA)

Family Dollar Stores

Joe's Jeans (JOEZ)

Friday, July 11

Fastenal

PriceSmart (PSMT)

Voxx International (VOXX)

Wells Fargo

Get an email alert each time I write an article for Real Money. Click the "+Follow" next to my byline to this article.

At the time of publication, Versace's portfolio was long GE and GM.

TAGS: Investing | U.S. Equity | Economy | Stocks

More from Stocks

A Rally Driven by Fear (of Missing Out)

James "Rev Shark" DePorre
May 27, 2022 4:28 PM EDT

What's next after this seesaw week? One thing is for sure: More volatility.

Let's Take Nikola for a Spin. And Then Return It

Mark Sebastian
May 27, 2022 2:56 PM EDT

I wouldn't want to own NKLA, but I could see riding it for a few days.

3 High-Yield Retail Stocks With Attractive Valuations

Bob Ciura
May 27, 2022 1:30 PM EDT

Here's the bull case for three retail stocks that offer low valuations and high dividend yields.

Here's How to Wrangle JPMorgan, the '800-Pound Gorilla' of Banking

Brad Ginesin
May 27, 2022 1:27 PM EDT

The financial services giant just held its first investor day in three years -- let's open the vault and see what's inside.

As Zscaler Rallies, Charts Say the Stock Could Hit This Level Soon

Bruce Kamich
May 27, 2022 1:23 PM EDT

Here's how aggressive traders can play the cybersecurity name.

Real Money's message boards are strictly for the open exchange of investment ideas among registered users. Any discussions or subjects off that topic or that do not promote this goal will be removed at the discretion of the site's moderators. Abusive, insensitive or threatening comments will not be tolerated and will be deleted. Thank you for your cooperation. If you have questions, please contact us here.

Email

CANCEL
SUBMIT

Email sent

Thank you, your email to has been sent successfully.

DONE

Oops!

We're sorry. There was a problem trying to send your email to .
Please contact customer support to let us know.

DONE

Please Join or Log In to Email Our Authors.

Email Real Money's Wall Street Pros for further analysis and insight

Already a Subscriber? Login

Columnist Conversation

  • 10:58 AM EDT JAMES "REV SHARK" DEPORRE

    This Weekend on Real Money

    "The Tremendous Power of the Sell Button"
  • 02:46 PM EDT STEPHEN GUILFOYLE

    We're Shedding Some of This Holding on Strength

    Check out the Stocks Under $10 portfolio here!
  • 11:33 AM EDT PETER TCHIR

    Thoughts Ahead of the Fed Minutes

    Recent economic and earnings issues are convincing...
  • See More

COLUMNIST TWEETS

  • A Twitter List by realmoney
About Privacy Terms of Use

© 1996-2022 TheStreet, Inc., 225 Liberty Street, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10281

Need Help? Contact Customer Service

Except as otherwise indicated, quotes are delayed. Quotes delayed at least 20 minutes for all exchanges. Market Data & Company fundamental data provided by FactSet. Earnings and ratings provided by Zacks. Mutual fund data provided by Valueline. ETF data provided by Lipper. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions Group.

TheStreet Ratings updates stock ratings daily. However, if no rating change occurs, the data on this page does not update. The data does update after 90 days if no rating change occurs within that time period.

FactSet calculates the Market Cap for the basic symbol to include common shares only. Year-to-date mutual fund returns are calculated on a monthly basis by Value Line and posted mid-month.

Compare Brokers

Please Join or Log In to manage and receive alerts.

Follow Real Money's Wall Street Pros to receive real-time investing alerts

Already a Subscriber? Login