The first-quarter earnings season is wrapping up now, and much attention will turn this week to the G-7 summit in Brussels, possible European Central Bank policy changes and the latest unemployment numbers in the United States.
But among the handful of companies scheduled to report quarterly results this week are Ciena (NYSE: CIEN), Dollar General (NYSE: DG), FuelCell Energy (NASDAQ: FCEL) and Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE: HOV). These four are expected to show improvement in their earnings results, relative to a year ago.
Below is a brief look at what analysts expect from these and some of the week's other quarterly reports.
See also: Benzinga Weekly Preview: ECB To Make A Bold Move
Ciena
Analysts expect this communications networking equipment maker to say that it had earnings of $0.19 per share in its fiscal second quarter. That would compare to earnings per share (EPS) of just $0.02 a year ago. And revenues for the quarter are forecast to have grown from $507.71 million a year ago to $560.87 million in the most recent period.
Note that EPS were double the consensus estimate in the previous quarter, but it fell short by about a third in the period before that. But the current consensus EPS estimate has not changed in the past 60 days. So far, Ciena is expected to show growth on the top and bottom lines in the current quarter. The company is scheduled to share its results Thursday before the markets open.
Dollar General
In its report early Tuesday, this Tennessee-based discount retailer is expected to report that EPS increased from $0.71 in the year-ago quarter to $0.73 for the three months that ended in April. Per-share earnings matched consensus analyst expectations in the previous period.
Revenues for the first quarter are predicted to have grown less than eight percent to $4.56 billion. Year-on-year revenue gains of more than eight percent are expected for the current quarter and for the full year. Per share earnings are expected to increase for both periods as well.
FuelCell Energy
This leading global fuel cell company is expected to report a net loss of $0.03 per share in Tuesday afternoon's report. That would compare to a net loss of $0.04 per share in the same period of last year. Note that in the previous four quarters, consensus estimates came within a penny or so of actual results.
The Connecticut-based company also is expected to say revenues grew more than six percent from a year ago to $45.18 million for the fiscal second quarter. So far, a marginal year-on-year decline in revenue is predicted for the current quarter, but growth of more than eight percent for the full year.