Earnings Expectations for the Week of October 24

The earnings crunch is in full swing this this week. Quarterly results are due from the likes of Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) and United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS), from which analysts expect to see year-over-year earnings growth, as well as Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN), Boeing (NYSE: BA) and Ford (NYSE: F), which are forecast to post lower per-share earnings.

Here is a day-by-day rundown of some of the most anticipated quarterly reports of this week.

Monday

Third-quarter reports from Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) and Netflix (NYSE: NFLX) will be among Monday's highlights. Analysts predict the heavy equipment maker will report that per-share earnings rose 21.3% from a year ago to $1.55, while revenues increased 35.0% to $15.0 billion. Netflix is forecast to post per-share earnings of $0.95, up 16.7%, and revenues that are 46.7% higher a year ago, or $811.8 million.

The day's other anticipated earnings gainers include Eaton (NYSE: ETN), Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) and Lorillard (NYSE: LO). Lower earnings are expected from Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) and Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN).

Tuesday

Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) is on deck to report its third-quarter results Tuesday. The forecast calls for earnings of $0.24 per share and revenues of $10.9 billion. That compares to $0.51 per share and $7.5 billion in the same quarter of last year. The consensus EPS forecast has not changed in the past 60 days.

Analysts expect United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS), sometimes considered a bellwether of the wider economy, to report that per-share earnings rose 11.4% from a year ago to $1.05. Revenues are forecast to have increased 8.1% to $13.2 billion. UPS has topped consensus EPS estimates in the past eight quarters.

U.S. Steel (NYSE: X) also reports on Tuesday and is expected to post its second consecutive profitable quarter.

Earnings growth is also expected from Broadcom (NASDAQ: BRCM), Coach (NYSE: COH), DuPont (NYSE: DD), Reynolds American (NYSE: RAI), Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW), T. Rowe Price (NASDAQ: TROW) and Xerox (NYSE: XRX). Per-share earnings are expected to have declined at DeVry (NYSE: DV), Molex (NASDAQ: MOLX) and Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU).

Wednesday

Aerospace will be the focus on Wednesday, with Boeing (NYSE: BA), Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) due to release third-quarter results. While Boeing's per-share earnings are forecast to have slipped three cents from a year ago, those of the other two companies are expected to have increased by at least 10%. On the other hand, revenues are expected to have fallen 21.7% year-over-year in Northrop Grumman's case, but to have risen marginally for the other two. Note that all three companies have topped earnings expectations in the past few quarters.

Ford (NYSE: F) is also scheduled to report its third-quarter results Wednesday. The forecast calls for earnings of $0.45 per share and revenues of $29.9 billion. That compares to EPS of $0.48 on $26.7 billion in sales in the year-ago quarter. Ford has fallen short of consensus EPS estimates in just one of the past eight quarters.

Aflac (NYSE: AFL), Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ: ADP), ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), Dr Pepper Snapple (NYSE: DPS), General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC), O'Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ: ORLY), Visa (NYSE: V) and Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN) are among those expected to report earnings growth.

Lower earnings are predicted from American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), Corning (NYSE: GLW), Novellus (NASDAQ: NVLS) and WellPoint (NYSE: WLP). And Spring Nextel (NYSE: S) is expected to post another net loss.

Thursday

Analysts anticipate that per-share earnings from Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) will have surged 32.4% year-over-year to $2.13, but that EPS from Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) will be just a penny per share higher to $1.03. Revenues for the petrochemical giant are expected to be up 19.2% from a year ago, and that those of the Cincinnati-based consumer goods producer will be 7.1% higher. In the past 60 days, Exxon's EPS estimate has fallen three cents, but Procter & Gamble's is unchanged.

Among the many companies expected to post higher earnings on Thursday are Aetna (NYSE: AET), Avon (NYSE: AVP), Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH), Coca-Cola Enterprises (NYSE: CCE), Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL), Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW), Hershey (NYSE: HSY), MetLife (NYSE: MET), Starwood Hotels (NYSE: HOT), Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) and Waste Management (NYSE: WM).

Earnings are predicted to be lower for Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY), International Paper (NYSE: IP), Motorola Solutions (NYSE: MSI) and Raytheon (NYSE: RTN). And video game maker Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) and home builder Pulte Group (NYSE: PHM) are expected to post net losses for the quarter.

Friday

Analysts expect solid to strong results from Chevron (NYSE: CVX), Merck (NYSE: MRK) and Whirlpool (NYSE: WHR) to end the week. Chevron's EPS are forecast to be 45.6% higher, Merck's to be up 6.6% and Whirlpool's to be 21.8% higher. Revenue growth is anticipated for all three as well, a jump of 39.9% for Chevron.

Also look for Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB), Constellation Energy (NYSE: CEG), Goodyear (NYSE: GT) and Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM) to reported earnings growth on Friday. Earnings from Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) and Dominion Resources (NYSE: D) are expected to be lower.