Earnings Expectations for the Week of May 14 (WMT, HD, ANF)

Last week, Kohl's (NYSE: KSS), Macy's (NYSE: M) and Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN) kicked off the parade of earnings reports from big retailers. Macy's and Nordstrom reported EPS growth; Macy's and Kohl's topped EPS estimates. This week, Walmart (NYSE: WMT), Home Depot (NYSE: HD) and Target (NYSE: TGT) are among the many retailers scheduled to step into the earnings spotlight. Here is a quick look what analysts anticipate from their earnings.

See also: Comedy of Errors as Kohl's Sees Profit Fall

Walmart

In its Thursday report, earnings from the world's largest retailer are estimated to come to $1.04 per share for the first quarter. That would be an increase from last year's $0.97 a share. The consensus EPS estimate is unchanged over the past 60 days, but note that Walmart fell short of analysts' expectations by a penny or two in the previous two quarters. First-quarter revenues are expected to total $110.5 billion. That would be 6.1% higher than a year ago.

Home Depot

Home Depot, shares of which have pulled back from a recent multiyear high, is expected to say that its first-quarter 2012 earnings are 23.1% higher than a year ago to $0.65 per share. Note that the EPS estimate has risen four cents in the past 60 days. And analysts anticipate revenues for the quarter will have increased 6.6% to $17.9 billion. The home improvement superstore operator is scheduled to share its results Tuesday morning.

Target

On Wednesday, this Minneapolis-based retailer is expected to announce that its first-quarter earnings came to $1.01 per share on revenues of $16.8 billion. That would be up from $0.99 per share and $15.9 billion in the same period of last year. Target has fallen short of consensus EPS estimates in only one of the past ten quarters.

See also: Target Stops Selling the Amazon Kindle

Abercrombie & Fitch

New Albany, Ohio-based specialty retailer Abercrombie& Fitch's (NYSE: ANF) first-quarter earnings in its Wednesday report are forecast to have plunged 92.6% from a year ago to $0.02 per share. Note that per-share earnings were in line with consensus estimates in the fourth quarter and fell short by 19.7% in the third quarter. However, analysts on average expect first-quarter revenues to be 13.7% higher than a year ago to $951.3 million.

See also: AEO & ANF: No Showers in April

The Gap

First-quarter 2012 earnings for this San Francisco-based retailer are estimated to total $0.46 per share on revenues of $3.5 billion in Wednesday afternoon's report. In the same quarter of last year, this khaki purveyor posted $0.40 per share and $3.3 billion. Analysts have underestimated the Gap's (NYSE: GPS) EPS in the past five quarters.

See also: Gap, Sears and Other Retail Stocks Up More Than 35% Year to Date

Ross Stores

The consensus forecast for Ross Stores (NASDAQ: ROST), which said its same-store sales increased 10% in March, calls for a profit of $0.93 per share on revenues of $2.3 billion. That would be an increase from $0.74 per share earnings and sales of $2.1 billion in the first quarter of last year. The EPS estimate is also up from $0.88 some 60 days ago. The company will share its results Thursday morning.

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Dollar Tree

This discount variety store operator, which is trading near a multiyear high, is expected to post first-quarter 2012 EPS that are 15.5% higher than a year ago to $0.97. And analysts predict revenues will have risen 6.6% year-over-year to $1.7 billion. Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR) has topped consensus EPS estimates for more than ten quarters, and it is scheduled to announce results on Thursday.

And Other Retailers

This week, analysts anticipate double-digit percentage EPS growth from Advance Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP), Chico's FAS (NYSE: CHS), Dick's Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS), Foot Locker (NYSE: FL), Hibbett Sports (NASDAQ: HIBB), Spartan Stores (NASDAQ: SPTN), TJX Companies (NYSE: TJX) and Zumiez (NASDAQ: ZUMZ). They also expect more modest year-over-year earnings growth from Buckle (NYSE: BKE), Cato (NYSE: CATO) and Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS).

Per-share earnings from ANN (NYSE: ANN), Limited Brands (NYSE: LTD) and Saks (NYSE: SKS) are forecast to be about the same as a year ago.

But earnings declines are anticipated from Aeropostale (NYSE: ARO), Brown Shoe (NYSE: BWS), Children's Place (NASDAQ: PLCE), Citi Trends (NASDAQ: CTRN), GameStop (NYSE: GME), Kirkland's (NASDAQ: KIRK) and Stein Mart (NASDAQ: SMRT). And Bon-Ton Stores (NASDAQ: BONT), E-commerce China Dangdang (NYSE: DANG), JCPenney (NYSE: JCP), New York & Co. (NYSE: NWY) and Pacific Sunwear of California (NASDAQ: PSUN) are expected to post net losses for the most recent quarter.

See also: Aeropostale and American Eagle Land on the Retail Throne

Retailers scheduled to report results next week include AutoZone (NYSE: AZO), Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST), Lowe's Companies (NYSE: LOW), Tiffany (NYSE: TIF) and Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ: URBN).