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Kirkland’s Inc. (KIRK) reported a second quarter fiscal 2012 loss of 11 cents per share, which was wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate for a loss of 8 cents. The loss was also wider than the year-ago loss of 2 cents, due to higher promotional activity and softer than expected sales.

Quarter in Detail

Kirkland’s net sales were up 1.5% year over year to $91.0 million from $89.7 million in the year-ago quarter. However, sales missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $94.0 million. Consolidated comparable store sales declined 3.6% compared with an 8.0% decrease in the year-ago quarter.

The company opened 10 stores and closed 5 during the quarter, bringing the total number of stores to 302.

On a year-over-year basis, gross profit came down to $29.9 million from $30.8 million in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin contracted 140 basis points to 33.0% on the back of higher promotional activity to combat lower

Toll Brothers, Inc. (TOL), one of the leading luxury homebuilders in the U.S., is all set to unveil its third quarter 2012 results on August 22, 2012, after the market closes. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is  calling for 18 cents on revenues of $505 million. Second Quarter 2012 Recap Toll Brothers reported earnings of 9 cents per diluted share in the second quarter of fiscal 2012, versus a loss of 9 cents in the previous year. The year-over-year surge in earnings was driven by strong sales and cost saving strategies. Earnings per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 4 cents. The company reported revenue of $373.7 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2012, up 17% from the comparable prior-year quarter, driven by a rise in demand and low competition for luxury products. The revenue was below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $379 million.

Medtronic Inc. (MDT) reported first quarter fiscal 2013 earnings per share of 83 cents, up 8% year over year. After taking into account certain one-time items, the adjusted EPS was 85 cents, also up 8% year over year and in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

Revenues were $4.008 billion in the quarter, up 1.6% year over year (up 5% at constant exchange rates or CER), nominally missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.015 billion.

Medtronic derived 44% of its total sales from the international market, which climbed 6% year over year at CER (down 1% as reported) to reach $1.781 billion. As a result of the company’s focus on the emerging markets, revenues from these regions experienced continued growth momentum and increased 9% (14% at CER) to $438 million. This region now represents 11% of total company revenues.

Segment Details

Medtronic earns

MICROS Systems, Inc. (MCRS) is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter fiscal 2012 earnings on Thursday, August 23, 2012, after the closing bell.

The current Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at 55 cents a share for the quarter, representing an annual growth of (0.61)%. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate range between a low of 47 cents and a high of 58 cents a share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate of revenue is $302 million for the fiscal fourth quarter.

With respect to earnings surprises, MICROS Systems outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the last four quarters, was in line with one quarter and underperformed in the other. Average earnings surprise was 8.45%, implying that the company has outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by the same magnitude over the last four quarters.

Third Quarter of Fiscal 2012 Highlights

On April 26, 2012, MICROS Systems

Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc.’s (NUS) share price has entered into oversold territory with a stochastic value of 11.405. The Zacks Consensus Estimate on the company’s earnings for December 2012 increased by 18 cents over the past month to $3.24 per share. Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. is a Zacks #1 Rank (“Strong Buy”) company.

 NU SKIN ENTERP (NUS): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research

Equity One Inc. (EQY), a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, manages, and develops neighborhood and community shopping centers in the U.S., has recently completed its secondary offering of 4.1 million common shares, which included an additional 1 million shares sold by one of its stockholders. Barclays Capital Inc., the investment banking division of Barclays PLC (BCS), acted as the sole book-running manager for the equity offer. Equity One raised net proceeds of approximately $65.2 million from the program, while the selling stockholder raised another $21.0 million. However, Equity One did not receive any of the proceeds from its selling stockholder with respect to the shares sold. The company intends to utilize the proceeds to repay debt under its unsecured revolving credit facility and for general corporate purposes. Equity One had an unsecured revolving credit facility worth $575.0 million from a syndicate of

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Angela Moon, Reuters

U.S. stocks edged lower on Monday as investors took a breather after Wall Street posted six consecutive weeks of gains.

In addition, the European Central Bank threw cold water on hopes for further easing soon to stimulate the economy. In response to a German magazine report this weekend about ECB bond-buying, a central bank spokesman said it was misleading to talk about decisions that had not yet been taken.

“Following six straight weeks of gains for

Deere & Company (DE) is slated to report its third-quarter fiscal 2012 results before the market opens on August 15. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings for the quarter is $2.32 cents per share, representing an estimated year-over-year increase of 36.98%. Revenues, as per the Zacks Consensus Estimate, are $9.49 billion. Second Quarter Synopsis The company reported adjusted earnings of $2.61 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.54 and exceeding the year-ago earnings of $2.12. Worldwide total sales in the reported quarter increased 12% year over year to $10 billion, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $9.67 billion.   Deere, which competes with companies like AGCO Corporation (AGCO), CNH Global NV (CNH), experienced healthy growth in its top line due to double-digit sales expansion in its Agriculture & Turf segment as well as Construction & Forestry segment. Estimate Revision Trend

There are several companies that have produced good earnings reports and are making money for shareholders in this difficult stock market; I think they are worth going over. So far, a lot of earnings reports were mediocre this second quarter, basically meeting expectations with reduced outlooks. But a number of existing stock market winners that pay decent dividends to shareholders are announcing solid earnings reports with good expectations for the bottom half. Even in this fragile stock market environment, there are companies out there generating great earnings reports.

Consider The Hershey Company (NYSE/HSY), which is a business that pretty much everyone recognizes. The chocolate maker’s latest earnings report saw revenues of $1.4 billion, up 6.7% from revenues of $1.3 billion in the same