For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 19, 2009 – Zacks.com releases the list of companies likely to issue earnings surprises. This week’s list includes Eastman Chemical (EMN), E.I. DuPont (DD), T. Rowe Price (TROW), Western Digital (WDC) and SuperValu (SVU). To see more earnings analysis, visit http://at.zacks.com/?id=3207.

Every day, Zacks.com makes 4 stock picks available, free of charge. To see them, go to http://at.zacks.com/?id=5612.

This Week's Events

Third-quarter earnings season hits full stride this week with 439 companies confirmed to report. More than of a quarter of these are from the S&P 500 (135 companies).

Housing data will be the highlight on the economic calendar. The existing home sales data will be influenced by the first-time home buyers' credit. The starts and permits data could be more interesting, especially if they show fear on the part of builders about the subsidy

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The Consumer Price Index, or CPI rose 0.2% in September, down from a 0.4% increase in August and down 1.3% from a year ago. If food and energy prices are stripped out to get to core inflation, prices also rose 0.2%, up from 0.1% in August. Core inflation is up 1.5% from a year ago. On a year-over-year basis, those numbers are likely to flip in the coming months. Food prices actually declined slightly for the month, with a 0.1% decline in September reversing a 0.1% increase in August, and unchanged from a year ago. In particular, the price for food at home fell 0.3% in September after being unchanged in August. On a year-over-year basis, prices at the grocery stores are down 2.5%. This is not good news for firms like Kroger's (KR) and Supervalu (SVU). It is energy that is the big difference between ...

Obesity is a leading risk factor behind many cardiovascular diseases, cancers and type 2 diabetes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the past 20 years there has been a dramatic increase in obesity. Though public awareness has prompted more Americans to hit the gym and lead healthier lifestyles, calories and fat in beverages such as juices, energy and soft drinks are often overlooked, subtly contributing to weight-gain and health issues.

Celsius Holdings Inc. has developed an original drink to generate the opposite effect. The company’s Celsius® calorie burning beverage has been scientifically proven to burn approximately 100 calories per can through boosting metabolism and providing sustained energy over a three-hour period.

The company today announced increased availability of Celsius, as the product is available at approximately 1,800 SUPRERVALU stores.

“We are thrilled to be carried by SUPERVALU, a leading grocery retailer with unsurpassed recognition in the

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 4, 2009 - Zacks Research Equity Strategist, Dirk Van Dijk says that S&P 500 earnings are continuing to show red ink. He tracks companies on the Zacks.com web site, naming names, while forecasting trends for the months ahead.

Key Points from Van Dijk's Latest Earnings Assessment

Growth

Second-quarter total net income expected to be down 28% year-over-year Third quarter expected to be down 23.5% year-over-year Staples and Health Care only sectors expected to post positive growth in second quarter Only 31.5% of reporting companies post earnings growth; 24.0% post sales growth year-over-year

Surprise

Early results much stronger than expected; the median surprise is 6.7% Early positive surprises lead disappointments by 3.9:1 margin Surprise ratio above 6:1 for Health Care, Tech, Discretionary ...

Key Points:

Growth Second-quarter total net income expected to be down 28% year-over-year Third quarter expected to be down 23.5% year-over-year Staples and Health Care only sectors expected to post positive growth in second quarter Only 31.5% of reporting companies post earnings growth; 24.0% post sales growth year-over-year

Surprise Early results much stronger than expected; the median surprise is 6.7% Early positive surprises lead disappointments by 3.9:1 margin Surprise ratio above 6:1 for Health Care, Tech, Discretionary and Materials Margins the cause, not revenue growth 72.7% of firms beat on earnings; 46.3% beat sales estimates

Full-Year Forecast Bottom-up estimate for S&P 500 now $60.20 in 2009 versus $60.12 last week. S&P 500 now expected to earn $74.42 in 2010 versus $74.41 last week Top down estimates $54.19 and $68.48, respectively

Revisions Total estimate increases outnumber cuts by almost 4:3 for 2009 Upward revisions outnumber cuts by almost 7:6 for 2010 Level of increases small given positive earnings surprises For 2009, Staples and Health Care lead; Utilities,

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Supervalu Inc. (SVU) warned that its first-quarter profit would fall "substantially below" analyst forecasts as shoppers cut back on spending on items with the deepening recession.

"Consumers have become more value-focused and cautious in their spending, which has pressured sales and margins greater than anticipated," the second-largest U.S. grocery chain's newly appointed Chief Executive Craig Herkert said on Wednesday. Eight analysts on an average were expecting Supervalu to earn 65 cents in the quarter.

The Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based company expects same-store sales to fall by 3% even after it slashed prices and boosted promotions to attract shoppers to its Shaw's, Save-A-Lot and Shop 'n Save stores. Increased competition from larger rivals like Wal-Mart Stores Inc.(WMT) have further added to Supervalu's woes.

Supervalu shares fell the most in four months to $13.52 on the New York Stock Exchange before paring some losses to trade

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Okay, so Ralcorp (RAH) has delivered big returns just yet. In fact, the stock has traded roughly breakeven over the last year. But, in a year where the S&P 500 drops 40%, that’s not too bad. So, what is this company that has fared so well in such a bad market? 

Investment Thesis Ralcorp is a private label manufacturer of a variety of food products ranging from cereals to snacks to frozen bakery products. In an economy where consumers are constrained and food costs have risen, people have increasingly traded down to so-called “knock off” store brands, a.k.a. private labels. Grocery retailers like these products as well as they often can push them through at higher margin than branded products. In fact, recent earnings calls with

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This post is a guest contribution by Vitaliy N. Katsenelson*, author of Active Value Investing: Making Money in Range-Bound Markets and director of research at Investment Management Associates.

The stock market has dropped. Corporate profits have collapsed. And profit margins have reverted toward the mean. What is next?

Before I dive into the discussion, let me explain the chart below, which I named appropriately, “The pain of mean reversion.”

I looked at reported earnings for S&P 500 and compared them to the “average case” earnings scenario. In the “average case” scenario I took reported earnings of S&P 500 in the early 1990s and grew them at 6% – an average growth rate of GDP over the last century which happens

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Monday:Economic: NAEarnings: Fastenal (FAST), XL Cap (XL)Tuesday:Economic: NAEarnings: J&J (JNJ), Pepsi (PEP), Supervalu (SVU), WW Grainger (GWW), Altera (ALTR), CSX (CSX), Genentech (DNA), Intel (INTC), USANA (USNA)Wednesday:Economic: Weekly Crude,Earnings: BlackRock (BLK), C Schwab (SCHW), Coke (KO), Delta (DAL), JP Morgan (JPM), St Jude (STJ), Wells Fargo (WFC), Badger (BMI), eBay (EBAY), Novellus (NVLS), Landstar (LSTR), Steel Dynamics (STLD), Xilinx (XLNX)Thursday:Economic: Weekly Claims, Wholesale Invs (0.4%)Earnings: Bank of NY (BK), BB&T (BBT), Citigroup (C), CIT Group (CIT), Continental (CAL), Cypress (CY), Harley (HOG), Hershey (HSY), Illinois Tool (ITW), Merrill (MER), Nokia (NOK), Nucor (NUE), Parker Hannifin (PH), Sherwin W (SHW), Sonoco (SON), Southwest (LUV), Sunpower (SPWRA), United Tech (UTX), Cap One (COF), Gilead (GILD), Google (GOOG), IBM (IBM), Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), Zions Banc (ZION)Friday:Economic:Earnings: Amcol (ACO), Comerica (CMA), Genuine Parts (GPC), Honeywell (HON), ...

Scott Mushkin, analyst at Jefferies thinks THE SUPERMARKET INDUSTRY LOOKS to be headed for a difficult period with rapidly rising input costs, specifically on packaged goods, and a slowing job market likely to weigh on sales growth and profitability.

While accelerating unemployment and rapidly rising food inflation are creating a tough climate, we are growing concerned that sharply higher unemployment may be accompanied by little or no retail pricing power in 2009.

Higher input prices over the last 12 months are now moving down the supply chain in a significant way.  thus far, have been accepting these higher prices and passing them along to consumers.

However, he is maintaining Underperform ratings on Safeway and Supervalu as he believes these operators are poorly positioned for the current macro climate.

He has a $21 price target for Safeway and a $20 price target for Supervalu. Both operators, , have

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