Costco

The short interest in big retail companies was mixed during the first two weeks of December, the heart of the holiday shopping season. The number of shares sold short in Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN), CVS Caremark (NASDAQ: CVS), Gap (NYSE: GPS), Target (NYSE: TGT) and Walmart (NYSE: WMT) increased...

There will not be much on the earnings front this week to distract from the wrangling over the so-called fiscal cliff and debt ceiling, as well as the Federal Reserve's latest rate decision and any changes to quantitative easing. The only S&P 500 components on deck to share their most recent...

Kroger (NYSE: KR), which earlier this month bought Axium Pharmacy Holdings, is scheduled to report its third-quarter fiscal 2012 results Thursday, November 29, before the opening bell. Investors will be looking to see how much customer Kroger's loyalty programs have helped fend off the growing...

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NASDAQ: GMCR), which recently named a new CEO, is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter and full fiscal 2012 results Tuesday, November 27, after the markets close. Investors will be hoping that new partnerships and licensing deals with the likes of Costco (NASDAQ:...

A number of retailers have struggled in 2012, most notably Best Buy (NYSE: BBY), JCPenney (NYSE: JCP), RadioShack (NYSE: RSH) and Sears Holdings (NYSE: SHLD). All have seen their stocks fall notably. However, given their vulnerable states, modest successes this holiday season might result in...

Costco (NYSE: COST), which Barron's picked this week as a defensive play in a period of overestimated corporate earnings, is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter and full-year fiscal 2012 results Wednesday, October 10 before the market open. Investors will be looking to see whether the retailer...

An article in this week's Barron's suggests that analysts will lower their 2013 earnings estimates in coming weeks. Earnings for the Standard & Poor's 500 stock index are projected to rise 13% next year, but there is little evidence to support such acceleration. For the recently ended third...

The quarterly report from Alcoa (NYSE: AA) traditionally kicks off a new earnings season. Joining Alcoa on the earnings schedule this week are Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST), J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Safeway (NYSE: SWY), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) and Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM). Here is a look at...

Short sellers generally have found less to like in the retail sector, judging by changes in the short interest of some of the nation's biggest retailers between the July 31 and August 15 settlement dates. Notable exceptions include Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN), Target (NYSE: TGT), Walgreen (NYSE: WAG...