Bank of America, Google, Intel, Johnson & Johnson and General Electric are part of Zacks Earnings Preview:

News provided by

Oct 13, 2014, 09:30 ET

CHICAGO, Oct. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks.com releases the list of companies likely to issue earnings surprises. This week's list includes Bank of America (NYSE:BAC-Free Report), Google (Nasdaq:GOOGL-Free Report), Intel (Nasdaq:INTC-Free Report), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ-Free Report) and General Electric (NYSE:GE-Free Report).

To see more earnings analysis, visit http://at.zacks.com/?id=3207.

Every day, Zacks.com makes their Bull Stock of the Day available, free of charge. To see it, click here.

Q3 Earnings Season Ramps Up

The 2014 Q3 reporting season is underway and we have results from 29 S&P 500 members. The reporting pace accelerates this week, with 127 companies announcing third-quarter results, including 52 S&P 500 members. While the Finance sector is heavily represented on this week's reporting docket, we have enough bellwethers from other sectors to give us a good sense of this earnings season.

Expectations for the Finance sector remain low, with total earnings for the sector expected to be down -3.8% after the +0.9% growth in the preceding quarter. Tough comparison for Bank of America (NYSE:BAC-Free Report) as a result of the bank's Department of Justice settlement is the primary reason for the Finance sector's sub-par growth numbers this quarter. But even adjusting for the BAC shortfall, core banking earnings are expected to be essentially flat in the quarter.

We should see some improvement on the capital markets front, with market volatility helping improve trading volumes and advisory services benefiting from increased M&A and IPO transactions. But volumes in the fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) business should still remain below year-earlier levels. Hard to tell whether the persistent FICC weakness of the last few years is a function of cyclical forces or a result of the new more restrictive regulatory landscape, but we should see some modest improvement in FICC revenues this quarter.

For more details on the Finance sector earnings, please click here for the Finance Industry Outlook report.

Beyond Finance, we have plenty of leaders from other key sectors on deck for releasing results this week as well. From Google (Nasdaq:GOOGL-Free Report) and Intel (Nasdaq:INTC-Free Report) to Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ-Free Report) and General Electric (NYSE:GE-Free Report), this week's reports span the full spectrum of the economy. As such, this week's reports will give us a good sense of what to expect the rest of this reporting cycle.

Given the largely Finance-centric orientation of this week's reports, we wouldn't get that much clarity on the global growth questions that have been dominating the market's attention lately. But we do have other global operators on the docket this week that will shed some light on this issue.

Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter offers continuous coverage of the industries and the stocks poised to outperform the market. Click to subscribe to this free newsletter today.

About Zacks

Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978. The later formation of the Zacks Rank, a proprietary stock picking system; continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Register for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros.

Get the full Report on BAC - FREE
Get the full Report on GOOGL - FREE
Get the full Report on INTC - FREE
Get the full Report on JNJ - FREE
Get the full Report on GE - FREE

Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Zacks-Investment-Research/57553657748?ref=ts

Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.

Media Contact
Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
[email protected]
http://www.zacks.com

Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101027/ZIRLOGO

SOURCE Zacks Investment Research, Inc.