A quieter week ahead for the US March quarter earnings season, but in Australia the pace picks up.
Westpac reports its interim this morning after the NAB and ANZ produced ho hum figures in their half year reports.
Orica, the explosives and mining services group also releases its half year report today.
Others to report this week include fertiliser and explosives group, Incitec Pivot, building products group, CSR, and GrainCorp.
In the US the earnings begins to wind down with about 40 companies listed on the S&P 500 due to report their quarterly figures.
Dominating the releases this week will be reports and updates from some of the most powerful media companies.
The linked Murdoch Family companies, 21st Century Fox and News Corp lead the way with releases on Wednesday and Thursday, S time. Disney, which has a deal with Fox on $US66 billion of assets and debt, also reports.
Fox is expected to update the market on whether it will match or top Comcast’s $US31 billion all cash offer for Sky Plc, Disney is expected to provide further clarity on its thinking on its offer to buy Sky News.
Disney will also provide a progress report on its plans for two huge streaming video channels for its entertainment programs, and sports channel, ESPN.
The John Malone-controlled Liberty media is also due to release its result – it controls a fleet of mostly cable TV assets, from Trip Advisor, to Discovery, Lionsgate and Charter, the cable operator, Formula One car racing, Sirius XM satellite music. Malone also controls Liberty Global which is said to be on the verge of a major deal in Europe with Vodafone.
Other media groups releasing figures this week in the US include Tegna (the TV arm of the Tribune Co), AMC Networks, EW Scripps, Gannett (which is America’s biggest newspaper owner), and Meredith Co, America’s biggest magazine owner which could update the market about the future of magazines, Time, Sports Illustrated, Money and Fortune which it picked up in the takeover of Time Inc at the start of the year. The quartet of titles are on the market.
Other companies down to report include Sysco, Tyson Foods, Dean Foods, Zillow Marriott, Electronic Arts, Nvidia and department store chain, Dillard’s (Next week sees the release of the more reports from major retailers such as Macys and Kohl’s).
