Guess? Inc. (GES) is set to report third-quarter fiscal 2014 results on Dec 4. Last quarter, it posted a positive surprise of 44.4%. Let us see how things are shaping up for this announcement.

Factors to be Considered this Quarter

Guess? Inc. has reported soft revenue results for the past few quarters due to decline in comps in the North American retail stores. Tough retail conditions resulting in lower consumer traffic in the retail stores are responsible for the lackluster comps in the stores. Moreover, lower consumer spending in China and ongoing macroeconomic challenges in Southern Europe are hurting international sales of GES. We do not expect the top line conditions to improve much in the third quarter. However, management is expected to keep its profits afloat with tight cost control and expense management.

Earnings Whispers?

Our proven model does not conclusively show that Guess? is likely to beat earnings this quarter. A stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1, 2 or 3 to surpass earnings estimates. However, that is not the case here due to the following factors:

Zacks ESP: ESP for Guess? is 0.00%.

Zacks Rank: Guess? Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) when combined with a 0.00% ESP makes surprise prediction difficult.

We caution against stocks with Zacks Ranks #4 and 5 (Sell-rated stocks) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions momentum.

Other Stocks to Consider

Here are some other companies you may want to consider as our model shows that they have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter:

Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI), with Earnings ESP of +1.11% and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Michael Kors Holdings Limited (KORS), with Earnings ESP of +1.16% and a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

The J. M. Smucker Company (SJM), with Earnings ESP of +1.83% and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Read the Full Research Report on SJM
Read the Full Research Report on HBI
Read the Full Research Report on GES
Read the Full Research Report on KORS


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