The Fool's Look Ahead

Monday
The new trading week kicks off with drugstore chain Walgreen (NYSE: WAG) checking in. Filling prescriptions and peddling essentials aren't glamorous things, but business is steady. Analysts see earnings climbing 7% higher to $0.59 a share. Consistency doesn't always translate into predictability, though. Thankfully for shareholders, Walgreen has beaten Wall Street's profit targets in six of the past seven quarters.

Tuesday
If you've dined at a Red Lobster or Olive Garden lately, Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) may be talking about you on Tuesday. The casual-dining giant reports on its fiscal fourth quarter but should also shed a little light on the state of consumer trends and the impact of rising commodity food costs.

Wednesday
A few tech bellwethers report on Wednesday, including Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL), Research In Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM), and Red Hat (NYSE: RHT). Yes, whether it's enterprise software, smartphones, or open-source software you're into, some company will have something to say.

Thursday
It's payday on Thursday if you're Paychex (Nasdaq: PAYX). Mr. Market sees the payroll-processing specialist growing its profits to $0.38 a share, after last year's $0.36-per-share showing. Analysts are usually on top of this company. Over the past 10 quarters, guesstimates have been within a penny per share of actual bottom-line results.

Friday
You can go home again, unless you're a homebuilder. Real estate developers have turned in some pretty gruesome reports lately, so cross your fingers and clench your nose when KB Home (NYSE: KBH) reports on Friday. The company has posted four consecutive quarters of huge losses. Let's see whether KB is still a broken home.

Until next week, I remain,

Rick Munarriz

Copyright © 2008 Universal Press Syndicate.