The Fool's Look Ahead

Monday

Summer isn't a big time for the toy makers because the next two quarters will carry the industry. So take the second-quarter report, expected from Mattel (NYSE: MAT), in stride. The actual numbers won't be as important as the company's near-term outlook for the 2007 holiday season.

Tuesday
It's Yang time at Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO). Now that co-founder Jerry Yang is taking over for Terry Semel as CEO, the earnings report expected Tuesday will also be judged on the company's outlook. So let the analysts get what they expect -- flat earnings growth -- if Yahoo! earns $0.11 a share again. Now let's hear about what Yahoo! plans to do about earning that exclamation point in the future.

Wednesday
eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) will bid for your attention on this day. Despite a slowdown in listings at the company's namesake auction business, Wall Street expects a 33% increase in earnings growth for the second quarter. It may sound ambitious, but eBay has beaten analyst estimates in each of the past three quarters.

Thursday
We then look at Google (Nasdaq: GOOG). The Yahoo! humbler has been a beast since going public three summers ago. Shares have gone up more than sixfold since then. It probably doesn't hurt that the company has only come up short in topping Wall Street's expectations just once in its public life.

Friday
Then you have Citigroup (NYSE: C) and Wachovia (NYSE: WB) with a one-two big banking punch. The sector has been a laggard lately, with investors fearing that the subprime meltdown and iffy real estate markets will slow growth. With a pair of bellwethers wrapping up the trading week, we'll let Friday speak for itself.

Until next week, I remain,