Critics of the company blame its recent weakness to the company not having invested in remodeling its stores and to improve its customer services.

It is easy to understand where the critics are coming from. Walking into a Sears or K-Mart store just does not have the same feeling as you get when you enter into a Wal-Mart or Target store. Wal-Mart and Target understand that customers want a certain “feel” from their stores, and they deliver. Walking into a Sears and you get the feeling that the store has been there for 25 years without change (and in most cases you would be right).

The typically busy holiday shopping season was dismal for the company, and for the quarter-to-date, K-Mart stores have seen a drop in same store sales of 4.2%, while Sears stores have seen a drop of 6%.

The company stated that it had not yet decided which K-Mart and Sears stores would be closed, but that it would make the list public on its media website once the final list had been determined. It also stated that it was not sure at this point whether or not the store closings would lead to job cuts, but it is hard to imagine that the closing of 100+ stores would not lead to job cuts.

If Sears is able to absorb the criticism it has been given, and puts its focus on remodeling and vamping up its customer service then it may have a chance to get back to its glory days, but unless it is able to make serious changes, and make the quickly, then it is hard to imagine the retailer ever getting back on the same level as its major competitors.

Wall Street reacted as expected to the news, with the stock closing the session down 27.2%, down $12.47 to $33.38.

The following video on the subject is from MarketWatch:

Going into this afternoon’s quarterly report, analysts are expecting to see Amazon post earnings of $0.61 per share on revenues of $9.55 billion.

During the same period last year the company had earnings of $0.66 per share with earnings of $7.13 billion.

Why Amazon Earnings Are Important:

Since Amazon is the nation’s largest online retailer so it will give us a clearer indication of what to expect from the rest of the online retailers as they get ready to release their quarterly earnings.

Amazon will be reporting its earnings following the market close, and we will update the results as well as after hours trading reaction when it becomes available.

Here are a few of the names that will be reporting tomorrow:

• Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) : Bristol Myers will be reporting its first quarter results tomorrow. The company is expected to report earnings of $0.51 per share, verses $0.41 during the same period last year. The stock closed the day up 0.5% to $24.34 and will report earnings before the market opens.
• Exxon Mobil (XOM) : Exxon will be reporting its first quarter results tomorrow. The company is expected to report $1.41 per share, compared to $0.92 during the same period last year. It will announce its results before the market opens. Exxon stock traded up 1.35% today to $69.19.
• Procter & Gamble (PG) : Procter & Gamble will be reporting its fiscal third quarter results tomorrow. The company is expected to report earnings of $0.82 per share, compared to $0.84 during the same period last year. The stock finished the day up 0.87% to $63.17 and will announce its quarterly results before the market opens.

• DuPont (DD) : DuPont is going to be reporting its first quarter numbers tomorrow. Analysts have forecast earnings of $1.06, verses $0.54 during the same period last year. The company will be announcing earnings before the market opens in the morning. The stock is trading down 0.9% today to $40.57.
• Xilinx (XLNX) : Xilinx is due to report fiscal fourth quarter numbers tomorrow, and analysts forecasts are for $0.45 per share. During the same period last year the company had earnings of $0.20 per share. The stock is trading down 1.4% today to $26.83. Earnings will be released after the market closes tomorrow.
• Sprint Nextel (S) : Sprint is expected to post a loss of $0.17 for its first quarter tomorrow before the market opens. During the same period last year the company had a loss of $0.21. The stock is trading down 0.8% today to $4.20.
• General Dynamics (GD) : General Dynamics will report its first quarter numbers tomorrow before the market opens, and Wall Street is expecting to see the company post $1.51 per share. During the same period last year the company had earnings of $1.54 per share. The stock is trading down 0.4% today to $78.33.

Going into this mornings earnings report, analysts were forecasting $0.15 per share, verses $0.05 during the same period last year.

Actual earnings came in well above estimates, at $0.18 per share excluding special items.

Revenues were up by 33% during the quarter to $4.7 billion. Analysts had forecast revenues of $4.79 billion.

Looking ahead Xerox stated that it expects to earn 20 to 22 cents for its second quarter, above Wall Street estimates of $0.18.

The stock is trading up 10.2% today to $11.52, up $1.07.

• Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) : Following tomorrow’s market close, online auction giant Amazon is going to report its first quarter results. Analysts are forecasting earnings of $0.61 per share, verses $0.41 during the same period last year.
• American Express Co. (AXP) : American Express will report Q1 earnings tomorrow after the market close, and Wall Street analysts are looking to see earnings of $0.63 per share. During the same period last year the company had earnings of $0.32.
• Pepsico (PEP) : Pepsi is going to be reporting Q1 numbers tomorrow. Analysts are expecting to see the company post earnings of $0.75 per share, verses $0.71 during the same period last year. The company will report numbers before the market open.
• Capital One Financial (COF) : Capital One will be reporting its first quarter numbers tomorrow, and analysts are forecasting earnings of $0.57 per share, verses a loss of $0.45 during the same period last year. Capital One will be reporting its earnings before the market opens in the morning.

• McDonald’s Corp. (MCD) : McDonald’s is going to be reporting its first quarter numbers tomorrow with analysts forecasting $0.96 per share, verses $0.83 during the same period last year. The company will be reporting its Q1 numbers before the market opens in the morning.
• The Boeing Company (BA) : Boeing is due to report its Q1 results tomorrow, and Wall Street has forecast earnings of $0.64 per share, verse $0.87 during the same period last year. Boeing earnings will be released before the market opens tomorrow.
• Amgen (AMGN) : Amgen will be reporting first quarter numbers tomorrow after the market closes. Analysts have forecast earnings of $1.24 per share, verses $1.08 during the same period last year.
• Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) : Qualcomm is going to be reporting fiscal Q2 earnings tomorrow, and analysts are forecasting $0.57 per share. During the same period last year the company had earnings of $0.41, and will be reporting after the market closes Wednesday.

• Coca Cola (KO) : Coca Cola will be reporting first quarter numbers tomorrow, and analysts have forecast $0.74 per share. During the same period last year Coca Cola had earnings of $0.65.
• Apple Computer (AAPL) : Apple is going to report fiscal second quarter numbers tomorrow, and analysts have forecast earnings of $2.43 per share, compared with $1.33 it earned during the same period last year.
• Altera Corp (ALTR) : Altera is due to reporting Q1 numbers, with Wall Street forecasts calling for $0.40 per share. For the same period last year the company had earnings of $0.15.
• State Street (STT) : State Street is going to report Q1 earnings tomorrow. Analysts have forecast $0.75 per share, verse $1.04 during the same period last year.

you can find a complete listing of upcoming and historic earnings reports on earnings.com

• Google Inc. (GOOG) : Google will be reporting its first quarter numbers tomorrow after the market closes. Wall Street has forecast earnings of $6.57 per share. For the same period last year the company had earnings of $5.16. GOOG was up 0.38% on the day to $589.00. The company will report earnings after the market close.
• Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) : AMD will be releasing its first quarter results tomorrow, and analysts have forecast the company to report a loss of $0.07 per share. During the same period last year the company reported a loss of $0.66. The stock traded up 3.4% on the day to $9.89. The company will report earnings after the market close.
• Bank of America Corporation (BAC) : Bank of America will be reporting its first quarter results on Friday with analyst forecasting $0.09 a share. For the same period last year the company had earnings of $0.44. The company will be reporting before the market opens on Friday.
• General Electric (GE) : General Electric will be reporting its first quarter results on Friday. Wall Street analysts have forecast earnings of $0.16, compared with $0.26 during the same period last year. The company will be reporting before the market opens Friday.

With hopes building that the economic recovery is on solid footing, Wall Street will be looking for Pier 1 earnings as an indicator of just how much money people are putting back into their homes.

For the quarter, analysts have forecast Pier 1 to report earnings of $0.31 per share. During the same period last year the company had a loss of $0.33 per share.