By Wallace Witkowski, MarketWatch

Disney, Comcast, Fox, CBS report earnings

Media companies will comprise the bulk of quarterly results this week, along with reports from smaller energy companies as earnings season begins to wind down.

Stocks finished the week lower (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-investors-upbeat-ahead-of-ism-consumer-data-2015-05-01) despite a Friday rally. For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) declined 0.3%, the S&P 500 Index (SPX) shed 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) fell 1.7% after a number of social-media stocks tanked following earnings (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/7-charts-show-investors-antisocial-behavior-2015-05-01).

More than 80 companies on the S&P 500 will report earnings this week with only one Dow component, Walt Disney Co.(DIS)

In addition to Disney, several other media companies report, including Comcast Corp.(CMCSA), 21 Century Fox Inc.(NWS) (NWSA), and CBS Corp.(CBS) Of note, investors will see if rising consumer sentiment (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/as-consumer-sentiment-perks-up-the-question-of-spending-looms-2015-05-01), and a pick-up in March consumer spending (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/consumer-spending-shows-limited-advance-in-march-2015-04-30) translated into bottom-line gains at those companies.

With more than two-thirds of the S&P 500 having already reported their latest results, earnings are looking to log a year-over-year 0.4% decline for the quarter, an improvement over what analysts had predicted in late March would be a 4.7% decline, according to John Butters, senior earnings analyst at FactSet.

The consumer discretionary sector is on track to post 3.8% earnings growth for the quarter, according to FactSet data, slightly less than the 5.8% growth estimate expected at the end of March.

Also, this week, a number of smaller energy companies add their quarterly reports to the mix such as Anadarko Petroleum Corp.(APC) and Marathon Oil Corp.(MPC). A 59% decline in earnings for the energy sector has severely hobbled the S&P 500 from seeing profit growth this quarter.

Looking past this earnings season, slightly fewer companies are forecasting earnings to fall below the Wall Street estimate. Out of the companies providing an outlook, 65% have guided lower than the consensus, compared with the 69% five-year average. Still, earnings growth is expected to be non-existent until the fourth quarter, with analysts expecting a 3.9% decline in the second quarter and a 0.3% decline in the third quarter, Butters said.

Notable earnings reports this week

Report date    Company/Ticker (FactSet EPS / Revenue estimates) 
Mon., May 4    Comcast (74 cents / $17.41 billion)Cablevision Systems Corp. US:CVC   (17 cents / $1.6 billion) Anadarko  (loss of 64 cents / $2.41 billion) 
Tues., May 5   Disney ($1.11 / $12.24 billion)DirecTV US:DTV  ($1.54 / $8.16 billion)News Corp US:NWSA  (US:NWS  7 cents / $2.12 billion)Discovery Communications Inc. US:DISCA  US:DISCK  (38 cents / $1.54 billion) Mylan NV US:MYL  (71 cents / $2.05 billion) 
Weds., May 6   21st Century Fox (39 cents / $6.88 billion)Tesla Motors Inc. US:TSLA  (loss of 51 cents / $1.04 billion)Whole Foods Market Inc. US:WFM  (43 cents / $3.71 billion)TripAdvisor Inc. US:TRIP  (56 cents / $366.6 million)Keurig Green Mountain Inc. US:GMCR  ($1.05 / $1.15 billion)Occidental Petroleum Corp. US:OXY  (4 cents / $3.37 billion)Prudential Financial Inc. US:PRU  ($2.38 / $11.07 billion)MetLife Inc. US:MET  ($1.41 / $17.57 billion) 
Thurs., May 7  Priceline Group Inc. US:PCLN  ($7.73 / $1.8 billion)CBS Corp. US:CBS  (75 cents / $3.45 billion)Marathon Oil ($3.37 / $18.44 billion)Apache Corp. US:APA  (loss of 55 cents / $1.82 billion) 
Fri., May 8    Tesoro Corp. US:TSO  ($1.17 / $5.22 billion) 
 

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