• H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 8:00am on Tuesday.
• InteractiveCorp (NASDAQ:IACI) to give operational update.

• Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 10:00am.
• Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN) to discuss enhanced financial reporting structure at 11:00am.
• Ford (NYSE:F) to report June sales at 1:00pm; General Motors (GM) to report June sales at 2:00pm.
• Apollo Group (NASDAQ:APOL) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 5:00pm.
  

• Family Dollar (NYSE:FDO) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 10:00am.
  

• Corel Corp (NASDAQ:CREL) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 8:00am.
• Stolt-nielsen to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 9:00am.

• Markets closed for Fourth of July holiday.
  

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Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) designs, develops, manufactures and markets digital wireless telecommunications products and services based primarily on its Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology. The firm supplies integrated circuits and system software for voice and data communications, multimedia devices and global positioning products. It also licenses CDMA semiconductor technology and software to more than 100 other equipment and cell phone makers. The Qualcomm Ventures unit invests in wireless communications and Internet startups. Major competitors include Nokia (NYSE: NOK) and Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN).

The company pleased investors last week, when it guided fiscal Q3 EPS to 54-55 cents (50-52 cents prior, 52 cent consensus) and Q3 revenues to points slightly above $2.7 billion ($2.5-$2.7B prior, $2.61B consensus). Management also guided FY08 EPS to $2.09-$2.13 ($2.04-$2.09 prior, $2.11 consensus). The updated guidance reflected greater than expected demand for Qualcomm's 1xEV-DO and HSPA chipsets, as well as revenues from advanced 3G network upgrades. Jefferies subsequently reiterated its "buy" rating on the shares and boosted its price target to $54.

QCOM shares popped into a bullish "pennant" consolidation pattern on the news. Prices frequently exit pennants moving in the same direction they were traveling on entry. In this case, that would be to the upside.

Brokers recommend the issue with seven "strong buys", fourteen "buys" and three "holds". Analysts see a 17% average annual growth rate, through the next five years. The QCOM Price to Free Cash Flow ratio (29.26), Sales Growth rate (17.51%), EPS Growth rate (22.73%), Operating Margin (32.34%), Net Profit Margin (35.78%), Return on Assets (19.56%), Return on Investment (21.96%), Return on Equity (22.70%) and Net Income per Employee ($270.55k) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages. Institutions own about 77% of the outstanding shares. The stock is one of those used to calculate the S&P 500 Index. Over the past 52 weeks, it has traded between $35.17 and $50.18. A stop-loss of $42.90 looks good here. Note that the firm is expected to report Q3 results in late July.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com. He does not hold positions in any of the stocks mentioned above.

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"Wall Street has recently been very negative about Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN)," notes wireless sector expert Nikhil Hutheesing. In his Forbes Wireless Stock Watch, the advisor explains, "But things may not be as dire as they sounded last month and I think that with expectations down, the company will end up exceeding expectations in the second half of this year."

"One reason Wall Street has been negiative is that TXN's biggest wireless customer, Nokia, announced a fundamental shift, stating it would no longer depend mostly on Texas Instruments for its chips. Ericsson also said it had shifted to a multi-supplier strategy.

"Besides that, in April, at TXN's earnings conference, CEO Rich Templeton talked of a cloudy economy and said that his company had become become more conservative with its outlook for the second quarter.

"Meanwhile, I've spoken with a number of experts in the wireless area who tell me that orders for TI's chips are significantly higher for the second half of this year than they have been in previous years. These orders are even coming from Nokia. (So far, Nokia's muti-supplier strategy has not had an impact on Texas Instruments.)

"In addition, Nokia says that there is increasing demand for its single-chip plan (which puts more processing power onto one chip rather than many chips.) This is good news for TXN which is supplying Nokia with GSM single chips for its mobile handsets.

"Nokia also has new products coming up and it has depleted inventories of its chips-as have some other handset vendors. That is good news as well because it means that there will be renewed demand for mobile chips.

"Wireless will continue to contribute about 30% of revenues and TI's OMAP (Open Multimedia Application Platform) processors, which are used in mobile phones to enable multimedia applications, is growing, representing about 8% of revenues.

"In fact, as wireless carriers continue to upgrade, from 3G to 4G and beyond, the demand for these kinds of multimedia chips and other TI application processors will only increase.

"Unlike the baseband business for wireless phones, the application processors are far more complex requiring hardware and software expertise. As a result, the barriers for entry, here, are higher than in the baseband business, where chips act as modems allowing a call to be made.

"So while Wall Street worries about TI's business, I think the company will show strength in the second half of this year.

"Another engine of growth these days is coming from its analog chips. Analog chips are used to translate sound and temperature into digital signals that can be understood by computers. So even though 'analog' is analogous to 'old' when it comes to buying a flat screen TV, it's critical technology for our digital future.

"Shares of TXN are trading near all time lows. I think the bad news has already been reflected in the shares and that current weakness in the stock provides a buying opportunity.

"In the first quarter, profit rose 28% to $1.76 billion. That met analyst expectations and was up $119 million from the first quarter of 2007. Revenues were up 2.5% from one year ago to $3.2 billion. TXN trades at 16.1 times estimated 2008 earnings per share of $1.97.

"I am conservatively valuing TXN at 5 times 2009 EV/Sales, which suggests a price target of $52 per share. We already own shares of TXN in our core wireless model portfolio and I am going to continue holding them. For those who have not invested in TXN, now is a good time."

Each day, Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers the latest market commentary and favorite investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.

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Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• ADC Telecommunications Inc. (NASDAQ: ADCT) beat Q2 estimates and raised its full-year guidance.
• Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) near-term earnings prospects led to an analyst downgrade.
• Banco de Chile (NYSE: BCH) earnings prospects after an acquisition led to an analyst's upgrade.
• Benihana Inc. (NASDAQ: BNHN) posted lower Q4 profits but still beat earnings estimates.
• Bob Evans Farms Inc. (NASDAQ: BOBE) reported solid Q4 results due in part to cost management.
• Brown-Forman Corp. (NYSE: BF.B) easily beat Q4 estimates and offered full-year guidance.
• CMGI Inc. (NASDAQ: CMGI) lowered its guidance, sending shares tumbling 25%.
• Coca Cola Hellenic Bottling Co. (NYSE: CCH) warned of weaker earnings due to economic conditions.
• Conn's Inc. (NASDAQ: CONN) reported solid Q1 results and issued in-line guidance for the year.
• Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS) earnings prospects impress analysts despite recent guidance.
• Guess? Inc. (NYSE: GES) topped Q1 expectations due to strong international expansion.
• Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. (NYSE: KKD) swung to a Q1 profit despite falling revenues.
• Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LEH) posted a bigger-than-expected loss on further write-downs.

• National Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE: NSM) beat estimates on cost efficiencies and improved product mix.
• Nortel Networks Corp. (NYSE: NT) reaffirmed its revenue guidance for the full year.
• Pall Corp. (NYSE: PLL) reported strong Q3 results that beat Wall Street expectations.
• Pep Boys (NYSE: PBY) reported that Q1 earnings jumped due to real estate transactions.
• PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) plans to reiterate its full-year earnings guidance despite market conditions.
• Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) earnings prospects for the second half of 2008 impress one adviser.
• Quality Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: QSII) Q4 profits grew 32%, in line with analysts' expectations.
• Shuffle Master Inc. (NASDAQ: SHFL) topped Q2 expectations, sending shares higher.
• Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: SWHC) Q4 profits fell but still beat analysts' estimates.
• Talbots Inc. (NYSE: TLB) reaffirmed its better-than-expected 2008 earnings guidance.
• Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) warned that weak demand for chips could hurt Q2 results.
• UBS (NYSE: UBS) warned "further write-downs may hit earnings" and some assets classes had deteriorated.

Also, Barron's likes the prospects for ethanol producers such as VeraSun Energy Corp. (NYSE: VSE). Kiplinger's includes Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) and Dick's Sporting Goods among its Father's Day stock picks. Could rancor over Vista hurt Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) bottom line?

Upcoming results to watch for include Adobe Systems (NASDAQ: ADBE), La-Z-Boy (NYSE: LZB), Best Buy (NYSE: BBY), CarMax (NYSE: KMX), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), FedEx (NYSE: FDX), JM Smucker (NYSE: SJM), and Winnebago (NYSE: WGO).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

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National Semiconductor (NYSE: NSM) manufactures a broad range of analog and mixed signal semiconductor devices and subsystems. Products include power management circuits, display drivers, audio and operational amplifiers, interface products and data conversion devices. These are used in communications, networking, automotive, test measurement and aerospace applications. Customers include IBM (NYSE: IBM), Motorola (NYSE: MOT) and Sony (NYSE: SNE). Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) is a major competitor.

The firm pleased investors last week, when it reported Q4 EPS of 34 cents and revenues of $462 million. Analysts had been looking for 26 cents and $449.5 million. The gross margin of 65.9% was up sequentially and year over year, driven by cost efficiencies and an improved product mix of higher-value analog devices. Management also guided Q1 revenues to $460-$475 million ($451.22M consensus) and FY09 EPS to about $1.45-$1.51 ($1.24 consensus).

NSM shares popped on the news and have since been defining a bullish "flag" consolidation pattern. Prices frequently exit flags moving in the same direction they were traveling on entry. In this case, that would be to the upside.

Brokers recommend the issue with one "strong buy", eight "buys", thirteen "holds" and one "underperform". Analysts expect a 17% growth rate, through the next year. The NSM Price to Free Cash flow ratio (11.93), EPS Growth rate (22.79%), Operating Margin (27.00%), Net Profit Margin (17.62%), Return on Assets (15.41%), Return on Investment (17.94%) and Return on Equity (35.31%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages. Institutional investors hold about 85% of the outstanding shares. The stock is one of those used to calculate the S&P 500 Index. Over the past 52 weeks, it has traded between $16.21 and $29.38. A stop-loss of $19.75 looks good here.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com. He does not hold positions in any of the stocks mentioned above.

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For a bearish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a July bear-call credit spread above the $32.50 range. A bear-call credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of call options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make a 4.2% return in six weeks as long as BRCM is below $32.50 at July expiration. Broadcom would have to rise by more than 21% before we would start to lose money. Learn more about this type of trade here.

BRCM hasn't been above $30 since October and has shown resistance around $29 recently. This trade could be risky if the company's earnings (due out in mid-July) are a positive surprise, but even if that happens, this position could be protected by resistance BAC might find around $29, where it topped out twice in the past month.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer.

DISCLOSURE: Mr. Archer owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in BRCM or TXN.

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For a bearish hedged play on this stock, I would consider an October bear-call credit spread above the $37.50 range. A bear-call credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of call options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make an 8.7% return in four and a half weeks as long as TXN is below $37.50 at May expiration. TI would have to rise by more than 21% before we would start to lose money. Learn more about this type of trade here.

TXN hasn't been above $37.50 since July and has shown resistance around $33 recently. This trade could be risky if the company's earnings (due out on 7/21) are a positive surprise, but even if that happens, this position could be protected by resistance TXN might find around $34, where it topped out in December.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer.

DISCLOSURE: Mr. Archer owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in TXN.

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This post is part of a series on some of the most memorable companies that have disappeared.

Once upon a time, there was a computer brand called Compaq. It was one of the largest sellers of PCs in the entire world in the 1980s and 1990s. Then 2002 comes and Hewlett-Packard Corp. (NYSE: HPQ) merges with the company. The end.

Well, sounds like a short-lived story, and in actuality, it was. Compaq existed for only 20 years (1982 - 2002) before being gobbled up by then-CEO Carly Fiorina of HP to make HP's market share as large as possible. Compaq was mostly thought of as a quality brand from many system administrators I talked to back in the late 1990s, although I heard more horror stories from consumers that owned Compaq PCs. Apparently, the "compatibility" and "quality" that made up the Compaq name wasn't jiving with many consumers who bought its machines.

Compaq, formed on a few dinner napkins in Houston by three former Texas Instruments (NASDAQ: TXN) executives, and became a force to be dealt with in the market for consumer PCs in the 1990s. In fact, it was one of the first manufacturers to dip its toe into making sub-$1,000 PCs, which are now commonplace with every PC manufacturer. The Deskpro, Systempro and Presario were all Compaq brand names, all the way until it merged with HP. HP still markets a few desktop and laptop systems as "Compaq" brands to this day, probably due to just having a few more flavors on the candy shelf for customers to choose over.

But, the name is all that remains from Compaq's 20-year history. Do you miss the company? If you owned one of Compaq's real machines (to this day), sound off below and let us know what you like and don't like about this vanished brand.

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Monday, June 9

• The Pediatric Ethics Subcommittee of the Pediatric Advisory Committee will meet at 8:30 am to discuss the application of 21 CFR 50.52 (Clinical investigations involving greater than minimal risk but presenting the prospect of direct benefit to individual subjects) to FDA-regulated research. The discussion will be illustrated with hypothetical case examples of research involving HIV vaccines in adolescents and controlled trials of inhaled corticosteroids in children with asthma.
• Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) to give mid-quarter update at 5:00 pm.

Tuesday, June 10

• The Pediatric Ethics Subcommittee will meet at 8:00 am to discuss the application of 21 CFR 50.52 to FDA-regulated research illustrated with a hypothetical case example of research using stem cells for treating periventricular white matter injury in children.
• Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) to hold conference call at 11:00 am to discuss business video innovation.
• Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) to hold mid-year review meeting at 12:00 pm.

Wednesday, June 11

• Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) to present data at ADA conference at 8:30 am.
• Resources Connection (NASDAQ: RECN) to discuss management changes at 5:00 pm.

Thursday, June 12

• FCC Open Commission Meeting at 9:30 am.
• School Specialty (NASDAQ: SCHS) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 11:00 am.

Friday, June 13

• Friday the Thirteenth!
• W.W. Grainger (NYSE: GWW) to hold prerecorded May sales conference call at 8:00 am.
• Herley Industries (NASDAQ: HRLY) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 9:00 am.

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MAJOR PAPERS:

• Chip suppliers for cellphones including Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM), Texas Instruments Incorporated (NYSE: TXN) and Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) are moving aggressively to make products for Intel Corporation's (NASDAQ: INTC) new breed of pocket-size portable devices, called MIDs, the Wall Street Journal reported.

• According to the UK Times, Barclays Plc (NYSE: BCS) and The Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (NYSE: RBS) were raided by the Office of Fair Trading as part of the investigation into price fixing loans to professional services firms.

• Almost three dozen of the largest U.S. companies may have to slash their dividends, since the dividends greatly exceed their cash flow, Bloomberg reported. Large companies in this situation include General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM), Motorola Inc (NYSE: MOT), and The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT).
• China Telecom Corporation Limited (NYSE: CHA) may announce today that it has bought the mobile phone assets of China Unicom Limited (NYSE: CHU) and its parent company for more than $14.4B, Bloomberg reported, citing the South China Morning Post. China Unicom could say that it is merging with China Netcom Group Corporation (NYSE: CN) as early as today, the newspaper added.

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MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Goldman upgraded the U.S. Semiconductor Sector, including Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) and SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) to Attractive from Neutral. The firm believes semi fundamentals are poised to improve in 2H08 and that valuations are reasonable.
  
• Wachovia upgraded Teekay Offshore (NYSE: TOO) to Outperform from Market Perform based on valuation and increased distribution growth outlook following the acquisition of an additional 25% ownership interest in Teekay Offshore Operating, L.P.
  
• Merriman upgraded shares of Oplink Communications (NASDAQ: OPLK) to Buy from Neutral as it believes the company is an attractive takeover target following the Finisar (NASDAQ: FNSR) and Optium (NASDAQ: OPTM) merger, given its low-cost Chinese manufacturing capacity and attractive $140M cash balance.

• Goldman upgraded Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) to Buy from Neutral and added shares to its Conviction Buy List.
  
• William Blair raised Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG) to Outperform from Market Perform.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) to Buy from Hold.

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Goldman Sachs has added Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) to its "conviction buy" list, according to MarketWatch. The financial website also reports that Goldman Sachs lifted its view on U.S. semiconductors to "attractive" from "neutral."

Citigroup downgraded Akamai (NASDAQ:AKAM) to "hold" from "buy," according to Briefing.com. The news service also reports that Citigroup upgraded Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) from "hold" to "buy."

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

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ON Semiconductor (NASDAQ: ONNN) designs and manufactures a wide variety of power and data management semiconductors for customers in the automotive, communications, computer, medical, industrial and military/aerospace markets. It operates a network of manufacturing facilities, sales offices and design centers in key markets throughout North America, Europe and the Asia Pacific region. Top clients include Nokia (NYSE: NOK) and Sony (NYSE: SNE). Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) is a major competitor.

The firm pleased investors last week, when it reported Q1 EPS of 21 cents and revenues of $421.9 million. Analysts had been looking for 14 cents and $386.9 million. Management also guided Q2 revenues to $545-$560 million ($400.6M consensus). Canaccord Adams subsequently upgraded the shares to "buy". Kaufman Brothers, Lehman Brothers and Wedbush Morgan reiterated their "buy" ratings.

The ONNN stock price popped on the news, pushing above its 200-day moving average curve for the first time in over six months. Shares are now consolidating that move, as they cycle in a bullish "pennant" pattern. Prices frequently exit pennants moving in the same direction they were traveling on entry. In this case, that would be to the upside.

Brokers recommend the issue with seven "strong buys", six "buys" and three "holds". Analysts see a 34% growth rate, through the next year. The ONNN P/E ratio (14.32), PEG ratio (1.14), Price to Sales ratio (2.38), Price to Book ratio (3.93), Price to Cash Flow ratio (12.49), Price to Free Cash Flow ratio (13.56), EPS Growth rate (16.67%) and Return on Equity (50.89%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages. Institutional investors hold about 85% of the outstanding shares. Over the past 52 weeks, ONNN has traded between $4.86 and $13.15. A stop-loss of $8.40 looks good here.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com. He does not hold positions in any of the stocks mentioned above.

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Amkor Technology (NASDAQ: AMKR) is a leading provider of semiconductor assembly and test services. The firm offers semiconductor companies and electronics manufacturers a complete set of microelectronics manufacturing services, including die bonding, wire bonding, chip encapsulation, and verification of function, current, timing, and voltage. Clients include IBM (NYSE: IBM), Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) and Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN).

The company surprised the Street last week, when it reported Q1 EPS of 36 cents and revenues of $699.5 million. Analysts had been looking for 26 cents and $684.3 million. The CEO attributed success to customer demand for wireless communications and networking applications. Management also guided Q2 EPS to 32-36 cents (28 cent consensus) and Q2 revenues to about $706-$720 million ($700.6M consensus).

The stock popped on the news and then settled into a bullish "flag" consolidation pattern. Prices frequently exit flags moving in the same direction they were traveling on entry. In this case, that would be to the upside.

Brokers recommend the issue with one "buy", five "holds" and one "sell". Analysts see a 15% growth rate, through the next year. The AMKR P/E ratio (9.24), PEG ratio (0.93), Price to Sales ratio (0.78), Price to Book ratio (2.84), Price to Cash Flow ratio (3.98), Price to Free Cash Flow ratio (5.60), EPS Growth rate (100.00%) and Return on Equity (42.70%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages. Institutional investors hold about 57% of the outstanding shares. Over the past 52 weeks, AMKR has traded between $6.14 and $16.29. A stop-loss of $9.85 looks good here.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com. He does not hold positions in any of the stocks mentioned above.

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• Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) profits rose 30%, easily beating analysts' expectations.
• AMETEK Inc. (NYSE: AME) beat Q1 estimates on global strength and recent acquisitions.
• Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) easily beat Q2 expectations but offered a weak outlook.
• AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) posted strong Q1 results thanks to the popularity of the iPhone.
• Baidu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) beat earnings and saw an upgrade from Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C).
• Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) Q1 profit soared, and it raised its guidance.
• Cymer Inc. (NASDAQ: CYMI) beat Q1 estimates and announced a share million buyback program.
• Electronic Data Systems Inc. (NYSE: EDS) posted Q1 profits on cost cutting and new contracts.
• EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) Q1 earnings fell on on acquisition-related charges.
• Hexcel Corp. (NYSE: HXL) beat Q1 estimates on increased commercial aerospace sales.
• Huaneng Power ADS (NYSE: HNP) earnings plunged on coal prices, but the stock went higher.
• Level 3 Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) narrowed its loss on higher sales of networking services.
• McAfee Inc. (NYSE: MFE) Q1 profit plunged on product development and marketing costs.
• MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR) missed analysts' estimates for the first quarter.
• Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) beat earnings expectations and raised its full-year guidance.
• Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) profit soared in the first quarter on increase in subscriptions.
• Nintendo Co. (OTC: NTDOY) posted record results due to the popularity of the Wii system.

• optionsXpress Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: OXPS) reported solid results in the first quarter.
• Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) reported mixed results for the second quarter but raised its guidance.
• Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) Q1 earnings rose 40%, in line with analysts' expectations.
• VMware Inc. (NASDAQ: VMW) posted strong earnings and offered a positive outlook.
• Vocus Inc. (NASDAQ: VOCS) reported its 35th consecutive quarter of revenue growth.
• Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) beat Q1 estimates, helping it to face Microsoft.

Also, Jim Cramer discusses "crummy lenders" and Sheldon Liber takes a closer look at Amazon.com's results. Joseph Lazzaro considers Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) as a barometer of the economy. One analyst thinks financials may have hit bottom and it may be time to buy, and Jon Ogg looks at what short sellers are making of tech stocks. Ted Allrich discusses what to sell/what to buy.

Upcoming results to watch for include Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN), CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS), Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC), U.S. Steel Corp. (NYSE: X), Office Depot (NYSE: ODP), General Motors (NYSE: GM), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT), Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX), Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA), Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM), and Chevron (NYSE: CVX).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

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Cymer (Nasdaq: CYMI) makes excimer light sources for manufacturers of photolithography tools in the semiconductor equipment industry. It offers field support products, customized to support chipmaker customers in their advanced wafer patterning processes. It also provides deep ultraviolet light sources to lithography tool makers, who integrate the sources into their wafer steppers and scanners for subsequent sale to chipmakers. Cymer has installed more than 3,000 light sources around the world, in plants run by the likes of Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD), IBM (NYSE: IBM), Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) and Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN).

Investors were pleased earlier in the week, when the firm announced a $100 million buyback program and then issued a solid quarterly summary. Cymer reported Q1 EPS of 41 cents and revenues of $124 million. Analysts had been looking for 35 cents and $119.3 million. Management also said Q2 revenues would be comparable to the Q1 total of $124 million ($116.6M consensus) and that gross margins would hold at approximately 48%.

CYMI shares popped on the news and have since been consolidating the gain in a bullish "pennant" pattern. Prices frequently exit pennants moving in the same direction they were traveling on entry. In this case, that would be to the upside.

Brokers recommend the issue with two "strong buys", five "buys" and three "underperforms". Analysts see a 35% growth rate, through the next year. The CYMI P/E ratio (11.47), Price to Sales ratio (1.61), Price to Book ratio (1.63), Price to Cash Flow ratio (8.09), Price to Free Cash Flow ratio (9.41) and Operating Margin (20.01%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages. Institutional investors hold about 95% of the outstanding shares. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded between $22.86 and $44.73. A stop-loss of $23.90 looks good here.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com. He does not hold positions in any of the stocks mentioned above.

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Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) reported Q1 numbers Monday after the bell, and I have to say that the report was OK in a relative sense -- nothing in it compelled me to want to do much of anything about the stock. The stock was off a little less than 2% in after-hours trading.

What drove the stock lower? Revenues didn't jump too high, rising 3% to $3.3 billion. Earnings per share, however, did rise by a pretty respectable amount -- they increased 40% to $0.49 per diluted share. It should be noted, though, that this figure included a $0.06 per share tax benefit.

In terms of expectations, Texas Instruments merely met them, according to Briefing.com, plus the company's outlook for the second quarter wasn't particula