Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE:LLY) will unveil its latest earnings on Thursday, October 20, 2011. The average estimate of analysts is for net income of $1.13 per share, a decline of 6.6% from the company’s actual earnings for the same quarter a year ago. During the past three months, the average estimate has moved up from $1.09. Between one and three months ago, the average estimate moved up. It has been unchanged at $1.13 during the last month. Analysts are projecting profit to rise by 8.6% versus last year to $4.33.

The company missed estimates last quarter after beating forecasts in the prior two. In the second quarter, the company reported profit of $1.18 per share versus a mean estimate of net income of $1.19 per share. In the first quarter, the company beat estimates by 7 cents. Analysts are projecting a rise of 6.7% in revenue from the year-earlier quarter to $6.03 billion.

Competitors to Watch: Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE), Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE:BMY), Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMLN), GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE:GSK), Alkermes, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALKS), Roche Holding Ltd. (RHHBY), Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS), and Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT).

Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE:BSX) will unveil its latest earnings on Thursday, October 20, 2011. The average estimate of analysts is for profit of 8 cents per share, a decline of 33.3% from the company’s actual earnings for the same quarter a year ago. The average estimate is the same as three months ago. Between one and three months ago, the average estimate was unchanged. It also has not changed during the last month. Analysts are projecting profit to rise by 6.2% versus last year to 45 cents.

Last quarter, the company beat estimates by one cent, coming in at net income of 10 cents a share versus the estimate of profit of 9 cents a share. It marked the fourth straight quarter of beating estimates. Analysts are projecting a decline of 0.5% in revenue from the year-earlier quarter to $1.91 billion.

Competitors to Watch: Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE:MDT), St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE:STJ), Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI), C.R. Bard, Inc. (NYSE:BCR), Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK), Teleflex Incorporated (NYSE:TFX), AngioDynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANGO), and The Spectranetics Corp. (NASDAQ:SPNC).

Get Your FREE Special Report: 4 Things You Must Know About the US Economy Now!