Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK) will unveil its latest earnings on Wednesday, January 25, 2012. The average estimate of analysts is for net income of $1.28 per share, a rise of 21.9% 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 25.5% versus last year to $5.17.

Last quarter, the company came in at profit of $1.34 per share against a mean estimate of net income of $1.32 per share, beating estimates after missing them in the previous quarter. In the second quarter, it missed forecasts by 9 cents. Analysts are projecting a rise of 15.8% in revenue from the year-earlier quarter to $2.79 billion.

Competitors to Watch: P & F Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFIN), Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA), Home Depot (NYSE:HD) and Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW).

W.W. Grainger Inc. (NYSE:GWW) reported its results for the fourth quarter. Net income for the industrial equipment wholesale company rose to $148.5 million ($2.04 per share) vs. $132.2 million ($1.83 per share) in the same quarter a year earlier. This marks a rise of 12.3% from the year earlier quarter. Revenue rose 13.7% to $2.08 billion from the year earlier quarter. GWW fell short of the mean analyst estimate of $2.10 per share. Analysts were expecting revenue of $2.08 billion.

“This was an exceptional year for Grainger,” said Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Ryan. “Our team is producing consistently solid results with a strong focus on helping our customers improve the productivity of their businesses. We continue to see a long runway for growth and are investing aggressively in our proven growth drivers: product line expansion, sales force expansion, eCommerce, inventory services and international expansion.”

Competitors to Watch: Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST), Interline Brands, Inc. (NYSE:IBI), Anixter International Inc. (NYSE:AXE), WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE:WCC), Watsco, Incorporated (NYSE:WSO), Houston Wire & Cable Co. (NASDAQ:HWCC), Hudson Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:HDSN), Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA), and Record Electric SAECA (NYSE:REC).

To contact the reporter on this story: Derek Hoffman at staff.writers@wallstcheatsheet.com

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Damien Hoffman at editors@wallstcheatsheet.com

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