Office Depot and Scientific Games Earnings Reports on Deck

Office Depot, Inc. (NYSE:ODP) will unveil its latest earnings on Tuesday, February 28, 2012. The average estimate of analysts is for the company to break even after the company reported net income of 9 cents per share in the year-earlier quarter. 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. For the year, analysts are projecting net loss of 6 cents per share, a swing from profit of 11 cents last year.

The company fell short of estimates last quarter after topping forecasts the quarter prior. In the third quarter, it reported 0 cents per share against a mean estimate of 2 cents. Two quarters ago, it beat expectations by 6 cents with a loss of 6 cents. Analysts predict a rise of 1% in revenue from the year-earlier quarter to $2.99 billion.

Competitors to Watch: Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLS), OfficeMax Incorporated (NYSE:OMX), Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT), Target (NYSE:TGT), Walgreens (NYSE:WAG), CVS (NYSE:CVS), Stamps.com Inc. (NASDAQ:STMP), Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM), Pier one Imports, Inc. (NYSE:PIR), and Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE:BIG).

Scientific Games Corp. (NASDAQ:SGMS) will unveil its latest earnings on Tuesday, February 28, 2012. The average estimate of analysts is for profit of 10 cents per share, a rise of fivefold 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 81.8% versus last year to 6 cents.

The company is looking to top estimates for the third straight quarter. Last quarter, it reported net income of 6 cents per share against a mean estimate of profit of 5 cents, and the quarter before, the company exceeded forecasts by 4 cents with net income of 8 cents versus a mean estimate of profit of 4 cents. On average, analysts predict $235.4 million in revenue this quarter, a rise of 11% from the year-ago quarter. Analysts are forecasting total revenue of $875 million for the year, a decline of 0.8% from last year’s revenue of $882.5 million.

Competitors to Watch: International Game Tech. (NYSE:IGT), Multimedia Games, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGAM), Churchill Downs, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHDN), GameTech International (NASDAQ:GMTC), Canterbury Park Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:CPHC), WMS Industries Inc. (NYSE:WMS), Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:DDE), MTR Gaming Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MNTG), Empire Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:NYNY), and Penn National Gaming, Inc (NASDAQ:PENN).

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