Technology April 14, 2008, 12:01AM EST

Earnings: Will Tech Pull Through?

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Customers at the midtown Fifth Avenue Apple Store look at the MacBook Air in New York City. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

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Nokia: Motorola's weakness will be Nokia's (NOK) gain. Analysts expect the Finnish company's report on Apr. 17 to show a healthy first-quarter profit of $2.28 billion on sales of $19.9 billion. That would mark a billion-dollar jump from the $1.3 billion Nokia earned in the year-ago quarter, when sales reached $13.5 billion. Lower component prices and strong demand in China, India, and Eastern Europe are driving the results.

IBM: Elsewhere in the tech sector, IBM (IBM) is expected to challenge the idea that the entire industry has been hit hard by the slowdown. With its stock trading at $119, just slightly below a five-year high, IBM surprised on the upside with its fourth-quarter report and analysts expect more of the same when Big Blue announces its first-quarter results Apr. 16. The consensus estimate calls for $1.44 per share of profit on $23.6 billion in revenue. In an Apr. 10 note, Smith Barney said: "We expect solid revenues across all divisions."

EBay: The Internet sector's results will be examined closely for any new signs of a feared slowdown in consumer spending and online advertising. Online auction giant eBay (EBAY), considered a strong bellwether for consumer sentiment, leads off for the group with an Apr. 16 report. Beyond any economic impact, investors will be looking to see the initial impact of controversial changes to eBay's auction fee structure announced in January (BusinessWeek.com, 1/29/08). Analysts expect to see eBay post earnings of 39¢ per share on a 17% gain in revenue to $2.07 billion.

Google: If consumer spending is down, it follows that online advertising can't help but be affected, too. That's the fear in advance of Google's (GOOG) quarterly report on Apr. 17. While the quarter saw Google's stock lose a third of its value amid jitters about a downturn in its mammoth search-ad delivery business (BusinessWeek.com, 3/31/08), analysts are expecting the company to shake it off. Wall Street forecasts have Google reporting profits of $4.52 a share on revenue of $3.6 billion, up from $3.68 a share on $2.5 billion in revenue a year earlier. One reason for the optimism: CEO Eric Schmidt has sought to reassure investors that a notable decline in advertising clicks is the result of an intentional effort to reduce accidental hits on Web ads.

Yahoo: The same worries about Web advertising are also hanging over Yahoo (YHOO), whose report on Apr. 22 also carries the added drama of its attempt to fight off Microsoft's (MSFT) takeover bid. CEO Jerry Yang has justified his rejection of Microsoft's $31-per-share bid with promises of a solid start to 2008 and aggressive growth projections (BusinessWeek.com, 3/18/08). A weak report would unmask those assertions as an empty bluff, possibly prompting Microsoft to lower its bid. The Street is anticipating Yahoo will report $1.33 billion in revenue and profits of 11¢ per share. Investors are unlikely to stomach anything less.

The same might be said of the entire tech sector. Investors as a whole seem more acutely aware than usual this earnings season to any hint of weakening quarters ahead. Yet braced as they are for the worst, they may emerge from this earnings season more hopeful than before.

Hesseldahl is a technology writer for BusinessWeek.com. With Ogla Kharif in Portland, Ore., and Steve Hamm and Catherine Holahan in New York