Intel Corporation (INTC), Google Inc (GOOG), Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): Key Earnings for the Week (April 15)

Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) doesn’t give guidance, so its results always cause a lot of volatility and this time won’t be any different. I think Google is managing the transition to tablet and mobile internet usage very well, and investors often underestimate its international growth prospects.

There is no reason why it can’t reach the kind of metrics generated in the U.S. with its international operations. Moreover, we are in the early infancy of the big data revolution and its search facility is something actively used by people. Long-term growth is inevitable.

IBM’s chief rival Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ:ORCL) gave disappointing results recently, so there are some concerns over what IBM will report. Oracle insisted that this was more of a sales execution issue rather than macro weakness. In addition, I think Oracle is going through some product transition issues as well, as it’s relatively underexposed to cloud-based offerings.

IBM investors should expect good System Z hardware sales, and I suspect we are about to find out whether it is taking share from Tibco Software in middleware and analytics after that company reported a horrible set of results recently.

Friday

The big news on Friday will come from General Electric Company (NYSE:GE). Its last results were strong and contained some upside surprise from health care in emerging markets, plus some impressive order growth overall. Baker Hughes, Honeywell, and Rockwell Collins also have activities that cross over with parts of GE.

Last but not least, Kimberly Clark and McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) will update us on the mass consumer market.

Lee Samaha has positions in Johnson & Johnson and IBM. The Motley Fool recommends Google, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, and Quest Diagnostics. The Motley Fool owns shares of Google, Intel, International Business Machines., and Johnson & Johnson.