Earnings Preview: Lear Corp.

Lear Corp. (LEA) is expected to report Q3 earnings before market open Thursday Oct. 30, with a conference call scheduled for 9 am ET.

Guidance

Analysts are expecting a loss of (5c) on revenue of 3.18B. The consensus range for EPS is wide: (37c) to 41c, with a revenue range of $3B to $3.46B, according to First Call. In Q2 the company reported EPS 23c verses consensus 68c, and revenue of $3.98B verses consensus $3.91B.

Analyst Views

On October 10 Lear gave FY08 revenue guidance $14B vs. consensus $14.75B. The company's previous FY08 estimate was $15B. Even with the lower sales and earnings forecast, Lear expects to generate positive free cash flow for the year.

On October 2 Citigroup upgraded shares on valuation and lifted its target on Lear shares to $11 from $10.