Earnings Preview: OfficeMax Incorporated

OfficeMax Incorporated (OMX) is expected to report Q4 earnings with a conference call scheduled for Tuesday, February 19th, at 9:00 a.m. ET.

Guidance

Analysts are looking for a profit of 52c on revenue of $2.3B. The consensus range is 44c to 62c for EPS, and $2.27B to $2.35B for revenue, according to First Call.

Analyst Views

Piper Jaffray recently lowered its price target on OfficeMax to $30 from $39, but maintained its Buy rating. The firm said it still believes shares of OfficeMax are attractively valued and also that the company "still has several years of execution improvement." At the same time, Piper pointed out that retail companies have been consistently reporting contracting margins and lower comparable sales.

S&P analysts expect challenging business conditions to impact both retail consumers and spending by small business, and are concerned that near-term sales growth may be "lackluster." The firm lowered its 2007 and 2008 EPS estimates to $2.27 and $2.35, from $2.30 and $2.56, respectively.

Next event: OfficeMax will hold its 2008 Investor Day on Wednesday, March 19, 2008.