If you’re looking for some theme music for the upcoming wave of earnings reports, a funeral dirge is probably most appropriate.
Aluminum giant Alcoa (AA, Fortune 500) unofficially kicks off the deluge of corporate reports when it releases its results on Monday. We already know that the numbers will be awful: analysts are forecasting a loss of 5 cents per share.
What’s more, Alcoa announced Tuesday that it is cutting 13% of its global workforce and will take a $900 million to $950 million charge in the quarter as a result.
It’s only fitting that Alcoa will be the first major company to release fourth-quarter results. That’s because it is not an exception but the rule in what’s shaping up to be one of the worst quarters for corporate profits in recent memory.
Several retailers, including Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500), Macy’s (M, Fortune 500) and American Eagle Outfitters (AEO), all slashed their fourth-quarter profit forecasts Thursday. And those warnings come on the heels of semiconductor kingpin Intel’s (INTC, Fortune 500) reduced sales outlook Wednesday.