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Ideas for the Post-Earnings Lull

For the next few weeks, companies will be dropping clues at a number of conferences.
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We're in that no-man's land between the frenetic pace of corporate earnings and the very end of the current quarter and start of the next. With exactly three weeks left to go in the March quarter, traders are looking for signs and suggestions as to which companies are primed to deliver in-line or better-than-expected results and those that are poised to fall short of Wall Street's expectations for one reason or another. 

As you've seen over the last several quarters, companies such as Facebook (FB) were rewarded for handily beating expectations, while ADT (ADT) and Whole Foods (WFM) reported lower-than-expected results and saw their shares drop. 

Although we may be in no-man's land, we can still get a handle on things. Over the next few weeks, Wall Street firms will host a number of conferences at which hundreds of management teams will tell their stories. No doubt some will be canned presentations, but in the breakout sessions and in one-to-one meetings, investors will be listening for subtle shifts in managements' commentary and answers. 

Did the winter weather have a greater impact that previously thought? Urban Outfitters (URBN),The Fresh Market (TFM), Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD), AutoZone (AZO) and other companies presenting at the UBS Global Consumer Conference on March 12-13 will likely face that question.

Are raw materials and other key input prices moving higher? Is this enough to affect margins and earnings, or are there efficiencies to be had that will contain those price increases, or does management see the need to raise prices? Are Starbucks (SBUX) and Dunkin Brands (DNKN) feeling the pinch of higher coffee prices? Investors will get sense at the Telsey Advisory Group sixth annual Spring Consumer Conference on March 26. Ahead of that, tomorrow, Tuesday, March 11, McDonald's (MCD) will likely be quizzed on its disappointing February trends, the impact of rising beef prices and how management expects to turn around the Golden Arches at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Consumer and Retail Conference. Wendy's (WEN) will answer the beef question on March 19 at the Janney Consumer Executive Summit.

Are the emerging markets continuing to take their toll on technology companies? Cisco Systems (CSCO) will either try to answer that question or instead talk about the long-term opportunities with the Internet of Everything at the Piper Jaffray Technology, Media and Telecommunications Conference tomorrow. 

What's the rationale behind AT&T's (T) price war with T-Mobile USA? I suspect that AT&T will be hearing that question as well as how it plans to monetize the "connected home" and the "connected car" later this week at the Deutsche Bank Media, Internet and Telecom Conference.

Yep, there's no shortage of data points and catalysts -- you just need to know where to look. For many subscribers that means tuning in right here to Real Money Pro, Columnist Conversation and of course Columnist Tweets. See you there.

At the time of publication, Versace had no positions in stocks mentioned.