Zacks.com announces that the following companies will release earnings this week: Chico's FAS, Coldwater Creek, Dollar Tree, Payless ShoeSource and Williams-Sonoma

Business Wire, August 22, 2006

CHICAGO -- Zacks.com releases its exclusive Earnings Trends update written by Dirk Van Dijk, Director of Research for Zacks Equity Research. In addition, the following companies will report earnings this week: Chico's FAS, Inc. (NYSE: CHS), Coldwater Creek, Inc. (NASDAQ: CWTR), Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR), Payless ShoeSource, Inc. (NYSE: PSS) and Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE: WSM). To see this week's full report then visit: http://at.zacks.com/?id=105

This vital update provides investors with timely information regarding companies that will be reporting their earnings in the coming week, how companies' earnings faired the week prior, exclusive sector rankings, and earnings commentary. Below you will find a synopsis of this week's earnings commentary including estimates and the Zacks Rank for the previously mentioned companies.

Companies Making an Announcement This Week:

Ticker  Company Name         Date      EPS Estimate       ZacksRank(a)
------  -------------        -----     ------------       ------------
CHS     Chico's FAS          08/23         .30                  3
CWTR    Coldwater Creek      08/23         .10                  3
DLTR    Dollar Tree          08/23         .27                  3
PSS     Payless Shoe         08/23         .53                  3
WSM     Williams-Sonoma      08/24         .24                  3

To see the complete Weekly Earnings and Sector Update with the entire list of companies reporting this week and sector rankings, click http://at.zacks.com/?id=106

Synopsis of Weekly Earnings and Sector Update by Dirk Van Dijk

The summer earnings season is rapidly coming to a close with 94% of S&P 500 companies having reported. Second quarter median EPS growth rates are still an impressive 13.2% and positive surprises have outnumbered disappointments by almost 4:1.

The Energy sector led the charge during the quarter, with a median EPS growth rate of 63.6%. This growth rate is due to taper off, however, going into the third quarter. This is mostly due to higher comparable Energy prices brought on by the one-year anniversary of hurricane's Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Also, going forward, there has been some question about crude price sustainability. The IEA recently upped its figures for 2007 non-OPEC supply, and OPEC recently cut its 2006 world demand forecast.

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