Analysts were expecting Crown Holdings Inc. (CCK) [Chart - News - Analysis] to report earnings of $0.80 for last quarter, but CCK beat expectations with actual earnings of $0.81---1 cent above the consensus estimate.

If you compare last quarter's earnings to the $0.71 the company made per share during the same quarter a year ago, you can see that CCK’s earnings are up this year.

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Also, if you compare CCK's 9.20% projected earnings-per-share (EPS) growth rate for the next five years with the projected EPS growth rate of 8.02% for the Packaging & Containers industry as a whole during that same time frame, you can see that analysts expect CCK to outperform the industry in the future---which is a good sign for the stock.

Drilling down a little deeper into the Packaging & Containers industry, you can see how analysts believe CCK will stack up against some of the other stocks in the industry, like Owens-Illinois, Inc. (OI) [Chart - News - Analysis] and Ball Corporation (BLL) [Chart - News - Analysis], in the future. Analysts believe OI's earnings are going to grow at a rate of 8.67% while BLL's earnings are going to grow at a rate of 8.50%.

Earnings season can be a volatile time in the stock market. Check out these videos and articles to be better prepared to take advantage of the large price moves that tend to accompany earnings announcements.

- Earnings Season is Here - Find Out How to Trade It

- Using Options to Trade Earnings

- Understanding Stock Analyst Research and Recommendations

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For fiscal 2009, Abbott said it reaffirmed its earnings guidance of $3.65 - $3.70 per share under both GAAP and non-GAAP basis. The midpoint of 2009 earnings guidance range reflects double-digit growth over 2008 earnings per share.

Facility maintenance services provider W.W. Grainger Inc. (GWW) will blat out second-quarter numbers before the market opens on July 15, with analysts expecting earnings of $1.14 per share on revenues of $1.52 billion. The company had posted adjusted earnings of $1.48 per share and sales of $1.80 billion for the prior year.

Programmable logic solutions provider Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) is set to meld its first-quarter scorecard after the market closes on July 15, with analysts estimating earnings of $0.19 per share and revenues of $381.44 million. In the prior-year period, the company earned $0.30 per share on net revenues of $488.2 million. Most recently, Xilinx said it currently expects first-quarter sales to be down about 5% sequentially due to the supply constraints on certain Virtex-5 devices that are in high demand. Earlier, the company had expected first-quarter sales to be down 4% to up 4% sequentially.

Food and beverage can maker Crown Holdings Inc. (CCK) will annunciate second-quarter numbers after the market closes on July 15. Analysts are looking for earnings of $0.65 per share on revenues of $2.09 billion. In the year-earlier period, the company posted earnings of $0.61 per share on net sales of $2.19 billion.

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