The holidays have come and gone, and earnings season is once again upon us. Here are four things that The Finance Professor will be focusing on as companies report their fourth-quarter earnings over the course of the next few weeks.

1. Revenue Growth

2009 was marked by net income stabilization and moderate growth, a feat achieved primarily through cost reduction. Top-line revenue growth, however, was stunted due to poor comparisons with the prior year and a strengthening U.S. dollar. If we are truly going to experience an economic rebound, earnings growth is going to have to be sourced from top-line revenue growth.

Indications are that holiday season sales were better than expected. This was due to both improving consumer demand and smaller markdowns taken by retailers.

2. Corporate Actions

- Corporations have been stockpiling cash throughout 2009. The increase in cash balances is being generated from multiple sources of cash flow: Normal operations aided by lower payrolls and reduced selling, general and administrative expenses

- Additional debt issuance as interest remains low and appetite for corporate debt remains high

- Cutbacks on stock repurchases

I would expect corporations to announce corporate actions in the first quarter of 2010. This would take the form of increased dividends, stock repurchase authorizations or, more important, acquisitions. I believe that the best way to play M&A is not to try to guess which companies will be acquired but rather to predict which will benefit from the M&A process.

3. Improvement in Auto Sales

Cash for Clunkers not only boosted auto sales in the summer but also depleted inventories. December auto sales showed some improvement, especially for Ford Motor, which appears to be the strength of the U.S. automobile industry. It is likely that the need to replenish inventories at the auto manufacturing plants also had the secondary effect of boosting auto supply and component earnings.

If my assumptions are correct, then we should see improved results and guidance from the entire auto supply and component chain.

4. Financials

There has been dramatic improvement in the financial industry, especially the banks. As a group, the banks have raised capital, lowered costs, sold off some businesses, laid off employees and been forcibly restrained from paying excessive bonuses. In the prior quarter, we began to see that capital ratios — primarily tier I capital — were back up to healthy levels. Tier 1 capital, defined by international agreement under the Basel accords, is considered the primary measure of a bank’s financial strength from regulatory and investor perspectives.

The last laggard indicator for the financials is on the consumer credit side. Specifically, we need to focus on nonperforming loans, credit card and loan delinquencies, and mortgage defaults. In the third quarter, the industry in the aggregate reported that these metrics were no longer deteriorating on a significant basis. Some firms, such as American Express, reported stabilization and minor improvement in these metrics. Should we see the entire industry report stabilization and improvement, then the true bottom in this industry will be in place.