Tuesday's Hot Stocks to Watch Headlined by Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB)

Stocks to watch for Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2014: Almost 70% of U.S. companies that have reported Q3 profits have beaten expectations, according to Thomson Reuters.

Earnings gains have been generally less than 10% - not outstanding, but good enough to reassure investors about the health of U.S. companies.

Tuesday's list of hot stocks to watch includes a social media giant, a pharmaceutical titan, a big biotech, a struggling luxury retailer, and more.

Seven Hot Stocks to Watch Tuesdaystocks to watch

Hot Stocks to Watch No. 1: Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) reports Q3 numbers after today's close. Wall Street expects the social media bellwether to post earnings per share (EPS) of $0.40. Whisper numbers are for EPS of $0.44. The key numbers to watch are user growth and ad revenue. As we've said, Facebook has some monster ad plans and we expect those to pay off handsomely for the company and investors in years to come. (Find out Facebook's money-making plans here.)

At $79.93, FB stock is up a whopping 46.23% year to date.

Hot Stocks to Watch No. 2: Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) reports Q3 results before the open. Analysts are looking for the drug titan to post EPS of $0.55, down from $0.58 in the same quarter a year ago. Whisper numbers are for EPS of $0.57. Revenue is seen coming in at $12.27 billion, down 2% year over year due to patent expirations and increased generic competition. In March, Pfizer lost patent protection for its anti-inflammatory pill Celebrex, a full 18 months before the patent expiration scheduled for December 2015. Shares are down 5.22% year to date.

Hot Stocks to Watch No. 3: Gilead Sciences Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) reports after today's closing bell. Wall Street expects the biotech giant to post EPS of $1.92, well above EPS of $0.52 in the same quarter a year ago. EPS whisper numbers are even more bullish at $2.14.  Helping drive what is projected to be a healthy quarter is the company's $1,000-per-pill, $84,000 hepatitis C treatment. At $112.34, shares are up nearly 50% year to date.

Hot Stocks to Watch No. 4: E I DuPont De Nemours & Co. (NYSE: DD) posts Q3 results Tuesday morning. Expectations are for EPS of $0.53, up from $0.45 in the same quarter a year ago. Whisper numbers are for EPS of $0.54. The global chemical company, founded in 1802, has a consensus analyst rating of "Buy." Shares of the highly respected company are up 4.76% year to date.

Hot Stocks to Watch No. 5: Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) will report Q3 numbers before Tuesday's open. Forecasts have the limping accessory and handbag manufacturer posting EPS of $0.45. Whisper numbers are for EPS of $0.48. Coach reported a troublesome 16% decline in total sales in North America in Q2, to $691 million from $825 million. International sales, however, grew 7% to $414 million. The company is in the midst of transforming from an accessories business to a full lifestyle brand, and management is optimistic about prospects of a turnaround. Shares are down a painful 36% year to date.

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Hot Stocks to Watch No. 6: Aflac Inc. (NYSE: AFL) is scheduled to post Q3 results after the close. Analysts expect the insurance company to report EPS of $1.43, $0.04 shy of the $1.47 earned in the same quarter a year ago. Whisper numbers have AFL missing EPS forecasts by a penny. A weakening yen/dollar exchange rate, heightened competition, and a challenging economic and regulatory environment in both Japan and the United States are factors likely to have been a drag on the quarter. These issues have affected premium income and bank channels sales and suggest tough times for upcoming quarters as well as the last one. Shares are down 12% year to date.

Hot Stocks to Watch No. 7: McKesson Corp. (NYSE: MCK) will post fiscal Q2 results after Tuesday's close. Forecasts are for EPS of $2.73, up substantially from $2.27 in the same quarter a year ago. Whisper numbers have the pharmaceuticals giant comfortably beating EPS projections by $0.06. Earlier this month, MCK surpassed Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) to grab the No. 100 spot on the list of the S&P 500 Index's largest companies. MCK shares are up 25% year to date.

Don't miss today's top story: Warren Buffett famously said during the financial crisis that you only know who's been swimming naked when the tide goes out. Unfortunately for him and shareholders at Berkshire Hathaway, one of Berkshire's biggest holdings seems to have been skinny dipping for a long time. The tide is quickly ebbing on this tech giant...