iRobot Earnings Preview

iRobot will announce earnings after the market's close today. The CC is tomorrow morning.

What I'm looking for:
* Has the slump in consumer confidence affected Roomba and Scooba sales, etc.? We've never been through a real downturn with this company, so we don't yet know how resilient these products are. Are they like iPods and Macs, which continue to sell crazy well to the many folks on the high end who think nothing of dropping a few hundred bucks or even a few thousand on a cool gadget? Or are they more of a lowbrow luxury likely to get a haircut? We should have a better idea?
* International sales. International sales kept up a blistering pace in the 1st Quarter, up 500%. How are the new direct channels in the U.K. and Germany doing? The new store in Hong Kong? Is a weak dollar helping or hurting yet?
* Military sales. Is there any weakness they are seeing in orders as the Army looks to a product transition to the SUGV? Are international military sales stronger with a weaker dollar?
* Linens 'N Things. Did they get paid at all for the $1.9 million in pre-bankruptcy shipments? LNT is still selling Roombas -- are they now putting up cash?
* Auction Rate Securities. Will they take a charge against earnings for their $15 million portfolio?
* Are they going to reaffirm their full-year guidance or take another haircut?

Tags: iRobot, robot