iRobot will report its Second Quarter Earnings this Wednesday, July 25, after the market close. The conference call will be Thursday morning at 8:30 a

iRobot will report its Second Quarter Earnings this Wednesday, July 25, after the market close. The conference call will be Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. Historically the stock has been very volatile going into and out of earnings, and any changes to financial guidance in particular would likely have a far bigger impact than the second-quarter earnings themselves, which are expected to be weak due primarily to seasonal factors. The company still has lots of shares sold short, so a run up to $25 is not out of the question if earnings are accelerating. That being said, any problems in the consumer line could hurt the stock given the recent runup. All ears on Colin and Helen. (Extra Coffee!) Also still waiting to hear about the two new consumer robots the company is planning to launch shortly, as well as the rumored third Roomba generation. I suspect the bright spots will be the strong sales of the new premium Scooba 380, the premium-priced Roomba for Pets and the success of the Free Dirt Dog promotion (since ended). Anything from the iRobot Verro pool robots would be a bonus. The company may also say that it has already locked up all of the military contracts that it needs to meet its plan for the remainder of 2007, with the recent $17 million PackBot order. I hope somebody asks why it appears that Foster-Miller is beating them in orders this year, however. I also want to hear more about the company's international expansion plans, particularly Europe, where they recently announced the building of a direct-sales online store with GCI Communications, which also built their U.S. online store. The other shoe that *could* drop any day is an acquisition. The company has talked repeatedly about making purchases and lined up debt facilities to do so, and has a $70 million cash hoard plus a rebounding stock price that could be employed.