SAN FRANCISCO -- Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trade in Thursday's session are Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Walt Disney Co., and Kohl's Corp.

Wal-Mart (WMT) is estimated to report a profit of 81 cents a share in the third quarter, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet Research.

Disney (DIS) is projected to post a fiscal fourth-quarter profit of 41 cents a share, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet Research.

Kohl's (KSS) is forecast to post earnings of 61 cents a share in the third quarter, according to analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) is likely to report a third-quarter profit of 38 cents a share, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet Research.

Alliance Techsystems Inc. (ATK) is expected to report fiscal second-quarter earnings of $2.06 a share, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet Research.

Blockbuster Inc. (BBI) is expected to report a loss of 11 cents a share in the third quarter, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet Research.

After Wednesday's closing bell, Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) said it would acquire 3Com Corp. (COMS) for $2.7 billion, or $7.90 a share. H-P said it was making the acquisition to "transform the networking industry and underscore H-P's next-generation data center strategy." Separately, H-P announced preliminary fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of 99 cents a share on revenue of $30.8 billion. Excluding one-time items H-P estimates it earned $1.14 a share. More on H-P, 3Com.

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Applied Materials (AMAT) reported a fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $138 million, or 10 cents a share, compared with a profit of $231 million, or 17 cents a share, for the year-earlier period. The company also announced a plan to cut roughly 1,300 to 1,500 jobs. Revenue was $1.53 billion, down from $2.04 billion for the same quarter last year. Adjusted income was 13 cents a share. Analysts had expected the semiconductor equipment maker to report earnings of 3 cents a share, on revenue of $1.32 billion, according to a consensus survey by FactSet Research. Applied also said it expects net sales to grow by more than 30% in fiscal 2010. More on Applied Materials.

Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC) said its fiscal second-quarter profit fell to $221 million, or $1.40 a share, from $452 million, or $2.95 a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue declined to $4.04 billion from $4.24 billion last year. Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research estimated a quarterly profit of $1.35 a share on revenue of $4.02 billion. The company sees fiscal 2010 earnings of $4.80 to $5 a share, compared to the $4.97 a share forecast by analysts.

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