Earnings Preview: Thomson Reuters reports Wed.

OVERVIEW: Thomson Reuters will report its first full quarter of results following Thomson Corp.'s April 17 acquisition of Reuters Group PLC for about $15.8 billion.

The results for the July-September period could show some fallout from the financial crisis that began late in the quarter, as major customers such as Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, UBS and dozens of hedge funds collapsed. Much of the effect won't be seen until later quarters, though, because of a lag in data-terminal subscriptions.

Thomson Reuters will be somewhat insulated from the negative effects either way. Its markets division, in which its data-terminal business falls, accounted for only about 35 percent of the company's profits in the first half of the year. Other businesses, such as professional publications for lawyers and accountants, remain strong.

During the quarter, Thomson Reuters also overhauled its instant-messaging service used by brokerages and banks to complete stock trades and exchange other sensitive information. The changes replaced a key piece of technology that Thomson Reuters was banned from using under a federal court ruling in an intellectual-property battle.

The company did win on appeal a separate legal battle over a patent for trading municipal bonds in Internet auctions.

In July, the company completed a previously announced $500 million share repurchase program and closed the sale of its Dialog research databases to the ProQuest unit of privately held Cambridge Information Group.

BY THE NUMBERS: Analysts polled by the company's Thomson Reuters service expect, on average, earnings of 34 cents per share on revenue of $3.25 billion.

ANALYST TAKE: On Sept. 29, Goldman Sachs analysts lowered estimates for 2009 and 2010 because of broader economic conditions, particularly "negative headwinds in the U.S. financial services industry." But they said their concerns were mitigated by the diversity of Thomson Reuters' products and business geography and by solid growth the analysts expect in products aimed at professionals.

WHAT'S AHEAD: The fourth quarter is typically the company's largest because of product releases toward the end of the year, particularly in the regulatory and health care markets.