NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Several big-name tech outfits are on deck to report their latest financial results this week, giving investors a peek at the state of the information technology industry (IT) in the second quarter as the earnings reporting season gets underway in earnest.

Among the bellwethers set to reveal their latest results are Intel, IBM and Microsoft.

Because they are among the largest tech companies, investors will be eyeing their second-quarter numbers closely. But more important than the latest results will be the expectations executives set for the second half of the year.

As a group, Wall Street is expecting companies in the IT industry to log an improvement in year-over-year earnings, according to figures compiled by earnings tracking research firm First Call.

Analysts generally are expecting the 81 tech companies listed in the S&P technology index to log a 27 percent year-over-year increase in earnings for the second quarter, according to First Call's surveys. That would mark the first time the sector logged an annual increase since the fourth quarter of 2000, when they reported a 3 percent rise.

Looking ahead to the third quarter, analysts are even more optimistic, forecasting a 75 percent increase in earnings over the year-ago period.

Whether they will remain that optimistic is an open question.

Intel (INTC: Research, Estimates) will be among the first to report, due out with its second-quarter after Tuesday's closing bell. As the top supplier of microprocessors for personal computers, many see Intel as a bellwether for both the semiconductor and PC industries.

Blaming softer-than-expected demand in Europe and a larger-than-expected proportion of low end microprocessors, on June 6 Intel lowered the bar for the second quarter, saying it expects second-quarter revenue to be between $6.2 billion and $6.5 billion. The company entered the quarter targeting revenue in a range between $6.4 billion and $7 billion.

At the same time, Intel said its gross margin, the percentage of sales remaining after subtracting product costs, will be 49 percent, "plus or minus a couple of points," where previously it had said it expected a gross margin of 53 percent, plus or minus a couple of points. Intel typically does not provide specific quarterly earnings-per-share estimates, choosing instead to set expectations for its gross margins.

The most recent estimate of analysts polled by First Call was for Intel to log second-quarter revenue of $6.3 billion and earnings of 11 cents per share. That would compare with $6.3 billion in revenue and earnings of 12 cents per share a year earlier.

By First Call's count, analysts generally are expecting Intel's third-quarter revenue to come in at roughly $6.7 billion and its earnings per share to be 14 cents.

Several other chipmakers are due out with their latest results this week as well.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD: Research, Estimates), which ranks a distant second to Intel, reports after Wednesday's close. AMD has lowered its financial targets twice over the past three months, most recently on July 3 when it said its revenue for the second quarter was roughly $600 million. The company began the quarter expecting to post revenue between $820 million and $900 million.

AMD did not provide an estimate for its per-share loss. The First Call consensus estimate is for a loss of 45 cents.

Stealing the after-the-bell earnings spotlight Wednesday will be IBM (IBM: Research, Estimates), the world's largest supplier of computer hardware and IT services.

Company watchers have been trimming their financial estimates for IBM over the past two months as the company has cut thousands of jobs and realigned its business to adapt to a continued slowdown in corporate IT spending.

At last count, the consensus estimate of analysts polled by First Call was for IBM to log second-quarter revenue of roughly $19.5 billion and a profit of 83 cents per share. That would be down from $21.6 billion in revenue and a profit of $1.15 per share in the year-ago period.

Sanford Bernstein on Monday told its clients to expect IBM's second-quarter earnings report to be "messy, given the significant charges IBM is expected to take."

In addition to the job cuts, in June IBM said it will sell its money-losing hard-disk drive business and reorganize its microelectronics unit. Overall, IBM said it expects to record a charge between $2 billion and $2.5 billion to cover those actions, most of which will be taken in the second quarter.

For the third quarter, Wall Street's estimates currently call for IBM to log revenue of roughly $20.2 billion and earnings of $1.01 per share.

Sanford Bernstein said the company's restructuring moves suggest that the company can hit those numbers, but the firm said investors need to know a lot more details about IBM's plans for its microelectronics unit.

Also on deck in the computer hardware sector this week is Sun Microsystems (SUNW: Research, Estimates), a top supplier of UNIX servers. Analysts generally are expecting Sun to break out of its three-quarter money-losing streak and post a profit of a penny per share when it reports its fiscal fourth-quarter results on Thursday.

Apple Computer (AAPL: Research, Estimates) is also set to report, with analysts eyeing a fiscal third-quarter profit of 9 cents per share when the computer maker reports on Tuesday.

PC maker Gateway (GTW: Research, Estimates) logs its latest results on Thursday. Analysts generally expect the company to report a loss of 17 cents per share.

Industry leader Microsoft (MSFT: Research, Estimates) kicks off what will be a relatively busy week for software makers' earnings reports when it releases its latest results after the close of trade Thursday.

Software makers have been among the hardest hit by the protracted decline in corporate IT spending, but Microsoft is expected to have weathered the downturn better than most of its counterparts.

Microsoft's revenue for the most recent quarter, its fiscal fourth, is expected to come in at roughly $7 billion, which would be an improvement over the $6.6 billion it reported during the same period a year earlier. Earnings for the quarter are expected to be 42 cents per share, compared with 43 cents a year ago.

At the same time, other software makers on deck with their latest earnings reports this week are expected to show sharp declines.

For example, Siebel Systems (SEBL: Research, Estimates), which is due out with its second-quarter results on Wednesday, is expected to show a 20 percent year-over-year decline to $437.6 million, while earnings per share are forecast at 9 cents, a 40 percent decline from last year's second quarter.

PeopleSoft (PSFT: Research, Estimates) is expected to log an 11 percent revenue decline to $473.8 million, while the company's earnings are expected to fall a penny from a year earlier to 13 cents per share.