Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:
Best Buy – The electronics retailer earned an adjusted 82 cents per share for the first quarter, 8 cents a share above estimates, with revenue also exceeding forecasts. Best Buy reported a comparable store sales increase of 7.1 percent, well above the consensus Thomson Reuters forecast of a 3.0 percent increase.
Medtronic – The medical device maker’s quarterly numbers came in 3 cents above estimates at an adjusted $1.42 per share, with revenue also above Street forecasts. Medtronic benefited from higher demand for its heart-related devices.
Hormel – The food producer fell a penny a share shy of estimates, with quarterly earnings of 44 cents per share. Revenue was slightly shy of forecasts, as well. Hormel noted higher freight and commodity costs as factors during the quarter, but adds that the quarter did see record profit and that it is maintaining its full-year forecast.
McKesson – The drug distributor fell 7 cents a share short of estimates, with adjusted quarterly profit of $3.49 per share. Revenue exceeded forecasts, however, and McKesson’s board authorized an additional $4 billion stock buyback.
Diageo – Diageo has begun an auction of its U.S.-focused spirit brands, according to Sky News. Those brands include Myers’s Rum and Goldschlager.
21st Century Fox – Fox is being urged by activist investor Chris Hohn to engage with Comcast, if the NBCUniversal and CNBC parent does make a formal offer for Fox assets that is superior to the deal Fox struck to sell those assets to Walt Disney. Hohn disclosed a 7.4 percent stake in Fox and expressed his view in a letter to Rupert Murdoch that was seen by the Wall Street Journal.
Ford, General Motors – U.S. auto stocks could get a boost after the Trump administration launched a national security probe into car and truck imports. The probe could lead to new tariffs on imported vehicles.
L Brands – L Brands reported quarterly profit of 17 cents per share, beating estimates by a penny a share. The Victoria’s Secret parent’s revenue also beat forecasts, however the company issued weaker-than-expected current-quarter earnings guidance.
Williams-Sonoma – Williams-Sonoma beat estimates by 9 cents a share, with quarterly profit of 67 cents per share, with revenue above forecasts, as well. The home furnishings retailer also raised its full-year outlook.
Procter & Gamble – The consumer products company said it would continue investing in Russian plants in the coming years, despite increasing risks due to deteriorating U.S.-Russian relations.
Deutsche Bank – Deutsche Bank will cut more than 7,000 jobs worldwide, as the bank’s new CEO seeks to cut expenses and restore profitability at Germany’s largest bank.
Johnson & Johnson – J&J and its suppliers were hit with a $21.7 million verdict in a case involving a woman who said she developed cancer after being exposed to asbestos in J&J’s baby powder product. J&J was assessed 67 percent of the total compensatory damages, with the possible punitive damages still to be determined by the jury.
KKR – The private-equity firm is in talks to buy privately held BMC Software for about $10 billion, according to the New York Post. Private-equity firms Bain Capital and Golden Gate Capital took BMC private for $6.9 billion in 2013. The paper also said KKR continues to work with hospital operator HCA to bid more than $10 billion for Envision Healthcare.
Kroger – Kroger is buying Home Chef, the largest privately held provider of meal kits in the U.S. The supermarket chain will pay $200 million up front, and up to $700 million depending on certain performance targets.
NetApp – NetApp beat estimates by 4 cents a share, with quarterly profit of $1.05 per share. The cloud data company’s revenue also topped forecasts.
Darden Restaurants – Oppenheimer added the parent of Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze, and other restaurant chains to its “Top Picks” list, noting an attractive valuation and the potential for a sizable earnings beat for fiscal 2019.
Source: Investment Cnbc
Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: BBY, MDT, HRL, MCK, DEO, FOXA, F, GM & more