Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell:
Foot Locker – The athletic footwear and apparel retailer reported adjusted quarterly profit of $1.26 per share, beating estimates by a penny a share. Revenue was slightly below forecasts, however, and Foot Locker also saw comparable-store sales fall 3.7 percent. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected a 2.5 percent decline.
J.C. Penney – The retailer reported adjusted quarterly profit of 57 cents per share, 10 cents a share above forecasts. Revenue was slightly below estimates. Comparable-store sales were up 2.6 percent, shy of the 2.9 percent consensus estimate. Earnings were helped by improvement in profit margins.
Walmart – Walmart was downgraded to “perform” from “outperform” at Oppenheimer, noting that a recent surge in e-commerce sales could wane and that Walmart has traditionally had trouble maintaining an above-market price-to-earnings multiple. Oppenheimer did say it remains upbeat on the retailer’s strategic direction.
Gap – Gap reported adjusted quarterly profit of 61 cents per share, 3 cents a share above estimates. The clothing retailer’s revenue also topped forecasts. The parent of the Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic chains also saw comparable-store sales rise by 5 percent. Gap also issued stronger-than-expected 2018 guidance and raised its quarterly dividend by 5 percent.
Nordstrom – Nordstrom fell 4 cents a share short of Street forecasts, with adjusted quarterly profit of $1.20 per share. Revenue came in above estimates. Comparable-store sales for the retailer did rise by 2.6 percent, although Nordstrom sees a lower same-store sales increase for this year of between 0.5 percent and 1.5 percent.
American Outdoor Brands – American Outdoor Brands said its quarterly sales fell following increased talk of tougher gun regulations. The Smith & Wesson parent did report adjusted quarterly profit of 9 cents per share, 1 cent a share above estimates. Its sales were well below forecasts.
Microsemi – Microsemi agreed to be bought by rival chipmaker Microchip Technology $8.3 billion, or $68.78 per share in cash. The Wall Street Journal had reported earlier this week that the two were in talks about a potential deal.
Biogen, AbbVie – The drugmakers have withdrawn their multiple sclerosis drug Zinbryta worldwide due to safety issues. The injectable drug had been approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2016.
Equifax – Equifax beat estimates by 4 cents a share, with adjusted quarterly profit of $1.39 per share. The credit reporting agency’s revenue also exceeded forecasts. The beat comes even as Equifax reported $26.5 million in costs related to the massive 2017 data breach.
Ambarella – Ambarella reported adjusted quarterly profit of 45 cents per share, 8 cents a share above estimates. The chipmaker’s revenue came in barely above Street projections. The company said it is optimistic about increasing future sales in the security and automotive markets.
Splunk – Splunk topped forecasts by 4 cents a share, reporting adjusted quarterly profit of 37 cents per share. The data analytics company also saw revenue beat forecasts.
Pure Storage – Pure Storage nearly doubled estimates, reporting adjusted quarterly profit of 13 cents compared to a consensus of 7 cents a share. Revenue also beat forecasts, but the data storage and cloud infrastructure company also saw a slight shrinkage in profit margins.
VMWare – VMWare issued an upbeat full-year profit and revenue forecasts on increasing license sales for its virtualization software.
MetLife – MetLife issued a revised 2017 earnings report that adds to initially reported profit. The insurance company made the change after discovering it had miscalculated reserves for a Japan-based annuity product, a mistake in termed a “material weakness” in financial reporting controls.
