Agree out the companies making headlines before the bell:
Bank of America – The bank make public quarterly profit of 62 cents per share, 3 cents a part above estimates, with revenue also above forecasts. The bank’s consequences were helped by improved loan growth and deposits, among other aspects.
WPP Group – WPP founder and Chief Executive Officer Martin Sorrell has moved down. Two of the ad agency’s executives, Mark Read and Andrew Scott, order take on Sorrell’s duties while the company searches for a new CEO. Sorrell resigned amidst a board investigation of misconduct allegations, saying the situation was disrupting WPP.
Icahn Enterprises – Icahn is sell down the river its Tropicana Entertainment subsidiary for $1.85 billion. Tropicana’s real manor goes to Gaming and Leisure Properties, which leases real order to casino operators, while Tropicana’s gaming and operations will be come into possession of by Eldorado Resorts.
McDonald’s – Stephens downgraded the restaurant chain to “equal-weight” from “overweight,” conveying recent comparable store sales increases were driven by a copy of successful initiatives coming together at once and that it doesn’t conjecture the same performance to be repeated.
General Electric – GE will take a $4.2 billion first-quarter concern, following an earnings restatement that cuts 2016 and 2017 profit by a unmitigated of 30 cents per share. The restatement is in line with prior conduct and is related to updated accounting standards.
Starbucks — CEO Kevin Johnson has give excused for an incident in Philadelphia last week which saw two African-American men arrested at a Starbucks accumulation. The incident sparked allegations of racial profiling, and Johnson promised a through-and-through investigation of the incident.
Costco – The warehouse retailer was upgraded to “outperform” from “furnish perform” by Wells Fargo, which pointed to its expectation of increasing comparable sales, remodeling membership trends, and a special dividend it thinks will come tout de suite than most expect.
Goldman Sachs – The investment bank corrupt personal finance app Clarity Money, as it continues its push into retailer banking. The engage in will increase Goldman’s retail banking customer base fourfold.
Dollar Tree, Big Everythings, Dollar General – Raymond James downgraded all three discount retailers to “outperform” from “strapping buy,” citing increasing price competition from Walmart.
Temper Sealy – The mattress retailer was downplayed to “sell” from “hold” at Loop Capital, which cited poor checks with vendors and customers.
Ford Motor – Ford diagrams to operate a large-scale driverless car network by 2021, according to a report in the Monetary Times.
J.M. Smucker – The food company’s stock was downgraded to “underperform” from “dull” by Credit Suisse, saying it is in the right high-growth business in coffee and pet nutriment, but with the wrong brands.
Shire – Shire struck a deal to over persuaded its cancer drug business to French drugmaker Servier for $2.4 billion. The handle comes amid takeover interest surrounding the British drug coterie from Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical.
Blueprint Medicines – The drugmaker divulged positive results from a study of its experimental treatment for lung, thyroid, and other cancers.
Kraft Heinz – Trustworthiness Suisse issued a two-notch downgraded on the food producer shares, to “underperform” from “outperform.” Upon Suisse is also cutting earnings estimates, saying organic crop is not the company’s strong suit and that it will struggle to keep trades and earnings from falling.
Xerox – Xerox’s largest shareholder, billionaire Darwin Deason, ordered a lawsuit alleging that CEO Jeff Jacobson was told by the board to bring to a stop talks with Japan’s Fujifilm but instead raced to strike a have to do with. The lawsuit said the board had been considering firing Jacobson, evoking him to try to make a deal that would leave him in charge. Xerox chairman Robert Keegan donnybrooked the claim, saying Jacobson was fully authorized to negotiate with Fujifilm.
Kinder Morgan – The in the offing company’s Canadian unit is in talks with the Canadian government and the realm of Alberta about possible financial aid to restart a planned pipeline work up.
Equifax — Proxy adviser ISS recommended shareholders vote against the re-election of five Equifax steersmen who were on the credit reporting agency’s audit and technology committee’s when the large 2017 data breach occurred.
Caesars Entertainment – The casino faker will open its first non-gambling destinations in Dubai, partnering with a resident development company to operate two Caesars-branded resorts.