Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:
J.P. Morgan Chase – The bank reported quarterly profit of $2.37 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28. Revenue also beat forecasts, and CEO Jamie Dimon said J.P. Morgan’s business were doing well “across the board”.
Qualcomm – Former chairman Paul Jacobs is talking to investors about a bid to take the chipmaker private, according to people familiar with the plan who spoke to CNBC.
Broadcom – Broadcom announced a $12 billion stock buyback program. The chipmaker’s new repurchase program goes into effect immediately and will last until the end of fiscal 2019.
Netflix – Deutsche Bank upgraded Netflix to “buy” from “hold,” saying the video streaming service has a significant competitive advantage that gives it a greater ability to drive revenue and cash flow growth.
Zillow – Zillow gave stronger-than-expected revenue guidance for its first quarter. The real estate website operator also announced it is getting into the business of buying and flipping homes, beginning in Las Vegas and Phoenix.
Starbucks – Cowen downgraded the coffee chain’s stock to “market perform” from “outperform,” based on waning optimism on a rebound in comparable store sales due to increasing competition.
Volkswagen – Volkswagen’s new CEO Herbert Diess won the backing of the automaker’s labor leader Bernd Osterloh, who said that with Diess the “right man is on board”. Former CEO Matthias Mueller was ousted Thursday in a management shakeup.
General Motors – GM’s South Korean unit said it lost $1.1 billion in 2017, its fourth straight yearly loss. GM has said it will shut the unit down if it cannot sufficiently cut costs.
Spotify – The music streaming service is buying Loudr.fm, a provider of licensing technology which will help it locate songwriters and pay them proper royalties.
Rite Aid – Rite Aid’s deal to be combined with supermarket operator Albertsons is running into resistance from shareholders, according to the Wall Street Journal. One of the drug store chain’s biggest investors plans to cast a vote against the deal because it doesn’t give shareholders a big enough share of the new combined company.
Tronc – The media company is drawing possible buyout interest from private equity firm Apollo Global Management (APO), according to the New York Post. Tronc is in the process of finalizing a deal to sell the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune to entrepreneur Patrick Soon-Shiong.
Hostess Brands – The Twinkies maker named former Tyson Foods executive Andrew Callahan as its chief executive officer, effective April 7. Executive Chairman C. Dean Metropoulos had been serving as interim CEO since the retirement of CEO Bill Toler on March 31.
Dropbox – Dropbox was rated “reduce” in new coverage at Nomura/Instinet. The firm said that although Dropbox has established itself as a major player in the backup and storage market, its rate of converting users to paid subscribers is extremely low.
Eli Lilly – Lilly was upgraded to “market perform” from “underperform” at BMO Capital, which said prior concerns about various Lilly drugs now seem largely reflected in the stock’s price. However, it believes 2018 will continue to be a volatile year for the drug maker.
SeaWorld Entertainment – SeaWorld received an SEC notice that it could be sanctioned for possible violation of securities laws. The SEC and the Justice Department have been looking into disclosures and public statements from the theme park operator about the impact of the “Blackfish” documentary, which was critical of SeaWorld and its treatment of orca whales.
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