Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:
General Electric — GE issued a 2019 outlook, saying it would earn an adjusted 50 cents to 60 cents per share for 2019, compared to the 70 cents a share consensus estimate. GE CEO Larry Culp said the company’s challenges are “complex but clear” and that he expects 2020 and 2021 to be significantly better.
Boeing — Boeing remains on watch after the Federal Aviation Administration grounded its fleet of 737 MAX jets while it investigates the causes of two recent overseas crashes involving the jet. Boeing shares did rise Wednesday after falling for seven straight sessions.
Facebook — Facebook’s user data deals are the subject of a criminal investigation by federal prosecutors, according to The New York Times. The paper said a grand jury has subpoenaed records from at least two well-known makers of smartphones and other devices.
Dollar General — The discount retailer reported adjusted quarterly profit of $1.84 per share, 4 cents a share below estimates. Revenue, however, did beat estimates, and a comparable-store sales increase of 4.0 percent was better than the 2.6 percent increase predicted by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv. The company also increased its quarterly dividend by 10 percent to 32 cents per share, and added $1 billion to its stock buyback program.
General Mills — The food producer was upgraded to “buy” from “hold” at Deutsche Bank, saying the company’s core business has stabilized and that the opportunity represented by its Blue Buffalo pet products business remains underappreciated.
Apple — Apple was rated “outperform” in new coverage at Cowen, based largely on increasing contributions to earnings from Apple’s services business.
MongoDB — MongoDB lost an adjusted 17 cents per share for its latest quarter, less than half the 38 cents a share loss that analysts had expected. The software company’s revenue also beat forecasts, and it gave stronger-than-expected guidance for both the current quarter and the full year.
Tailored Brands — Tailored Brands reported a quarterly loss of 28 cents per share, a penny a share smaller than anticipated. The apparel retailer’s revenue also fell short of Street forecasts. The parent of the Jos. A. Bank and Men’s Wearhouse chains gave weaker-than-expected current-quarter guidance, saying comparable-store sales had dropped during the fourth quarter and that the trend had continued into 2019.
Johnson & Johnson — A cancer victim who had used Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder-based products was awarded $29 million by a California jury. J&J faces more than 13,000 talc-related lawsuits.
Genesco — The apparel seller earned an adjusted $2.18 per share for its latest quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.33 a share. Revenue and comparable-store sales missed estimates and Genesco issued a weaker-than-expected fiscal 2020 forecast.
Wells Fargo — CEO Tim Sloan received a 5 percent pay raise for 2018, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing. That news comes a day after Sloan faced criticism at a congressional hearing over the bank’s efforts to rebound from the 2016 customer account scandal.
Pandora Media — Pandora has begun selling ads that play only on smart speakers like Amazon Echo and Google Home, according to The Wall Street Journal. The streaming music service has also been selling other specialized ad streams targeted at gaming consoles and smart TVs.
Tesla — Tesla will introduce its Model Y SUV today at an event near Los Angeles. Production is expected to begin sometime in 2020.
Verizon — Verizon plans to charge an extra $10 per month for customers of 5-G mobile service. It will be available only to unlimited data plan subscribers with compatible devices. Verizon is the first major U.S. mobile carrier to reveal 5-G pricing.
Delta Air Lines — Berkshire Hathaway has increased its stake in Delta, according to an SEC filing. A Berkshire subsidiary bought 6,500 additional Delta shares, increasing Berkshire’s total Delta holding to just under 71 million shares.
Cloudera — Cloudera reported a quarterly loss of 15 cents per share, 4 cents a share wider than analysts had anticipated. The cloud software company’s revenue exceeded Street forecasts, but its 2019 outlook was weaker than expected.
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