Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell:
Berkshire Hathaway — Berkshire reported adjusted quarterly profit of $2,951 per share, missing estimates of $3,058 a share, though revenue beat forecasts. Other information in the report suggested that Warren Buffett’s company maintained its 10 percent stake in Wells Fargodespite the bank’s sales practices scandal.
Chipotle Mexican Grill — Chipotle and investor Bill Ackman have assigned a confidentiality pact, according to Reuters, agreeing to engage in discussions about possible changes at the restaurant chain.
HSBC — HSBC said the retail banking profits in the U.K. would be “challenging” for the next year, and also reported a jump in its capital levels to 13.9 percent.
Toyota — Toyota is considering mass production of electric vehicles for a 2020 introduction, according to Japan’s Nikkei newspaper, which said such a move would be a significant reversal of strategy for the automaker.
Baidu — Baidu executive Li Mingyuan has resigned after an internal probe found conflicts of interest, according to Reuters. Mingyuan had been seen as a potential success to CEO Robin Li at the China-based search engine company.
Oracle — Oracle said more than 50 percent of NetSuite stockholders have backed its $9.3 billion acquisition bid for the cloud storage company. Oracle said the takeover deal is set to be completed today.
Alphabet — The Google parent’s venture capital arm disclosed an investment in Snapchat, although it did not provide any details.
Chemours — The chemical maker reported adjusted quarterly profit of 61 cents per share, beating estimates of 34 cents a share. Revenue was essentially in line. The DuPont spin-off said its results were helped in part by improving chemical market conditions.
ON Semiconductor — The company reported adjusted quarterly profit of eight cents per share, a third of the 24 cent consensus estimate, while revenue also fell short. The chipmaker does say its outlook has improved following the completion of its deal to buy Fairchild Semiconductor.
Volkswagen — The automaker’s Audi unit is the target of yet another cheating probe, according to Dow Jones, which reports that California regulators recently discovered software in some Audi models that allows carts to evade emission testing standards.
Cognizant Technology — The cloud services provider beat estimates by two cents a share, with adjusted quarterly earnings of 86 cents per share. Revenue was in line. Cognizant saw particularly strong results in its financial services unit.
Southwest Airlines — The airline reported a 5.2 percent increase in revenue passenger miles in October, compared to a year earlier.
Sotheby’s — The auction house lost 78 cents per share for its latest quarter, 16 cents a share wider than expected. Revenue was above forecasts in a quarter that Sotheby’s acknowledged that it did not expect to be a good one, although it said it was seeing signs of possible improvement in the overall market.
Earthlink — Telecom equipment company Windstream is buying its rival in an all-stock transaction valued at about $1.1 billion, including debt.
Xerox — Morgan Stanley downgraded Xerox to “underweight” from “equal-weight,” expressing concerns about the cost of a restructuring and its planned split into two separate public companies.
Hostess Brands — SunTrust began coverage on the snack maker with a “buy” rating, saying it had made an impressive turnaround following its 2012 bankruptcy filing.
source”cnbc”
