Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell:
Xerox — The business services company will split into two separate companies and give board seats to investor Carl Icahn. Icahn told CNBC that the move is a good one and will greatly enhance shareholder value. Separately, Xerox beat estimates by 4 cents with adjusted quarterly profit of 32 cents per share, though revenue was shy of forecasts. Xerox also increased its quarterly dividend to 7¾ cents per share from 7 cents.
Whirlpool — The appliance maker reported adjusted quarterly profit of $4.10 per share, beating estimates of $3.91, although revenue came in below analyst forecasts. Whirlpool benefited from cost and capacity cuts, and it did report record profits for 2015.
American Airlines Group — The airline reported adjusted quarterly profit of $2.00 per share, beating estimates by 3 cents, with revenue matching forecasts.
Colgate-Palmolive — The consumer products maker earned an adjusted 73 cents per share for the fourth quarter, 1 cent above estimates, with revenue slightly below forecasts. Colgate said organic sales are growing despite challenging economic conditions, and also announced it was taking a charge to change the way it accounts for its Venezuelan operations.
Tyco — The fire protection and security products company came in 1 cent above estimates with adjusted quarterly profit of 42 cents per share, with revenue also above estimates. Tyco, which recently agreed to be bought by Johnson Controls, said it had a solid start to its fiscal year despite challenging macroeconomic conditions.
Phillips 66 — The energy logistics company reported adjusted quarterly profit of $1.31 per share, 6 cents above estimates. The company said it was able to benefit from a diversified portfolio in a low-price environment.
Amazon.com — Amazon reported quarterly profit of $1.00 per share, substantially below consensus estimates of $1.56. Revenue was slightly below forecasts as well, and the shares came under immediate pressure despite the highest-ever quarterly profit ever posted by the online retail giant.
Microsoft — Microsoft beat estimates by 7 cents with adjusted quarterly profit of 78 cents per share, with revenue also above Wall Street forecasts. Microsoft’s bottom line was helped by improvement in its cloud services business as well as cost-cutting.
Visa — Visa came in 1 cent above estimates with adjusted quarterly profit of 69 cents per share, although revenue was slightly short of Street targets. The credit card issuer also affirmed its full year earnings forecast, surprising some analysts who had expected a cut.
Amgen — Amgen earned an adjusted $2.61 per share for its latest quarter, well above estimates of $2.29, with revenue essentially in line. The biotech firm is being helped by growing sales of rheumatoid arthritis drug Enbrel as well as cost cutting, and it raised its 2016 earnings and revenue guidance.
Electronic Arts — Electronic Arts came in 2 cents ahead of estimates with adjusted quarterly profit of $1.83 per share, with revenue in line. However, the video game producer did not raise its profit and sales forecasts as much as some analysts had expected following the release of the company’s “Star Wars”-themed game.
Flex — Flex reported adjusted quarterly profit of $0.35 per share, 5 cents ahead of estimates, while the contract electronics manufacturer’s revenue also beat Street forecasts. The company, formerly known as Flextronics, saw sales drop from a year earlier, but also increased its gross margin to 6.7 percent from 5.8 percent.
Sony — Sony beat estimates with its latest earnings and maintained its full year profit outlook. The company did say, however, it is bracing for a slowdown in the smartphone market, where it is a major supplier of image sensors for Apple’s iPhone.
Toyota Motor — Toyota decided to buy out the portion of mini-vehicle maker Daihatsu that it doesn’t already own. The automaker will swap about a quarter share of its own stock for each Daihatsu share.
Alphabet — Alphabet said it would separate out results from its Google unit from other areas when it releases its latest quarterly earnings on Monday.
BlackBerry — BlackBerry may abandon its own operating system and transition to Android, according to a report in the Economic Times.
Align Technology — The maker of the Invisalign dental brace system earned 60 cents per share for its latest quarter, 6 cents above estimates, with revenue above forecasts. The company also shipped more aligners to customers than analysts had been anticipating.
[“source -pcworld”]
