Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell:
Travelers — The insurance company earned $2.90 per share for the fourth quarter, beating estimates by 25 cents. Revenue was slightly below estimates on weaker financial markets, but Travelers did report record profit for the full year.
Verizon — Verizon reported adjusted quarterly profit of 89 cents per share, 1 cent above estimates, with revenue also beating forecasts. Verizon was able to limit wireless churn rates thanks in part to promotions, and saw subscriber growth for FiOS TV and broadband services.
Southwest Airlines — The airline matched estimates with fourth quarter profit of 90 cents per share and revenue of nearly $5 billion, with profit at record levels for both the quarter and the full year.
United Continental — United missed estimates by 4 cents with adjusted quarterly profit of $2.54 per share, with revenue also below estimates. The airline’s results were impacted by a strong dollar, lower surcharges, and travel reductions from customers whose businesses were impacted by declining oil prices.
Alaska Air — The airline beat estimates by 6 cents with adjusted quarterly profit of $1.46 per share, with revenue matching estimates. The airline said its passenger base is growing while cost and fares are coming down.
BB&T — The regional bank missed estimates by a penny with quarterly profit of 68 cents per share, with revenue essentially in line. BB&T also said it expected to complete its acquisition of National Penn Bancshares by around April 1.
Xilinx — The chipmaker matched estimates with quarterly profit of 49 cents per share. Its revenue, however, did beat Street estimates as well as the company’s own forecast, and Xilinx is also showing signs of ending two years of sales declines.
F5 Networks — F5 reported adjusted quarterly profit of $1.73 per share, beating estimates by 13 cents. Revenue also topped forecasts, but the software maker did give a lower-than-expected forecast for the current quarter. F5 is, however, seeing strong sales of security-related software products.
Raymond James Financial — The investment firm missed estimates by 11 cents with quarterly profit of 73 cents per share, and its revenue was very slightly below Street forecasts. The company said it was impacted by several headwinds during the quarter, including a decline in the financial markets and various expenses.
Viacom — The media giant cut the pay of Executive Chairman Sumner Redstone and CEO Philippe Dauman, without giving reasons for the moves. Redstone’s compensation was down 85 percent for the most recent fiscal year to $2 million, while Dauman’s pay declined 30 percent to $14 million.
Citrix Systems — Citrix appointed Kirill Tatarinov as its next Chief Executive Officer, replacing Mark Templeton. Tatarinov joins the software company after running Microsoft’s Business Solutions unit from 2007 through last July.
Barclays — The bank is reportedly cutting hundreds of jobs in its investment banking business, as it shuts down that operating in a number of countries including Australia, Indonesia, and Russia. The news comes from an internal memo cited by Reuters.
Pearson — The publisher will cut 20 percent of its workforce, as it trims costs and simplifies its business. The British maker of education products has been pruning its operations in recent months, including selling its stake in The Economist magazine as well as Financial Timespublisher FT Group.
General Motors — The automaker is launching a car-sharing service called “Maven,” beginning with operations in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Chicago, New York, Frankfurt, and Berlin.
Logitech — Logitech reported a 1.5 percent drop in operating profit, as demand for computer accessories continued to drop. However, the company known for computer mice and keyboards did beat analysts’ forecasts.
Kinder Morgan — Kinder Morgan reported a fourth quarter loss as the pipeline company continued to feel the impact of lower commodity prices. Kinder Morgan also cut its 2016 capital budget to $3.3 billion, down from its prior projection of $4.2 billion.
Walt Disney — Disney Chief Executive Officer Robert Iger bought 124,485 additional Disney shares this week, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
FireEye — FireEye bought privately held intelligence agency iSight Partners for $200 million. The cybersecurity software also projected revenue slightly below Street estimates for its fourth quarter.
[“source-gsmarena”]
