Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell:
Lockheed Martin — The defense company was awarded a more than $1 billion by the U.S. Defense Department to build 32 C-130J aircrafts, the Pentagon said. The job is expected to be completed by April 2020.
General Electric — The multinational conglomerate said it would separate its renewable energy business from its power unit. The new unit will include hydro-power and wind-power businesses acquired from Alstom.
Chimerix — Shares of the biotech company gained more than 7 percent in premarket trading, after Point72 Asset Management's Steve Cohen disclosed a 5.3 percent stake in the company. Chimerix's stock plunged nearly 80 percent earlier this week, after the company said its antiviral drug did not significantly reduce a certain kind of infection in stem cell transplant patients in a late-stage study.
General Motors — GM's bid to dismiss the first ignition switch trial was rejected by a U.S. judge, who said the plaintiff had produced enough evidence to move forward with a jury trial.
AT&T — The mobile phone carrier will stop offering two-year contracts to subsidize phones as of Jan 8. "With $0 down for well-qualified customers, the ability to upgrade early and down-payment options available with even lower monthly installments, our customers are overwhelmingly choosing AT&T Next," the company told Re/code.
Apple — The tech behemoth agreed to pay nearly $350 million to settle a tax probe in Italy, according to multiple reports.
Microsoft — Microsoft will begin warning email service users when they suspect a government has tried to hack their accounts.
ConocoPhillips, BP — Both firms were forced to evacuate oil rigs in the North Sea amid a storm. The evacuations came a day after one person died and two were injured when a big wave hit a rig belonging to China Oilfield Services that had been drilling at the Statoil-operated Troll field, also in the North Sea.
— Reuters contributed to this report.