Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell:Â
Aeropostale—Aeropostale reported a loss of 29 cents per share for the third quarter, five cents wider than expected.  Revenue was below estimates, and the clothing retailer also sees a wider than expected current quarter loss, as it implements heavy discounting to move its wares.
Tiffany – The luxury goods retailer was added to the "conviction buy" list at Goldman Sachs, with Goldman foreseeing expanded profit margins and free cash flow.
Dollar General– The discount retailer earned 72 cents per share for its third quarter, excluding certain items, two cents above estimates, despite what the company calls a "challenging" consumer environment.  Dollar General also added $1 billion to its stock buyback program, and raised the lower end of its full year forecast.—
L Brands – The parent of Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works reported a November same-store sales drop of 5 percent, bigger than the 1.1 percent decline forecast by analysts.Â
Jos. A. Bank – The clothing retailer reported third quarter profit of 51 cents per share, two cents above estimates, with revenue also exceeding consensus.Â
Guess– The apparel retailer beat estimates by five cents with quarterly profit of 42 cents per share, but it cut its full year revenue forecast because of an expected bigger drop in European sales.
Apple – The iPhone maker's long-rumored smartphone deal with China Mobile has been signed, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Walt Disney – Disney raised its annual dividend by 11 cents to 86 cents per share, a 15 percent increase. The dividend is payable on January 16 to shareholders of record on December 16.
Costco  – The warehouse retailer reported a November same-store sales increase of 2 percent, below analyst estimates of a 3.3 percent increase.
Mattress Firm – The mattress seller beat estimates by a penny with third quarter profit of 55 cents per share, excluding certain items. Revenue was also above estimates, as customer traffic and sales rose. The company also raised its full year revenue guidance.
Verint – The data analytics software company reported third quarter profit of 80 cents per share, excluding certain items, beating estimates by 15 cents, and also predicted better than expected revenue growth for 2014. Â
Nuance Communications - Investor Carl Icahn has increased his stake in Nuance to 18.72 percent from 16.90 percent, according to an SEC filing.  Nuance is a maker of software that converts speech into text.
General Growth Properties– The mall operator is replacing Molex  in the S&P 500 index after the close of trading on December 9. Molex is being acquired by privately held Koch Industries.
AT&T, T-Mobile – The two companies are both considering bids for wireless spectrum currently held by Verizon Wireless, according to Reuters.  Analysts estimate the spectrum block could fetch up to $2.75 billion in a sale.
Netflix – Netflix s unveiling a second season of its "House Of Cards" series on February 14, releasing all 13 episodes at the same time.
Ford  – The automaker will launch a new version of its iconic Mustang today, with simultaneous events in six cities. This will be the first Mustang model to be sold in Europe and Asia.
Philip Morris International – The tobacco company bought a 20 percent stake in its Russian distributor, Megapolis, for $750 million. Japan Tobacco took a similar stake at the same price.
Southwest Airlines– Southwest and Virgin America will buy LaGuardia Airport takeoff and landing slots currently owned by U.S. Airways and American Airlines, according to Reuters. The airlines are selling those slots as part of a settlement of a Justice Department suit involving their merger agreement.
Kohl's – Bank of America/Merrill Lynch upgraded the retailer's stock to "buy" from "neutral".
—By CNBC's Peter Schacknow
Questions? Comments? Email us at marketinsider@cnbc.com