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Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell:

Petrobras traded lower ahead of the bell as investors digested news that the oil giant lost $8.8 billion in the fourth quarter amid its corruption scandal.

3M fell more than 2 percent before the open after the company reported first-quarter earnings of $1.85 a share and revenue of $7.57 billion, both short of analysts' expectations. The company said its earnings were impacted by by a strong U.S. dollar, and it now expects full-year profit of between $7.80 and $8.10 per share, down from between $8 and $8.30.

General Motors dropped more than 3 percent in premarket trading after the company delivered quarterly profit and revenue that missed expectations. Weaker volume in Brazil and Russia hurt sales, as well as the impact of weakening currencies in South America due to the strong U.S. dollar.

Caterpillar surged nearly 5 percent ahead of the bell after posting first-quarter profit of $1.86 a share, well-above the estimated $1.35. The company also reported revenue of $12.7 billion, beating Wall Street's forecast of $12.38 billion.

PepsiCo delivered quarterly profits of 83 cents per share, besting Wall Street forecasts. The soft drink giant also posted revenueof $12.22 billion, slightly higher than analysts' expectations of $12.21 billion.

Procter & Gamble posted adjusted earnings per share of 92 cents, in line with analysts' expectations. Nevertheless, the Dow Jones component reported revenue of $18.14 billion, short of estimates. The company cited currency headwinds as a key contributor to the revenue miss.

Dow Chemical reported adjusted first-quarter earnings of 84 cents per share, marking the 10th-straight quarter of year-on-year earnings growth for the company. Nevertheless, company sales were driven down 14 percent to $12.4 billion "due to changes in crude oil values and currency devaluations versus the dollar."

Eli Lilly's quarterly earnings fell 27 percent year-over-year because of "the unfavorable impact of foreign exchange rates and the continuing impact of Cymbalta and Evista patent expirations," according to the pharmaceutical company. Its revenues also fell 1 percent in the same period.

Hershey dropped nearly 2 percent after reporting adjusted first-quarter earnings of $1.09 per share and $1.93 billion in revenues, both below analysts' estimates.

Time Warner Cable was upgraded to "buy" from "hold" by Jefferies, citing the higher likelihood of a merger deal being struck between the company and Comcast. Jefferies also raised its price target from $190 to $193.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal.