Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell:
General Mills – The food producer beat estimates by a penny a share, with adjusted quarterly profit of 72 cents per share. Revenue fell short of estimates, with General Mills pointing to a gap in pricing and promotional activity. The company did back its prior earnings targets for the full year.
Lennar – The home builder reported quarterly profit of 56 cents per share, one cent a share above estimates. Revenue came in below forecasts. Lennar saw new orders up 12 percent on a volume basis and 16 percent on a dollar basis, with deliveries up 13 percent from a year ago.
Lands' End – The apparel retailer came in six cents a share above estimates, with adjusted quarterly profit of 41 cents per share. Revenue was slightly below Street projections. The company said its performance is improving but that it needs to strengthen its competitive position to achieve long-term success.
Monster Beverage, Constellation Brands, PepsiCo – These stocks were rated "overweight" in new coverage at J.P. Morgan Securities. Among the positive factors in these ratings: Monster's expanding use of Coca-Cola's distribution system, PepsiCo's growth in snacks and non-carbonated beverages, and Constellation's fast growth and valuation.
Facebook – BTIG upgraded Facebook to "buy" from "neutral," reversing a call it made last July. It noted that Facebook shares had stagnated after second-quarter and third-quarter earnings outperformance. Given the subsequent surge in the stock, however, J.P. Morgan said not having a "buy" on Facebook so far in 2017 has been a mistake.
Adobe Systems, Microsoft – The two software giants announced products that join Adobe's marketing software suite and Microsoft's sales software.
Wal-Mart – The world's largest retailer is launching an investment arm aimed at expanding its e-commerce business. The new unit will strike partnerships with various retail startups and entrepreneurs, although no time frame was given for its launch.
Alcoa – Alcoa announced a secondary offering of nearly 13 million shares. The aluminum producer is not receiving any of the proceeds from the sale.
ConAgra, Campbell Soup, General Mills, Kellogg, J.M. Smucker — A Bernstein report downgrades these prominent food companies to "underperform" from "market perform," citing weaker industry trends.
Carnival — Carnival upgraded to "outperform" from "market perform" at William Blair, which said the cruise line operator is in a position to beat consensus earnings estimates and that those favorable trends will continue into 2018.
PPG Industries – The paint company is preparing a new takeover bid for Dutch paint maker Akzo Nobel, according to a Bloomberg report. A similar report appeared in Dutch newspapers on March 10, following the rejection of an earlier $22 billion bid by PPG for Akzo.
IntercontinentalExchange – ICE's NYSE Arca unit experienced an issue that affected closing prices of exchange-traded funds traded on the Arca platform. NYSE Arca is the largest listing exchange for ETFs.
General Electric – The company's GE Healthcare unit has no plans for large acquisitions, according to German newspaper Handelsblatt, but may buy data analysis or life science tool businesses to strengthen its platform.
Goldman Sachs – Goldman is building a "robo-adviser" aimed at affluent investors, according to a Reuters report quoting a job listing on the bank's website.