Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell:
McDonald's — The stock was upgraded to "outperform" from "market perform" at Wells Fargo, saying mobile ordering will drive market share gains and that profit margins are improving for the restaurant chain.
Apple — Apple received a permit in California to test self-driving vehicles. Separately, there are conflicting reports on whether Apple is planning to become involved in the bidding for Toshiba's chip unit. Japan's NHK reports that Apple is considering a joint bid with supplier Foxconn, but the Financial Times reports there's no evidence that Apple plans to do so.
MoneyGram – The money transfer service got an improved takeover offer from Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial, with the new bid now worth about $1.2 billion compared to the original $880 million. That first bid was topped by Euronet Worldwide last month, with Euronet lobbying lawmakers to reject the Ant deal on national security concerns.
General Motors — GM will invest $14 million in a new research and development facility in San Francisco, adding more than 1,100 new jobs. The facility is focusing on the development of self-driving technology.
Facebook — Facebook shareholders have put out two proposals for the upcoming annual meeting – one focusing on the spread of fake news, the other on pay equality. Facebook's board has recommended votes against both proposals.
United Continental — The airline is changing its policy regarding the booking of its own crews onto flights, following the controversial incident in which a passenger was dragged off an overbooked flight.
Wal-Mart — The retail giant is reportedly in advanced talks to buy Bonobos, an online retailer of men's apparel. Recode reports that the two sides have agreed on a price, and that the transaction is in the due diligence stage. Retailer Nordstrom is an investor in Bonobos.
Alere — Alere will be bought by drugmaker Abbott Laboratories for a lower price than the two sides had originally agreed upon, after concerns by Abbott about the accuracy of various representations made by Alere in the original agreement. The new offer values Alere at about $5.3 billion, compared to the original $5.8 billion offer. Alere acknowledged misstatements in prior year financial statements in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
Fiat Chrysler — Fiat Chrysler is not in a position to seek any merger deals for now, according to CEO Sergio Marchionne. He said the automaker would now be focusing on executing its business plan.
Eli Lilly — Eli Lilly failed to receive Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for a new rheumatoid arthritis drug developed with partner Incyte. The FDA wants additional clinical data to determine the most appropriate dosages for the drug, a request which could delay the product's potential launch by more than a year.
Ford — Ford shares are inexpensive, according to a Barron's article, after falling 15 percent over the past year. The paper notes that Ford trades for only seven times projected 2017 earnings and has a dividend yield of 5.4 percent.
Fidelity & Guaranty — The insurer will not be acquired by China's Anbang Insurance as planned, according to a Reuters report. Anbang has not received the necessary regulatory approvals, according to sources.
Intel — The chipmaker has pulled out of a joint venture with Rackspace, which had been set to last through 2018. The venture was designed to encourage the use of OpenStack software technology, an open source competitor to Amazon's proprietary Web Services environment.
Amazon.com — Amazon may be interested in privately held warehouse retailer BJ's Wholesale, according to the New York Post.