Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:
General Mills (GIS) – The food producer reported quarterly earnings of 95 cents per share, 7 cents a share above estimates. Revenue was essentially in line with expectations. General Mills got a boost from a 16% increase in pet food sales at its Blue Buffalo unit, helping to offset weaker sales of snack bars and yogurt.
FedEx (FDX) – FedEx reported quarterly earnings of $2.51 per share, missing the consensus estimate of $2.76 a share. Revenue for the delivery company also came in below forecasts. FedEx cut its fiscal 2020 profit forecast on higher costs and the end of its delivery relationship with Amazon.com (AMZN), among other factors.
Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) – Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot parent PSA Groupe reached a binding agreement on their planned $50 billion merger, following meetings by the boards of both companies Tuesday. Preliminary plans had been announced in late October.
PG&E (PCG) – The utility's $13.5 billion settlement with wildfire victims won approval from a U.S. bankruptcy judge, following a six-hour hearing. An $11 billion agreement with insurance companies also won the judge's approval.
Palo Alto Networks (PANW) – A former Palo Alto IT administrator and four friends were charged with insider trading, accused of profiting by access to earnings information before its public release.
Illumina (ILMN) – The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is seeking to stop the drugmaker Illumina from buying Pacific Biosciences of California (PACB). The FTC is concerned that Illumina struck the deal to prevent Pacific Biosciences from developing into a competitor in the DNA sequencing market. Illumina said it disagreed with the FTC action and would push for the deal to close.
Skechers (SKX) – Deutsche Bank initiated coverage of the footwear maker with a "buy" rating, saying the company's dominance in the global footwear market is underappreciated.
Cigna (CI) – The insurance company announced a deal to sell its group life and disability insurance business to New York Life for $6.3 billion. The deal is expected to close during the third quarter of 2020.
Cintas (CTAS) – Cintas reported quarterly profit of $2.27 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 a share. The uniform maker's revenue also came in above estimates, boosted by organic revenue growth of 10.6% in the company's first aid and safety services unit.
Steelcase (SCS) – Steelcase beat estimates by 11 cents a share, with quarterly profit of 46 cents per share. The office furniture maker's revenue also exceeded Wall Street forecasts. Steelcase reported particularly strong profit growth in the Americas and the Europe, Middle East, and Africa regions.
Datadog (DDOG) – The provider of performance monitoring solutions was rated "buy" in new coverage at Rosenblatt Securities. The firm said Datadog is an early leader in a market that will benefit from a secular trend that requires new approaches to monitoring cloud-based applications.
The RealReal (REAL) – The operator of online luxury goods consignment shops was rated "buy" in new coverage at B. Riley, which said the company is well-positioned to take advantage of the growing luxury goods retail market.
