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Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell on Wednesday:

Caterpillar – The construction and mining giant reported third quarter profit of $1.45 per share, missing estimates by 21 cents. The company also cut its full year revenue forecast, with CEO Doug Olberhelman calling this year "difficult", especially in Caterpillar's mining-related business.

Boeing – The jet maker reported third quarter profit of $1.80 per share, 25 cents above estimates, with revenue beating forecasts as well. Boeing also raised its full year forecast, and upped its production scheduled for the Dreamliner to 12 per month from 10 per month by 2016.

Bristol-Myers Squibb – The drug maker earned 46 cents per share for the third quarter, two cents above estimates, with revenue also scoring a beat.

WellPoint – The health insurer earned $2.10 per share, excluding certain items, for the third quarter, trouncing estimates of $1.82. WellPoint added new members and also saw costs come in lower than it had anticipated.

Wyndham Worldwide – The hotel operator beat estimates by four cents with third quarter profit of $1.40 per share, and also raised its full-year forecast.

Cole Real Estate – The real estate investment trust is being bought by American Realty Capital in a deal valued at $11.2 billion. The deal creates the world's largest net lease REIT.

Northrop Grumman – The defense contractor earned $1.97 per share, excluding certain items, for the third quarter, 15 cents above estimates, with revenue above consensus as well. It also raised its full-year forecast.

Motorola Solutions – The telecom equipment provider reported third quarter profit of $1.32 per share, excluding certain items, 30 cents above estimates, helped in part by significantly lower tax rates.

Tupperware Brands– Tupperware missed estimates by three cents with third quarter profit of $1.00 per share, excluding certain items. Revenue also missed consensus, with the company saying established markets did not perform as well as it had hoped.

Netflix— Investor Carl Icahn sold about half of his stake in the video service. Icahn still holds about 4.5 percent of Netflix, but decided to sell some shares after they more than quintupled since his original purchase at $58 per share.

Amgen– Amgen reported third quarter profit of $1.94 per share, 17 cents above estimates, with revenue and its full-year earnings outlook above consensus as well. The biotech company's third quarter results were helped by a sizable U.S. government order.

Juniper Networks —Juniper earned 33 cents per share for its third quarter, excluding certain items, two cents above estimates. The maker of networking equipment indicated its markets are improving after seeing weaker demand earlier this year.

Panera Bread – The restaurant chain beat estimates by 13 cents with third quarter profit of $1.48 per share, but revenue and its current quarter outlook fell below Street consensus. Comparable store sales at company-owned locations were up 1.7 percent for the quarter, below forecasts.

Cree – Cree matched estimates with fiscal first quarter profit of 39 cents per share, but revenue and its current quarter forecast were below Street estimates. Cree's forecast is based on higher marketing expenses for its LED Light bulb.

– The mobile chip maker earned 76 cents per share, excluding certain items, for the third quarter, seven cents above estimates. But its revenue forecast for the current quarter is below analyst forecasts, as the company faces increasing competition. Broadcom is also cutting expenses and a plan now underway will cut up to 1,150 jobs.

Apollo Group – Apollo earned 55 cents per share for its fourth quarter, well above estimates of 25 cents, with revenue topping estimates as well. The for-profit education provider, however, did issue a mixed outlook for the full year.

Altera – The programmable chipmaker reported third quarter profit of 37 cents per share, topping estimates by three cents, yet revenue was short of forecasts, in addition to current quarter revenue projection. Altera is seeing fewer orders in the telecom and wireless markets.

JPMorgan Chase – The mega bank is said to be close to a nearly $6 billion settlement with institutional investors over mortgage-backed securities, . This deal is separate from the tentative $13 billion settlement reached by the bank with the U.S. government.

Men's Wearhouse – Men's Wearhouse is investigating the possible purchase of shoe retailer Allen Edmonds, according to the Wall Street Journal. Men's Wearhouse recently spurned Jos. A. Bank's bid to buy it for $2.3 billion, calling that bid undervalued.

—By CNBC's Peter Schacknow

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