Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:
Walgreens – Walgreens reported adjusted quarterly profit of $1.47 per share, 4 cents a share above estimates. Revenue was above Street forecasts as well. Walgreens said it rebounded from a difficult prior quarter with improvements in both retail sales and prescription growth.
Accenture – The consulting firm earned $1.93 per share for its fiscal third quarter, 4 cents a share above estimates. Revenue also exceeded forecasts. Accenture’s results were helped by increased contributions from its digital and cloud services.
Conagra Brands – The food producer missed estimates by 5 cents a share, with adjusted quarterly profit of 36 cents per share. Revenue was also below Wall Street forecasts. Conagra said fiscal fourth-quarter results were below its expectations, but added that it had made progress key areas of the business.
WageWorks – The benefits administrator will be acquired by health savings account custodian HealthEquity for $51.35 per share in cash, giving it a value of $2 billion. HealthEquity had first offered $50.50 per share in cash back in April.
McCormick – The spice maker reported adjusted quarterly profit of $1.16 per share, 8 cents a share above estimates. Revenue was very slightly below forecasts. McCormick also increased its full-year earnings outlook.
Amazon.com – Amazon launched a new pickup option called “Counter,” with Rite Aid as its first partner. The service lets customers pick up packages at a store’s counter, designed for retailers that don’t have room to accommodate Amazon’s “Locker” service.
Rite Aid – Rite Aid reported an adjusted quarterly loss of 14 cents per share, wider than the 8 cents a share loss that Wall Street was expecting. The drugstore chain’s revenue came in slightly below estimates. The company said the quarter’s results did not meet its expectations but made optimistic comments about the remainder of the fiscal year.
Boeing – The Federal Aviation Administration has identified a new issue with Boeing’s grounded 737 Max jet, a software problem separate from the stall prevention system issue that Boeing has been addressing. That could further delay the jet’s return to service.
QEP Resources – Activist investor Elliott Management is in advanced talks to buy the oil and gas exploration company, according to a Bloomberg report, with a deal possible within weeks.
National Beverage – National Beverage reported its second straight quarterly sales decline, after the LaCroix beverage maker had seen sales rise steadily for five years.
Magellan Health – Magellan is in advanced talks for a sale to private-equity firm Centerbridge Partners, according to The Wall Street Journal. There’s no guarantee a deal will be reached for the managed care provider, however.
Herman Miller – Herman Miller reported adjusted quarterly profit of 88 cents per share, beating consensus estimates by 10 cents a share. The office furniture maker also saw revenue beat forecasts, and announced a 6% increase in its quarterly dividend to 21 cents per share.
KB Home – KB Home beat estimates by 11 cents a share, with quarterly earnings of 51 cents per share. The home builder’s revenue was also better than Wall Street had anticipated and KB Home reported an improvement in cancellation rates as well as a larger-than-expected backlog.
Planet Fitness – Planet Fitness was rated “outperform” in new coverage at Raymond James, which likes the fitness center operator’s differentiated business model.
Ford Motor, General Motors – The automakers were both rated “outperform” in new coverage at Credit Suisse. The firm says GM has done a good job in balancing both short and long term concerns, and sees Ford shares as having upside as it reimagines its business. Separately, Ford announced plans to slash 12,000 jobs in Europe by 2020.
Western Digital – Western Digital was rated “underperform,” in new coverage at Wedbush, based on continued margin pressure for the disk drive and flash memory maker.