Market Insider

Early movers: FDX, HPQ, ORCL, FIT, HSY, BUD, LINKD, SIRO & more

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Getty Images

Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell:

FedEx—FedEx reported quarterly profit of $2.42 per share, 4 cents below estimates, with revenue matching forecasts. CEO Fred Smith said the company is doing well considering weaker than expected global economic conditions. Separately, FedEx will increase rates by 4.9 percent at its FedEx Express service, effective January 4.

Oracle—The stock was upgraded to "buy" from "neutral" at SunTrust, which cites increasing opportunities for Oracle's cloud-based business as well as valuation. Oracle is scheduled to report quarterly numbers after today's closing bell.

Fitbit—Retailer Target is offering Fitbit activity trackers to its 335,000 US employees in one of Fitbit's largest corporate deals in its history.

Hershey—JPMorgan Chase upgraded the chocolate company's stock to "overweight" from "neutral," saying the risk/reward profile has become more attractive especially with China now constituting a very small part of Hershey's business.

Anheuser-Busch InBev—The beer brewer is working on a bid for rival SABMiller, although no formal transaction has yet been proposed.

LinkedIn—The business social network's stock was upgraded to "hold" from "sell" at Brean, which said valuation now reflects the multiple concerns that face the company including slower growth in various categories.

Sirona Dental—The dental products company agreed to be bought by rival Dentsply in a $5.5 billion stock deal. The deal is being called a "merger of equals," though Dentsply shareholders will own 58 percent of the combined business.

Microsoft—Microsoft increased its quarterly dividend by 5 cents to 36 cents per share.

Hewlett-Packard—Hewlett-Packard expects to cut another 25,000 to 30,000 jobs in its enterprise business. Those cuts would be on top of 55,000 previously announced job cuts.

Fiat Chrysler—The automaker and the United Auto Workers union reached a tentative labor agreement. The agreement will eventually remove a two-tier wage system that paid newer hires less money for doing the same job as more experienced co-workers.

Starz—Starz is in talks to be bought by cable network operator AMC Networks, according to a Bloomberg report. The cable channel has been the subject of numerous reported buyout talks over the past few years.

Syngenta—Syngenta announced a number of new products that it said have sales potential of more than $6 billion. The pesticide maker's announcement is seen by some analysts as a way to soothe investors who are upset by its rejection of Monsanto's recent takeover offer.

Comcast—Comcast will begin selling internet and phone services to business nationwide, even those outside its service area. (Disclosure: Comcast is the parent of NBCUniversal, which owns CNBC.)

General Electric—GE has been added to the "U.S. Focus List" at Credit Suisse, which cited a number of earnings catalysts including the approval of the Alstom acquisition deal and an acceleration in asset divestiture.


Questions? Comments? Email us at marketinsider@cnbc.com