Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell on Thursday:
PepsiCo (PEP) – The beverage and snacks maker reported quarterly profit of $1.36 per share, beating estimates by seven cents. Revenue beat consensus as well, and Pepsi also raised its full-year forecast in the face of what CEO Indra Nooyi calls a "challenged macroeconomic environment".
Auxilium Pharmaceuticals (AUXL) – Endo International (ENDP) is buying Auxilium in a deal worth $2.6 billion, including the assumption of debt. Auxilium terminated its prior merger agreement with Canada's QLT (QLTI) as a result of the Endo deal.
Impax Laboratories (IPXL) – Impax bought privately held drug makers Tower Holdings and Lineage Therapeutics for a total of $700 million in cash.
(Read More: See the Day's Top Percentage Winners & Losers)
Hilton Worldwide (HLT) – JMP Securities initiated coverage of the hotel operator with a rating of "market outperform", saying Hilton has a powerful combination of industry-leading brands and iconic hotel assets.
Men's Wearhouse (MW) – Jefferies began coverage of the clothing retailer's shares with a "buy" rating, citing the advantages of its recent combination with Jos. A. Bank.
L Brands (LB) – The Victoria's Secret Parent reported a 6 percent increase in September same-store sales, beating estimates of a 3.5 percent increase.
Alcoa (AA) – Alcoa reported third quarter profit of 31 cents per share, beating estimates by eight cents. Revenue also came in above estimates, with Alcoa's results helped by higher aluminum prices and lower costs.
Gap (GPS) - Chief Executive Officer Glenn Murphy will step down in February, and will be replaced by Art Peck, currently head of the retailer's digital business. In response, a number of investment firms have downgraded the stock, including Wells Fargo, Sterne Agee, Telsey, and Janney.
(Read More: See CNBC's Market Insider Blog)
(AAPL) – Apple has pushed back plans to produce a larger-screen tablet until early next year, according to Dow Jones, due to overwhelming demand for the company's latest iPhones. Suppliers had originally planned to start mass producing the larger iPad in December. Separately, Oppenheimer upgraded Apple stock to "outperform" based on the strength of the company's latest upgrade cycle.
Ruby Tuesday (RT) – Ruby Tuesday earned four cents per share for the first quarter, surprising analysts who had expected a 12 cent per share loss. The restaurant chain's results were helped by better than expected same-restaurant sales, as Ruby Tuesday broke a string of five straight quarterly losses.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) – AMD replaced Chief Executive Officer Rory Read with Chief Operating Officer Lisa Su. Read told a conference call the move had been planned as the company formulated its long-term succession strategy.
Google (GOOG) – Google is asking the Supreme Court to decide its high-profile copyright battle with Oracle (ORCL) over the Java programming language, which Google uses in its Android operating system.
Microsoft (MSFT) – Microsoft will cancel its Surface Pro 3 product line due to weaker than expected sales, according to DigiTimes.
Amazon (AMZN) – The online retail giant is willing to spend more than it had previously indicated on original comedy content, according to a story in Variety.
—By CNBC's Peter Schacknow
Questions? Comments? Email us at marketinsider@cnbc.com