Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:
General Electric – GE beat estimates with adjusted quarterly profit of 16 cents per share, 5 cents a share above estimates, with revenue also beating forecasts. CEO John Flannery said GE is seeing signs of progress in its performance, with aviation, health care, and transportation all growing. Flannery does say that conditions in the power industry are still challenging.
Honeywell – The industrial conglomerate beat forecasts by 5 cents a share, with adjusted quarterly profit of $1.95 per share, with revenue also beating Street projections. Honeywell was helped by increasing aerospace sales, and it also raised its full-year forecast.
Regions Financial – The regional bank earned 35 cents per share for the first quarter, 4 cents a share above estimates, aided by growth in loans and net interest income.
Wells Fargo – Wells Fargo is close to a settlement of as much as $1 billion over its risk management practices, according to multiple sources. The news was first reported by the New York Times Thursday afternoon.
Mattel – Mattel named board member and former Google executive Ynon Kreiz as its new chief executive officer. He replaces Margaret Georgiadis at the helm of the toy maker after just 14 months, amid a slump in sales for Mattel’s best-known products like Barbie and Hot Wheels.
Skechers – Skechers reported quarterly profit of 75 cents per share, 1 cent a share above estimates. The shoe retailer’s revenue was also above forecasts, however it issued weaker-than-expected guidance for the current quarter, based on an expected shift in shipments to the second half of 2018.
E*Trade Financial – E*Trade beat estimates by 10 cents a share, with quarterly profit of 88 cents per share. The online brokerage firm’s revenue beating estimates, as well. E*Trade also saw record daily average trading revenue as volume jumped.
Alibaba – Alibaba bought China-based microchip maker Hangzhou C-Sky Microsystems, in a move to deepen its involvement in the “internet of things” market.
Barclays — Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley will be fined by British regulators, according to the bank. The fine stems from an attempt to find out the identity of a whistleblower. However, the bank said Staley will remain as CEO.
Lockheed Martin – Lockheed will offer Japan a hybrid version of its F-22 Raptor and F-35 lightning stealth aircraft, according to sources quoted by Reuters. The F-22 Raptor is currently banned from being exported.
Facebook – Facebook has been given one week by Indonesian regulators to provide more information on the misuse of personal data by the country’s users. Indonesia has about 115 million Facebook users.
Shire — Japanese drugmaker Takeda continues talks to buy the British company after Shire rejected a $63 billion bid. Following reports that it was considering a rival bid, Allergan said it was no longer considering a Shire bid.
Pinnacle Foods – Activist investor Jana Partners has taken a 9.1 percent stake in the maker of packaged foods. Pinnacle said it was aware of the Jana stake and would be engaging in talks with Jana.
Macerich – Macerich was upgraded to “outperform” from “market perform” at BMO Capital, which sees stronger fundamentals for the shopping center REIT this year and next as well as the possibility that the company could be bought.
Darden Restaurants – Darden was upgraded to “outperform” from “market perform” at Bernstein, which also raised its price target on the restaurant operator to $105 per share from $99.
