Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell:
CSRA – The information technology solutions company agreed to be bought by General Dynamics for $40.75 per share in cash. The deal is worth a total of $9.6 billion, including $2.8 billion in assumed debt.
Restaurant Brands International – The parent of Popeyes, Tim Hortons, and Burger King earned an adjusted 66 cents per share for its latest quarter, 9 cents a share above estimates. Revenue fell short of forecasts, however. Comparable-restaurant sales edged higher by 0.1 percent compared to a year earlier.
First Data – The processor of credit card transactions matched forecasts with adjusted quarterly profit of 44 cents per share, while revenue was slightly above forecasts. First Data gave a lower-than-expected full-year forecast for 2018, however, noting significantly higher tax rates for this year compared to 2017.
21st Century Fox – Fox said it would maintain the Sky News operation for at least five years and establish an independent board for the news service. The pledge comes as part of Fox’s attempt to buy the remaining 61 percent of Sky, the pay-TV operator that owns Sky News.
Qualcomm – Qualcomm and Broadcom will meet on Wednesday to discuss Broadcom’s $121 billion bid to buy its rival chipmaker, according to Reuters. This will be the first time the companies have held formal discussions about the deal, although Qualcomm last week said the latest bid still undervalues the company.
Amazon.com – Amazon bought home security camera maker Blink last year in a bet on the company’s energy-efficient chips, according to a Reuters report. The $90 million deal had less to do with the products, as analysts had originally thought.
Ford Motor – Ford said it was boosting production targets for the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs. It is aiming to increase production by 25 percent this year, saying it can sell every single vehicle it produces in the company’s Louisville truck plant.
Alibaba – Alibaba signed a licensing agreement with Walt Disney that will let the online retailer’s Youku video streaming platform offer Disney’s collection of animated features.
Walt Disney – Disney raised prices for certain theme park tickets, with the biggest increase coming for peak single-day tickets. Single-day admissions will now cost $135, a nearly 9 percent increase, while some other tickets will rise by a smaller amount.
Tyson Foods – Tyson is having trouble selling some of its non-chicken business, according to a New York Post report. The paper said Tyson is trying to sell divisions whose products don’t contain a large amount of protein.
Amgen – The biotech firm is reportedly searching for acquisitions using a $27 billion cash pile, but is having trouble finding targets according to the Financial Times. The paper said rising valuations in the life sciences sector are making it difficult to find attractively priced companies.
VF Corp – VF Corp was upgraded to “buy” from “hold” at Stifel Nicolaus, which points to improving trends in the US and Europe for the maker of apparel brands like North Face, Lee, Wrangler, and Timberland.
Cisco Systems – The networking equipment maker was upgraded to “buy” at Nomura/Instinet, which cited recent contract wins for Cisco’s webscale switches.
