Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:
Marriott – The hotel operator reported an adjusted quarterly loss of 64 cents per share, wider than the 42 cent loss predicted by analysts and the first quarterly loss for Marriott in nearly nine years. Marriott continues to suffer from the impact of a Covid-19 related hit to travel demand.
Barrick Gold – The mining company beat estimates by 4 cents with adjusted quarterly profit of 23 cents per share, with revenue also above analyst forecasts. Barrick benefited from the surge in gold prices to a record high, as well as increased copper production.
SeaWorld – The theme park operator lost $1.68 per share for its latest quarter, wider than the loss of 97 cents that analysts were anticipating. Revenue was well below forecasts, as the pandemic led to park closures.
Canopy Growth – The cannabis producer reported a smaller quarterly loss and better-than-expected revenue, as restructuring helped rein in expenses and the pandemic boosted demand for its products.
Berkshire Hathaway – Berkshire reported a 10% drop in operating profit from a year ago during the second quarter, and took a $9.8 billion writedown for its struggling Precision Castparts unit. However, overall profit jumped 86%, thanks to gains in Berkshire’s investment portfolio. Berkshire also bought back $5.1 billion in stock during the quarter.
Roper Technologies – The software company is in talks to buy insurance software vendor Vertafore for about $5.5 billion, according to a Reuters report. If Roper can strike the deal for the private equity-owned Vertafore, it would be its largest acquisition to date.
AT&T – AT&T’s WarnerMedia unit has removed key members of the leadership team at the company’s HBO MAX service as part of a reorganization. WarnerMedia Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt and head of content Kevin Reilly were ousted, with Warner Brothers Chair and Chief Executive Ann Sarnoff now in charge of all content distributed on company platforms.
Eastman Kodak – A $765 million government loan to Eastman Kodak has been put on hold, with the U.S. International Development Finance Corp. saying it was taking that action due to “recent allegations of wrongdoing.” The Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly investigating stock options granted to executives one day before the loan was announced.
Twitter – Twitter is said to be interested in the U.S. operations of TikTok, according to multiple reports. Twitter would be competing with Microsoft, which is already in talks with TikTok parent ByteDance.
Amazon.com – Amazon and Simon Property Group are discussing turning department store space into Amazon fulfillment centers, according to the Wall Street Journal. The talks are said to focus on current or former spaces occupied by bankrupt retailers Sears and J.C. Penney.
FedEx – Bernstein upgraded FedEx to “outperform” from “market perform,” citing its expectation of better residential pricing and improved FedEx Ground profit margins among other factors.
