Stock index futures fell on Thursday, as investors were left unimpressed by Meta and Microsoft results. Traders were now geared up for Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN) earnings and assessed the latest updates of the U.S.-China trade talks. Here are five stocks to watch on the day:
Altria (MO) fell 5.8% in premarket trade as the cigarette maker met expectations on the bottom line for the third quarter but realized a 1.5% drop in revenue that was larger than Wall Street anticipated. Additionally, the company raised the lower end of its FY25 profit guidance by two cents but kept the high end only a penny better than expectations.
Eli Lilly (LLY) gained 3.9% before the opening bell after the drugmaker beat Wall Street expectations with its third-quarter results and raised its outlook for full-year 2025 amid solid demand for its widely popular weight-loss and diabetes drugs.
Merck (MRK) shares fell 2.5% in premarket trading on Thursday, even after topping Wall Street expectations with its Q3 results while narrowing the top end of its full-year 2025 sales outlook. The Rahway, New Jersey-based company issued an updated outlook for full-year 2025, expecting sales of $64.5B-$65B (prior: $64.3B to $65.3B) and adjusted EPS of $8.93-$8.98 (prior: $8.87 to $8.97).
Amazon (AMZN) stock will be under watch as the e-commerce giant will report its third quarter after the closing bell. The company’s cloud computing unit and artificial intelligence investment are expected to take the limelight. Wall Street expects the Andy Jassy-led company to post EPS of $1.57 on revenue of $177.76 billion, implying a rise of 24% during the quarter.
Apple (AAPL) shares will be keenly followed as the iPhone maker will release fourth-quarter earnings after market close. Wall Street expects ~8% Y/Y growth in both revenue and EPS. Early market data points to resilient demand across the smartphone market.