Check out the companies making headlines before the bell. VF Corp – Shares soared nearly 20% following the North Face and JanSport parent’s better-than-expected quarterly results. For the fiscal second quarter, the company posted adjusted earnings of 60 cents per share on $2.76 billion in revenue. Analysts surveyed by LSEG were looking for 37 cents per share and $2.71 billion in revenue. VF Corporation also declared a quarterly dividend of 9 cents per share. Ford Motors – Shares of the automaker slid 7% after Ford guided to the low end of its previously announced full-year earnings guidance, even as it slightly exceeded analysts’ third-quarter expectations. Ford said it now expects its adjusted EBIT of about $10 billion. Ford has been grappling with softening demand, rising inventory and worries about its ability to achieve cost cuts this year. Cadence Design Systems – The stock jumped more than 5% after the electronic design company’s third-quarter earnings beat Wall Street estimates. Cadence Design earned $1.64 per share, excluding items, on revenue of $1.22 billion, above the consensus estimate of $1.44 per share and $1.18 billion in revenue, according to LSEG. The company also raised the midpoint of its non-GAAP earnings per share outlook for 2024. F5 – The cloud services stock surged more than 10% on the heels of better-than-expected results. For the fourth fiscal quarter, F5 posted $3.67 in adjusted earnings per share on revenue of $747 million. Analysts had estimated $3.45 in earnings per share on $731 million in revenue for the period, per LSEG. BP – Shares slid more than 2% after the British oil major posted its weakest quarterly results in almost four years . The company reported third-quarter underlying replacement cost profit of $2.3 billion. While that’s better than the consensus estimate of $2.1 billion, according to LSEG, the figure is down from the $2.8 billion in net profit the company posted for the second quarter and from the $3.3 billion seen in the third quarter a year ago. McDonald’s – The fast food chain reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that beat analyst expectations, with the company reversing a same-store sales decline from the previous quarter. Still, shares dipped more than 2% in the premarket. Pfizer – Shares added 1.3% after the vaccine maker surpassed the Street’s estimates and lifted its guidance, citing sales upside from Covid-related products. Pfizer posted adjusted earnings of $1.06 per share on $17.7 billion in revenues. Trex – Shares rose 7% after the maker of composite deck materials beat the Street’s estimates. Trex posted adjusted earnings of 37 cents per share in the third quarter, above the 32 cents analysts polled by FactSet were expecting. Revenue also came in ahead of expectations at $233.7 million versus $225.4 million. Boot Barn – The western-wear retailer’s stock fell more than 7% after the company’s second-quarter earnings matched expectations of 95 cents a share, per LSEG. Meanwhile, revenue beat consensus estimates. Boot Barn also said CEO Jim Conroy is set to step down , effective Nov. 22, with digital chief John Hazen taking over as interim CEO. In December, Conroy will join Ross Stores as CEO-elect. Crypto stocks – Stocks tied to the price of bitcoin rose in premarket trading as the cryptocurrency topped $70,000 for the first time since June . Crypto exchange operator Coinbase advanced 3%. Bitcoin proxy MicroStrategy advanced 5%, after notching its highest closing level Monday since March 2000. JetBlue – Shares of the airline slid 7% after fourth quarter guidance called for shrinking revenue. JetBlue said it expects fourth quarter revenue down between 3% and 7% year over year, worse than the 1.4% decline projected by analysts, according to LSEG. JetBlue’s third quarter results did beat analyst estimates on the top and bottom lines. D.R. Horton – The stock sank 10% after the homebuilder reported disappointing fourth-quarter results. Earnings came in at $3.92 per share, below the $4.17 a share expected from analysts polled by LSEG. Revenue was $10 billion, less than the $10.22 billion consensus estimate. D.R. Horton said rate volatility may be keeping some buyers on the sidelines in the near term. Robinhood Markets – Shares rose more than 1% after Mizuho lifted its price target on the financial services platform ahead of the company’s third-quarter earnings results after market close on Wednesday. PayPal – Shares fell 3% after PayPal posted third-quarter revenue that missed expectations. Revenue of $7.85 billion was weaker than the $7.88 billion anticipated by analysts polled by FactSet. On the other hand, adjusted per-share earnings of $1.20 topped the $1.07 estimate. Xerox — The stock dropped more than 18% after the printer manufacturer reported much weaker-than-expected quarterly results. Xerox earned an adjusted 21 cents per share on revenue of $1.53 billion. Analysts polled by StreetAccount anticipated a profit of 51 cents per share on revenue of $1.63 billion. The company also cut its free cash flow guidance for the full year and now sees 2024 revenue declining 10%. Crocs – Shares tumbled around 12% despite the company’s third-quarter earnings beating estimates. Crocs earned $3.60 per share, excluding items, on revenue of $1.06 billion, above the consensus estimate of $3.10 per share on $1.05 billion in revenue, according to FactSet. Its outlook range for the fourth quarter, however, came in below analysts’ expectations. The company also narrowed its full-year forecast. — CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han, Samantha Subin, Jesse Pound, Sarah Min, Pia Singh, Tanaya Macheel and Michelle Fox Theobald contributed reporting.
Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading: American Airlines — Shares slipped less than 1%, recovering from earlier losses, after the airline temporarily grounded all of its flights due to a technical issue. Broadcom — The semi stock added 2%, extending its December rally. Shares have surged more than 46% this month, propelling its 2024 gain above 112%. Big banks — Shares of some big bank stocks rose more than 1% amid news that a group of banks and business groups are suing the Federal Reserve over the annual stress tests, saying it “produces vacillating and unexplained requirements and restrictions on bank capital.” Citigroup , JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs shares gained more than 1% each. Arcadium Lithium — Shares rose more than 4% after the company announced its shareholders have approved the $6.7 billion sale to Rio Tinto . The deal is expected to close in mid-2025. International Seaways — The energy transportation provider surged 8% after an announcement that the company would be added to the S & P SmallCap 600 index, effective Dec. 30. The company will replace Consolidated Communications , which is soon to be acquired. Crypto stocks — Shares of stocks tied to the price of bitcoin rose as the cryptocurrency gave back recent losses amid a climb in tech names broadly. Crypto services provider Coinbase gained almost 3% and bitcoin proxy MicroStrategy gained more than 5%. Miners Riot Platforms and IREN gained 6% and 4%, respectively. U.S. Steel — The steel producer’s stock hovered near the flatline amid news that President Joe Biden will decide on the fate of its proposed acquisition by Japan’s Nippon Steel after a government panel failed to reach a decision . Apple — Apple shares gained 0.9% to notch a new all-time high. The stock has rallied nearly 34% year to date. — CNBC’s Sean Conlon, Lisa Han, Tanaya Macheel and Alex Harring contributed reporting.
A general view of the Federal Reserve Building in Washington, United States.
Samuel Corum | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
The biggest banks are planning to sue the Federal Reserve over the annual bank stress tests, according to a person familiar with the matter. A lawsuit is expected this week and could come as soon as Tuesday morning, the person said.
The Fed’s stress test is an annual ritual that forces banks to maintain adequate cushions for bad loans and dictates the size of share repurchases and dividends.
After the market close on Monday, the Federal Reserve announced in a statement that it is looking to make changes to the bank stress tests and will be seeking public comment on what it calls “significant changes to improve the transparency of its bank stress tests and to reduce the volatility of resulting capital buffer requirements.”
The Fed said it made the determination to change the tests because of “the evolving legal landscape,” pointing to changes in administrative laws in recent years. It didn’t outline any specific changes to the framework of the annual stress tests.
While the big banks will likely view the changes as a win, it may be too little too late.
Also, the changes may not go far enough to satisfy the banks’ concerns about onerous capital requirements. “These proposed changes are not designed to materially affect overall capital requirements, according to the Fed.
The CEO of BPI (Bank Policy Institute), Greg Baer, which represents big banks like JPMorgan, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, welcomed the Fed announcement, saying in a statement “The Board’s announcement today is a first step towards transparency and accountability.”
However, Baer also hinted at further action: “We are reviewing it closely and considering additional options to ensure timely reforms that are both good law and good policy.”
Groups like the BPI and the American Bankers Association have raised concerns about the stress test process in the past, claiming that it is opaque, and has resulted in higher capital rules that hurt bank lending and economic growth.
In July, the groups accused the Fed of being in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, because it didn’t seek public comment on its stress scenarios and kept supervisory models secret.