Investing.com - Stocks in focus in premarket trading on Wednesday:
• Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) was up 2.3% by 8:15 AM ET (12:15 GMT) after its revenue fell less than expected in a weak quarter that also saw a 9% drop in profit.
• Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) stock rose 2.5% after the streaming company added a record number of subscribers in the first quarter. That overshadowed a forecast for second-quarter earnings that was below consensus.
• Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) stock rose another 10.5% after surging 23% on Tuesday in response to its patent settlement with Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL). Analysts point out that it could also now settle a similar dispute with Huawei, further boosting its earnings potential.
• PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) jumped 1.6% after it topped analysts' estimates, organic revenue growing by 5.2% during the first quarter. It reported earnings per share of $0.97 on $12.88 billion in revenue.
• Sprint (NYSE:S) slumped 7.2% after The Wall Street Journal reported that the Department of Justice is unlikely to approve its merger with T-Mobile (NASDAQ:TMUS) due to antitrust concerns. Verizon (NYSE:VZ) was also down 0.2% and AT&T (NYSE:T) down 0.3% on fears that the lack of consolidation in the sector may continue to pressure margins.
• ABB (NYSE:ABB) skyrocketed 5.5% after it announced its CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer is leaving and will be replaced by Chairman Peter Voser on an interim basis.
• Boeing (NYSE:BA) inched up 0.4% as proxy advisory firms ISS and Glass Lewis are pushing for the airline maker to separate the roles of chairman and CEO, after two of its 737 Max planes crashed.