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General Electric Co.’s Chief Executive John Flannery assured investors and analysts in the post-earnings conference call early Wednesday that “there will be a GE in the future, but it will look different that it does today,” according to a transcript provided by FactSet. That follows his comments that the company was reviewing the best structure it could have to maximize the long-term potential of its businesses and to deliver the best value for customers and employees. “We have a team dedicated to considering all the details and looking at the options that will deliver the best value for our shareholders and the most attractive jobs for our employees,” Flannery said on the call. Any big changes in the company’s structure could prompt the committee that overseas the Dow Jones Industrial Average to review whether GE should continue its 110-year run as a component of the index. The stock rose 1.1% in morning trade, but has tumbled 22% the past three months, while the Dow has rallied 12%.

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Ralph Lauren Corp. said Wednesday that it has named Alice Delahunt to the chief digital officer role, a newly-created position, starting in April. Delahunt joins from Burberry where she was director of digital marketing. Ralph Lauren has named a number of senior executives to support the company’s digital and e-commerce expansion including Laura Porco, who’s been moved to senior vice president of e-commerce for Ralph Lauren North America from e-commerce head of the company’s Club Monaco brand, and Galen Hardy, who’s been named senior vice president of Club Monaco’s e-commerce and business operations, joining from Zappos. Ralph Lauren shares are unchanged in Wednesday premarket trading, and up 28.6% for the last year. The S&P 500 index is up 24.5% for the past 12 months.

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Shares of General Electric Co. turned lower in premarket trade Wednesday, after Chief Financial Officer Jamie Miller said in the industrial conglomerate’s post-earnings conference call with analysts that the Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating the process that led to the large insurance reserve increase announced last week, according to a transcript provided by FactSet. Miller said the SEC was also looking into GE’s revenue recognition and controls for long-term service agreements. Miller said the company is “cooperating fully” with the investigation, which she said is still in “the very early stages.” The stock fell 0.5% in premarket trade, after being up as much as 5% after the company reported fourth-quarter results. The stock has tumbled 22.8% over the past three months through Tuesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 10.5%.

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Twitter Inc. COO Anthony Noto announced his resignation on Tuesday, and that has Stifel analyst Scott Devitt wondering about the implications of this leadership change on Square Inc. , CEO Jack Dorsey’s other company. Dorsey, also the CEO of Square, is currently splitting his time between the two companies, but Devitt thinks Noto’s departure will force Dorsey to devote more attention to managing Twitter. “It is likely that the events at Twitter will lead to a broad reassessment of Jack Dorsey’s overall time spent and the possible elevation of certain deserving Square executives over at his other part-time gig,” he wrote. Devitt believes that Square CFO Sarah Friar could see her role “further elevated” as a result of the Twitter leadership changes. “We would view such an event as a positive for Square, its partners, its employees, and its equity value,” he added. Devitt has a hold rating and a $37 price target on Square shares, which are up 1% in premarket trading Wednesday. The stock is up 207% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 Index has gained 25% over that time.

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Shares of United Continental Holdings Inc. tumbled 7.1% in premarket trade Wednesday, as concerns over the outlook for capacity growth offset a fourth-quarter profit and revenue beat. The stock had rallied as much as 3.8% in after-hours trade Tuesday, after United Continental reported fourth-quarter results, then turned sharply lower after the company said in the post-earnings conference call with analysts that it expected capacity growth of 4% to 6% for the next three years. Cowen analyst Helane Becker said she had been expecting 4%-to-6% capacity growth this year, but then a slowing growth rate after that. “The stock is unlikely to reflect the company’s potential in the near term as we anticipate competitive actions and investor concerns regarding overcapacity,” Becker wrote in a note to clients. “We understand the strategy but it might not mean a higher stock value.” The stock has soared 30.2% over the past three months, while the NYSE Arca Airline Index has climbed 11.6% and the S&P 500 has rallied 10.5%.

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Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. reported fourth-quarter net income of $288.0 million, or $1.34 per share, up from $261.1 million last year, or $1.21 per share, for the same period last year. The FactSet consensus was $1.21. Total revenue was $2.00 billion, comprised of $1.42 billion in passenger ticket revenue and $584.1 billion in onboard and other revenue. The FactSet consensus was $1.97 billion. Royal Caribbean says it will give a bonus to each of its 66,000 employees excluding corporate officers amounting to 5% of their salary. The bonus is a reward for reaching a goal of more than doubling EPS during a designated “Double-Double” period. The bonus will take the form of equity grants vesting over three years. The bonus totals about $80 million, including upgrades to crew facilities and recreation areas. Royal Caribbean expects first-quarter adjusted EPS of about 95 cents below the $1.02 FactSet consensus. Shares are up 0.6% in Wednesday premarket trading and up nearly 48% for the past year, exceeding the S&P 500 index , which is up 24.5% for the past year.

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llinois Tool Works Inc. shares rose 2.3% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the industrial manufacturer topped fourth-quarter earnings estimates, raised guidance and said it would work to accelerate a previous plan to pay a higher dividend. The company said it had a loss per share of $76 million, or 22 cents a share, in the quarter, as it took a one-time, $628 million tax charge. The company had earnings of $507 million, or $1.45 a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted for the tax charge, the company had EPS of $1.70, beating the FactSet consensus of $1.61. Revenue rose 7% to $3.6 billion, also ahead of the FactSet consensus of $3.5 billion. The company said it is raising its full-year guidance by 40 cents at the midpoint, to a range of $7.45 to $7.65 a share. For the first quarter, it expects EPS of $1.80 to $1.90. The FactSet consensus is for 2018 EPS of $7.40 and first-quarter EPS of $1.75. Shares have gained 36% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 25%.

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Norfolk Southern Corp. reported Wednesday fourth-quarter net income that increased more than 9-fold to $3.97 billion, or $13.79 a share, from $416 million, or $1.42 a share, in the same period a year ago, as tax-reform legislation gave the results a boost of $3.48 billion, or $12.10 a share. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to $1.69, beating the FactSet consensus of $1.57. Revenue rose to $2.67 billion from $2.49 billion, just above the FactSet consensus of $2.65 billion, amid better-than-expected intermodal revenue, in-line general merchandise revenue and a slight miss in coal revenue. Separately, the railroad company said it will raise its quarterly dividend by 18% to 72 cents a share from 66 cents a share. Based on Tuesday’s stock closing price of $151.66, the new annual dividend rate implies a dividend yield of 1.90%, compared with the implied dividend yield for the Dow Jones Transportation Average of 1.18%, according to FactSet. Norfolk’s stock, which was indicated up about 2% in premarket trade, has run up 30% over the past 12 months through Tuesday, while the Dow transports have rallied 22% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 32%.

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Stanley Black & Decker Inc. reported fourth-quarter net income of $281.5 million, or $1.84 per share, up from $255.5 million, or $1.71 per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted EPS was $2.18, ahead of the $2.15 per share FactSet consensus. Sales totaled $3.41 billion, up from $2.92 billion last year and also ahead of the $3.28 billion FactSet consensus. Sales of tools and storage items increased 26% while security sales were down 4%. On Dec. 22, Stanley Black & Decker acquired Nelson Fastener Systems for about $440 million. The deal does not include Nelson’s auto stud welding business. Annual revenue for the acquired company is about $200 million. The transaction is expected to be “modestly accretive” to 2018 EPS, excluding one-time charges. M&A-related charges in the fourth-quarter were $27.1 million. For 2018, Stanley Black & Decker expects EPS of $7.80 to $8.00 and adjusted EPS of $8.30 to $8.50. The FactSet consensus is $8.36. In a separate filing, Stanley Black & Decker said it will adopt new accounting standards in the first quarter of 2018 that will be applied retrospectively and apply to “Revenue from Contracts with Customers” and “Compensation-Retirement Benefits.” The change will result in a 1-cent increase to full-year 2017 EPS and 2-cent increase to full-year 2016 EPS. Stanley Black and Decker shares are down 0.5% in Wednesday premarket trading, and up nearly 42% for the past year, outpacing the S&P 500 index , which is up 24.5% for the last 12 months.

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Shares of McDermott International Inc. surged 6.9% toward a 3 1/2-year high in premarket trade Wednesday, after the oil services company raised its 2017 profit expectations and provided an upbeat 2018 outlook. The company said it now expects 2017 earnings per share of 60 cents to 63 cents, compared with guidance provided on Nov. 1 of about 53 cents, while the revenue outlook remains at $3.0 billion. McDermott said the raised profit outlook is a result of “strong operational performance, cost savings and better-than-anticipated weather and change orders” during the fourth quarter. For 2018, the company expects EPS of 42 cents to 52 cents, above the FactSet consensus of 40 cents, and projects revenue of $3.1 billion to $3.3 billion, which is above expectations of $3.0 billion. The stock was on track to open at the highest price seen during regular session hours since June 19, 2014. It has slipped 0.3% over the past 12 months through Tuesday, while the VanEck Vectors Oil Services ETF has tumbled 14.3% and the S&P 500 has gained 24.5%.

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