Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York City.

Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell:

Panera Bread — Caribou Coffee and Peet's Coffee & Tea owner JAB agreed to buy Panera for $7.5 billion, including the assumption of $340 million in debt. The deal is worth $315 per share in cash, about 20 percent higher than Panera's price before reports of the talks became public last week.

Walgreens Boots Alliance — The drugstore chain matched estimates with adjusted quarterly profit of $1.36 per share, but revenue was below forecasts. Walgreens said it was pleased with the quarter amid challenging conditions in some of its markets. The company also authorized a $1 billion share repurchase program.

Acorda Therapeutics — The drugmaker will cut nearly 20 percent of its workforce, in a move expected to save more than $21 million annually. That follows last week's news that it lost various patents for its multiple sclerosis drug Ampyra.

Exxon Mobil — Exxon Mobil said it was in talks to buy the refining and petrochemical assets of Singapore's Jurong Aromatics. Exxon also said no agreement has been reached.

Credit Suisse — The bank's U.S. unit and a former investment adviser agreed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to pay about $8 million in fines. The SEC had accused the bank for collecting about $3.2 million in avoidable fees over a five-year period, although neither the bank nor the adviser admit or deny guilt in agreeing to pay the penalties.

Amazon.com — Amazon signed a $50 million deal to stream the National Football League's Thursday night games for this coming season.

McDonald's — The company's U.S. marketing chief Deborah Wahl is leaving the restaurant chain, to be replaced by former PepsiCo marketing executive Morgan Flatley. The company has also replaced its U.S. menu chief as well as the head of its U.S. digital unit.

Syngenta — The agricultural chemical maker's purchase by state-owned ChemChina has been approved by both U.S. and European regulators, subject to the sale of some businesses to avoid anti-competitive situations.

BHP Billiton — BHP declared force majeure after saying it would be unable to meet its coal export commitments in northeast Australia, which has been crippled by cyclones. It's the fourth mining company to make that declaration, one that is typically put in effect after natural disasters.

Amgen — The biotech company was downgraded to "hold" from "buy" at Jefferies, which pointed to the scarcity of potential blockbuster products in the pipeline, drug pricing pressure, and other factors.

Citigroup, Wells Fargo — Keefe Bruyette & Woods upgraded both bank stocks to "outperform" from "market perform." The firm said the return of capital to shareholders should increase Citi's overall return and put it closer to its peers, while saying uncertainty surrounding the Wells Fargo sales scandal is lessening.

Reynolds American — British American Tobacco received unconditional antitrust approval from Japanese authorities for its planned takeover of Reynolds American. Both parties continue to expect the transaction to close during the third quarter.

Plug Power — The small cap company, which provides a variety of energy solutions, struck a deal to provide Amazon with fuel cells and hydrogen technology at various fulfillment center locations.