By Chris Wack and Maria Armental 
 

Among the companies with shares expected to trade actively in Wednesday's session Staples Inc. (SPLS), United Therapeutics Corp. (UTHR), and Lowe's Cos. (LOW).

 

Staples Inc. said its profit more than halved in the second quarter, as sales continued to decline and store traffic dwindled, deepening the chain's challenges as it awaits regulatory approval for its takeover of Office Depot Inc. Shares fell 1.06% to $14 in premarket trading.

 

United Therapeutics Corp. has agreed to sell a voucher meant to speed approval for rare pediatric disease treatments to AbbVie Inc. for $350 million. Shares were untraded premarket.

 

Lowe's Cos. reported weaker-than-expected profit growth in its second quarter, though the retailer logged a 4.6% increase in a key sales metric for its U.S. home-improvement stores amid sales of big-ticket items like appliances and outdoor power equipment. Shares fell 1.12% to $72.20 premarket.

 

Hormel Foods Corp. (HRL) reported stronger-than-expected earnings for the July quarter as lower overhead costs in its grocery products segment helped offset a decline in sales. Shares rose 0.83% premarket.

 

American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (AEO) reported a stronger-than-expected profit Wednesday for its latest quarter as revenue jumped 12%.

 

American International Group Inc. (AIG) on Tuesday filed documents to sell its remaining 10.7 million shares in aircraft-leasing company AerCap Holdings NV as part of its exit from aircraft leasing. The insurance company, which held a 5.4% stake in the Dutch company as of June 30, had already sold most of its AerCap shares in a secondary public offering June 9.

 

Analog Devices Inc.'s (ADI) third-quarter profit rose 20% as the chip maker reported revenue and earnings excluding items at the high end of the guidance range it provided in May. Shares rose 7.01% to $61.96 premarket.

 

DeVry Education Group Inc.'s (DV) profit fell 20% as the for-profit educator's namesake university division remained pressured by weak enrollment during the quarter ended in June.

 

La-Z-Boy Inc.'s (LZB) first-quarter profit rose as the furniture retailer recorded higher sales and improved margins.

 

Web.com Group Inc. (WWWW) said Tuesday a breach of one of its computer systems may have compromised the credit-card information of about 93,000 of its more than 3.3 million customers. The breach was discovered Thursday, it said. Shares fell 7.4% to $22.01 premarket.

 

Sam Su, the Yum Brands Inc. executive who built the company's KFC brand into the biggest foreign-restaurant chain in China, is retiring after 26 years with the company. Mr. Su will remain on the company's board. He will be succeeded by Micky Pant, who most recently headed the KFC division.

 

Write to Chris Wack at chris.wack@wsj.com or Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com

 

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 19, 2015 09:30 ET (13:30 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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