Among the companies whose shares are expected to actively trade in Wednesday's session are Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BK) and Yahoo Inc. (YHOO).

Goldman Sachs' fourth-quarter earnings slumped 58% as rocky capital markets pushed the investment bank to record its second-lowest quarterly revenue since the midst of the financial crisis. Shares still rose 1.2% to $98.80 in recent premarket trading as earnings beat Wall Street's expectations.

Bank of New York Mellon's fourth-quarter income fell 26% as the trust bank's fee revenue dropped and it posted restructuring charges, though assets under management rose. Revenue missed Street expectations as Bank of New York called the period "a challenging revenue quarter, as general uncertainty in the financial markets resulted in lower-than-normal levels of client activity." Shares fell 4.1% to $20.40 in recent premarket trading.

Yahoo said Jerry Yang, cofounder of the struggling Internet heavyweight, has resigned from its board and his other positions there. Shares rose 2.7% to $15.84 in recent premarket trading.

U.S. Bancorp's (USB) fourth-quarter earnings jumped 39% as the lender again reduced funds set aside to cover potentially risky loans and benefited from growth in lending. Shares rose 0.8% to $29 in light premarket trading.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc.'s (PNC) fourth-quarter profit slid 42% as the lender struggled with a decline in revenue and steep one-time charges, although credit costs continued to fall. Shares slipped 1.6% to $60.25 premarket.

Hess Corp. (HES) said the Hovensa LLC refinery in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, will be shut down, after the refinery's losses continued over several years. Hess said it will take a $525 million after-tax charge in its fourth quarter as a result of the shutdown, after which Hovensa will operate as an oil storage terminal. Shares rose 1.6% to $58.30 in recent premarket trading.

Cree Inc.'s (CREE) fiscal second-quarter profit fell 76% as the electronic-component maker's margins continued to slide. Shares dropped 3.8% to $22.45 in premarket trading as the company also gave a gloomy third-quarter profit target that missed analysts' estimates.

Linear Technology Corp.'s (LLTC) fiscal second-quarter earnings fell 39% as the chip maker reported weaker revenue and margins. Shares still rose 10% to $32.89 in light premarket trading as the company's adjusted earnings beat analyst expectations and as the company issued upbeat guidance for the third quarter.

Majesco Entertainment Co.'s (COOL) fourth-quarter loss widened as an impairment charge weighed on the videogame provider's bottom-line results, though revenue increased. Shares fell 27% to $2.18 in premarket trading as the company's results missed analyst expectations and as it issued a downbeat forecast for 2012.

Drug maker XOMA Corp. (XOMA) said Tuesday it acquired the U.S. rights to market blood-pressure treatment franchise from the French pharmaceutical company that is also its partner on XOMA's lead drug candidate. Shares in the biotechnology company were up 1.2% at $1.70 in recent premarket trading. The stock has been losing value lately, hitting an all-time low last month.

 
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Adtran Inc.'s (ADTN) fourth-quarter earnings fell 13% as continued improvement in its broadband access segment was masked by weaker margins, acquisition-related costs and higher research and development expenses.

American Water Works Co. (AWK) projected 2012 earnings in line with analysts' expectations as the company neared its second full year of profits.

Chevron Corp. (CVX) said Tuesday a rig that was drilling a natural-gas well off of Nigeria continues to burn and that it is still searching for two missing contractors.

E.W. Scripps Co. (SSP) said it expects its television revenue to increase by more than 50% in 2012, helped by gains from its recently acquired stations. The owner of local newspapers and television stations said it expects more than $100 million of revenue from the nine-station broadcasting group it acquired from McGraw-Hill Co. (MHP) at the end of December. Newspaper revenue is expected to fall slightly to approximately $400 million, the company said.

Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) has named Bill Veghte as its new chief strategy officer. The company said that in addition to helping drive the company's strategy, Veghte will lead the company's cloud and webOS open source initiatives. Veghte also will continue in his current role as executive vice president of HP Software.

MeadWestvaco Corp. (MWV) expects its fourth-quarter results to be hurt by weaker-than-expected demand in some of its U.S. and European packaging markets. The company, which is in the process of selling its consumer-and-office products business, said the weaker demand resulted in lower volumes and production rates during the quarter.

Mercury Computer Systems Inc. (MRCY) poached the financial chief of SeaChange International Inc. (SEAC) to succeed its own retiring chief financial officer.

Northern Trust Corp.'s (NTRS) fourth-quarter earnings fell 17% on restructuring and integration-related charges, though the trust-and-custody bank's revenue improved with a boost from acquisitions. Results missed expectations.

PartnerRe Ltd. (PRE) said it expects to post an operating loss for the fourth quarter as it records a charge of roughly $120 million related to flooding in Thailand late last year.

Rex Energy Corp.'s (REXX) proved reserves soared by 82% in 2011, mostly owing to growth in natural-gas drilling in Pennsylvania. The oil and gas company said that its fourth-quarter consolidated net production more than doubled from a year earlier, reaching the high end of expectations.

State Street Corp. (STT), one of the country's largest trust banks, saw its fourth-quarter earnings more than quadruple from a prior-year period weighed down by charges, though revenue from fees weakened.

-Edited by Ian Thomson and Maya Pope-Chappell; write to ian.thomson@dowjones.com and maya.pope-chappell@dowjones.com

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