6 stocks to watch on Wednesday: Microsoft, Boeing, AT&T, Visa and more
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U.S. stock index futures on Wednesday pointed to a lower open, with investors likely to stay cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision later in the day. The central bank is widely expected to raise rates by 25 basis points in what is largely anticipated to be the final hike in its tightening cycle. The second quarter earnings season also remained firmly in the spotlight, with traders parsing through a host of financial reports from major companies. Here are some stocks to watch on Wednesday: 

Shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) fell nearly 3% in pre-market trading, as investors digested the tech giant's FQ4 results. Though the Satya Nadella-led firm beat expectations on both top and bottom line, the midpoint of its Q1 sales guidance range came in below estimates. Moreover, concerns over MSFT's planned spending on artificial intelligence (AI) weighed on the stock. In a bright spot, MSFT's Intelligent Cloud business, which houses the Azure unit, put in a strong quarterly performance with nearly $24B in revenue.
Visa (V) stock was in focus, after the card issuer topped FQ3 earnings per share and revenue estimates. Results were boosted by robust consumer spending and a continuing recovery in travel. V said payments volume in FQ3 rose 9% Y/Y on a constant currency basis, with cross-border volume up 17% and processed transactions gaining 10%.
Boeing (BA) stock advanced nearly 4% ahead of the opening bell, after the top planemaker and Dow 30 component reported a narrower quarterly loss. Meanwhile, Q2 revenue climbed more than 18% Y/Y to $19.75B. Boeing (BA) also said its 737 program was ramping up production to 38 planes a month, and the rate is expected to hit 50 a month by 2025-2026. BA top boss Dave Calhoun said that the company was seeing strong demand and was "steadily increasing" its production rates across key programs.
Shares of AT&T (T) got some attention in pre-market trading, after the telecom giant maintained its full year free cash flow guidance and committed to an additional $2B in cost savings. Q2 free cash flow came in at $4.2B, which was up $1B in H1 2023 compared to H1 2022. The company delivered 326K postpaid phone net additions and 251K AT&T Fiber net additions.
Coca-Cola (KO) stock garnered some spotlight ahead of market open, after the beverage giant and Dow 30 component smashed quarterly organic revenue expectations on the strength of higher prices across its product portfolio. Organic revenue was up 11% in Q2, while comparable operating margin increased to 31.6% from 30.7% a year ago. Volume was flat during the quarter, with price/mix accounting for ten percentage points of growth. The company also hiked its full year guidance.
Facebook-owner Meta Platforms (META) is on tap to announce Q2 results after the close of trading. Wall Street expects the social media giant to post earnings per share of $2.89 on revenue of $31.03B. Investors will also be closely watching for signs of recovery in its advertising business along with updates on its AI initiatives and efforts. A major chunk of META's revenue comes from its ad sales, which has faced pressure through last year. META is also seen as one of the front-runners in the AI space.

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