BY THE NUMBERS

U.S. stock futures pointed to a rather flat open Wednesday even as Dow stocks Coca-Cola (KO) and McDonald's (MCD) shares soared nearly 3% in the premarket each on better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenues. Coca-Cola hiked its annual outlook again. The Dow and S&P 500 on Tuesday rose modestly to record closes. The Nasdaq also inched higher, now less than 1% away from its latest record close on Sept. 7. (CNBC)

* Bitcoin drops more than 5% as ETF fever subsides a week after hitting high (CNBC)

Dow stock Boeing (BA) was also higher despite weaker quarterly results and a $183 million charge due to issues around 787 Dreamliner flaws. General Motors (GM) fell in the premarket even after strong quarterly results and guidance toward the high end of its previous guidance for the year. Ford (F) reports after the bell. (CNBC)

* Visa tops earnings expectations, boosts dividend (MarketWatch)

Dow stock Microsoft (MSFT) rose 1.5% in Wednesday's premarket, the morning after handily beating estimates on fiscal first-quarter earnings and revenue. Microsoft benefited from significant growth in its cloud computing business.

Alphabet (GOOGL) shares were under modest pressure in premarket trading. The Google parent reported late Tuesday third-quarter earnings and revenue that exceeded estimates. However, YouTube ad revenue and Google's cloud revenue were below estimates.

* Twitter rise after saying Apple privacy changes had less of an impact than expected (CNBC)
* Facebook faces FTC Probe over its internal research (WSJ)

IN THE NEWS TODAY

Shares of Robinhood (HOOD) tumbled nearly 10% in Wednesday's premarket, below their IPO price, the morning after delivering a huge revenue miss for the third quarter as cryptocurrency trading dropped off. Robinhood issued a much wider adjusted quarterly loss than expected. (CNBC)

A key Food and Drug Administration advisory committee has recommended a lower dose of Pfizer's (PFE) Covid vaccine for kids ages 5 to 11, a critical step in getting some 28 million more children in the U.S. protected against the virus as the delta variant spreads. Signoff from the full FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which could happened in days, is needed for shots to begin. (CNBC)

* Merck will share formula for its Covid pill with poor countries (NY Times)

A federal judge in Texas denied Southwest Airlines (LUV) pilots union's request to temporarily block a vaccine mandate for employees, which is a requirement under new government rules. (CNBC)

Senate Democrats on Wednesday unveiled a new billionaires' tax proposal, an entirely new entry in the tax code designed to help pay for President Joe Biden's sweeping domestic policy package and edge his party closer to an overall agreement. The billionaires' proposal, coupled with a new 15% corporate minimum tax, would provide alternative revenue sources that Biden needs to win over party holdouts. (AP)

* Corporate minimum tax proposal unveiled by key Senate Democrats (CNBC)
* Stock buybacks surge to likely record highs, but a tax from Congress poses a threat (CNBC)

Investigators plan to discuss their initial findings Wednesday in the fatal movie-set shooting in which Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun, killing a cinematographer and wounding the director. (AP)

STOCKS TO WATCH

Harley-Davidson (HOG) reported quarterly earnings of $1.05 per share, beating the 70 cent consensus estimate, with revenue topping forecasts as well. Harley said it is working to mitigate the impact of supply chain challenges, and its stock gained 2.5%.

Spotify (SPOT) reported a larger-than-expected quarterly loss, but revenue beat analyst estimates as did user growth. The stock gained 2.5% in the premarket. 

Enphase Energy (ENPH) surged 15.5% in premarket trading, after the solar company beat top and bottom line estimates in its latest quarter with revenue rising to record levels.

WATERCOOLER

Shiba inu, a dogecoin spin-off, is close to surpassing Elon Musk's favorite cryptocurrency. The digital token has surged 28% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinGecko, hitting a record high above $0.00005. It has more than doubled in price in the last week. (CNBC)