Check out the companies making headlines before the bell: Cheesecake Factory — Shares gained more than 3% after activist investor JCP Investment Management built a stake in the company and asked it to consider spinning off three of its brands into a separate company. General Motors — Shares were down slightly even after the automaker reported third-quarter results that beat analysts’ expectations. The company earned an adjusted $2.96 per share on revenue of $48.76 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG expected a profit of $2.43 per share on revenue of $44.59 billion. GM also raised its full-year outlook. SAP — U.S.-listed shares of the enterprise software provider gained more than 3% after the company posted a third-quarter earnings and revenue beat. SAP also increased its full-year cloud and software revenue guidance. GE Aerospace — The defense company fell nearly 5% after missing on revenue in the third quarter. GE Aerospace reported adjusted revenue of $8.94 billion, while analysts had estimated $9.02 billion, according to LSEG. Adjusted earnings per share of $1.15 beat consensus forecasts by just 1 cent. Deckers Outdoor — The footwear and apparel maker’s stock shed 2.9% following a downgrade at BTIG to neutral from buy. The firm said signs of moderating growth put shares at risk. First Solar — Shares advanced 1.8% on the back of Citi’s upgrade to buy from neutral. Citi said First Solar should benefit regardless of who wins the U.S. presidential election next month. AppLovin — The application technology stock was up 1% after Loop Capital initiated coverage of the stock with a buy rating. Analyst Rob Sanderson said the company provided “indispensable infrastructure for the mobile gaming industry” and could be a key play for investors wanting exposure to big data and artificial intelligence. 3M — Shares of the industrial company rallied 5% after 3M posted third-quarter earnings of $1.98 per share on revenue of $6.07 billion. Analysts had expected earnings per share of $1.90 on $6.06 billion in revenue, according to LSEG. Zions Bancorporation — Shares of the Utah-based regional bank rose more than 2% after a stronger-than-expected quarterly report. Zions generated $1.37 in earnings per share on $792 million of revenue. Analysts surveyed by LSEG were looking for $1.17 in earnings per share on $779 million of revenue. Zions’ net interest margin rose year over year. Nucor — Shares of the steel production firm slipped nearly 3% after Nucor said it expects its GAAP earnings per share for the current period to decline versus the previous quarter. Despite this, the company posted a third-quarter adjusted earnings and revenue beat. Danaher — Shares rose 1.8% after the life sciences and diagnostics company posted third-quarter results that beat expectations. Danaher attributed the strong numbers to “positive momentum” in its bioprocessing business. Sherwin-Williams — The paint manufacturer dipped 6.5% after posting disappointing third-quarter results. Sherwin-Williams reported adjusted earnings of $3.37 per share, lower than a StreetAccount estimate of $3.55 per share. Its $6.16 billion in revenue also came below the $6.20 billion Wall Street estimate. — CNBC’s Sean Conlon, Michelle Fox, Alex Harring, Fred Imbert, Hakyung Kim, Sarah Min and Jesse Pound contributed reporting.