Big Lots profit beats; Splunk soars on strong results; Fred's to close stores

Here is a look at some of the stocks the Yahoo Finance team will be watching for you today.

Big Lots (BIG) shares down in early trading. The closeout retailer reported earnings a penny better than estimates thanks to growth in sales. Revenue matched estimates, up nearly 2% from a year earlier. However, same-store sales growth of 1.7% was below analysts' expectations. The company also raised it outlook for the year.

Fred's (FRED) shares were higher in early trading. The discount retailer plans to close 60 stores that have no pharmacies and do not meet operational performance targets by the end of the year. The company also reported a wider-than-expected loss in the second quarter. However, revenue beat estimates and was up 1.9% percent from a year ago.

Splunk (SPLK) shares rose before the bell. The software and cloud services company raised its sales outlook for the year after revenue rocketed 52% in the second quarter, topping estimates as it added more customers. The company swung to a profit, with earnings coming in at $0.01 per share, analysts' were expecting a loss.

Apple (APPL) continues to create a quite a buzz. The iPhone maker finally put a date on it. September 9th. That's when Apple is having its next big event and when many people expect that long-awaited, bigger-screen iPhone 6 to be revealed.