Family Dollar disappoints; Potbelly plummets; Lumber Liquidators tumbles

Here is a look at some of the stocks the Yahoo Finance team is watching today.

Family Dollar Stores (FDO) shares fell in the pre-market. The discount retailer reported earnings of $0.85 a share, missing analysts' estimates by $0.04 amid higher costs and intense competition. However, revenue came in slightly better than expected at $2.66 billion, up 3.3% from a year earlier. The company, which is under pressure from activist investor Carl Icahn to sell itself, said it plans to close 370 under-performing stores by the end of this year after it posted the third straight quarterly decline in same-stores sales.

Investors took a bite out of shares of Potbelly (PBPB) in early trading. The sandwich shop chain cut its earnings outlook for the year and forecast that second quarter sales will be weaker-than-expected. The company said it will test new menu options and operational tactics in the second half.

Lumber Liquidators (LL) fell before the bell. The flooring retailer cut its earnings outlook for the year. The company said that customer traffic was significantly weaker than what they expected, and the improvement in customer demand it saw beginning in mid-March didn't carry into May. June weakened further as well.

Zumiez (ZUMZ) rose in early trading after the specialty retailer raised its sales outlook for the second quarter after same-store sales rose a better-than-expected 3.1% in June.

Intel (INTC) and other chipmakers are in the spotlight today after IBM (IBM) said it would spend $3 billion over five years for semiconductor research. IBM plans to make microchips with smaller circuitry and more components that are faster and use less energy. While IBM plans to continue researching and licensing chips, the company signaled its intention to get out of the chip manufacturing business.