• Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol plans to "fundamentally change" the coffee chain's strategy after the company reported weak earnings.
• The U.S. economy grew 2.8% in the third quarter, boosted by solid consumer spending.
• Microsoft and Meta reported mixed quarterly results even as both companies beat analysts' expectations on earnings.

Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:

1. A flood of reports

Stock futures were lower on Thursday as Wall Street digests a mixed week of major earnings and inflation data reports. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.55%, while S&P 500 futures lost 0.80% and Nasdaq 100 futures slid 1.0%. More tech giants, including Amazon and Apple, will report earnings on Thursday. The September personal consumption expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation indicator, is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. ET. Follow live market updates.

2. Starbucks earnings

Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol on Wednesday promised a new plan will "fundamentally change" the coffee chain's strategy after earnings again missed Wall Street expectations. Net sales for the company fell 3% to $9.07 billion as demand weakened in the U.S. and China, including a 10% drop in traffic to U.S. stores. Niccol said a key goal for Starbucks is to hand deliver a customer's drink in under four minutes. Other changes Niccol announced include getting rid of extra charges for milk alternatives and cutting back menus.

3. Slow and steady

Strong consumer spending helped push another quarter of solid yet underwhelming growth for the U.S. economy. Gross domestic product increased at a 2.8% annualized rate, below the 3.1% expected by analysts surveyed by Dow Jones and the 3.0% jump during the second quarter. Consumer spending accounted for nearly two-thirds of the total and increased by 3.7%, the strongest pace since the first quarter of 2023. A number of reports on the U.S. economy will inform the Federal Reserve this week ahead of its decision on whether to further cut interest rates on Nov. 7.

4. Tech reports vary

Microsoft and Meta reported mixed quarterly results on Wednesday even as both companies' earnings beat Wall Street expectations. Microsoft updated its guidance for fiscal second-quarter revenue to between $68.1 billion and $69.1 billion, below the $69.83 billion analysts surveyed by LSEG expected. The company's stock slipped more than 3% following the report. Meta raised its guidance but fell short on user growth and forecasted a jump in AI spending on top of already higher-than-expected numbers.

5. Fourth FTX exec sentenced

Former FTX executive Nishad Singh received no jail time but was given three years of supervised release on Wednesday for his role in one of the largest financial frauds in history. He is the fourth ex-employee of the company to be sentenced. The ex-engineering head faced a maximum sentence of 75 years, but New York Judge Lewis Kaplan said Singh's cooperation with the government was "remarkable" and found his involvement with the fraud to be far more limited than founder Sam Bankman-Fried or Caroline Ellison, former CEO of sister hedge fund Alameda Research. Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison while Ellison received two years.

— CNBC's Brian Evans, Amelia Lucas, Jeff Cox, Jordan Novet, Jonathan Vanian, MacKenzie Sigalos and Dawn Giel contributed to this report.