Oil Prices Rise as Suppliers Hold Back

U.S. crude oil prices neared $57 per barrel Tuesday as major global producers signaled they would curb supply. It was the first time since last February that prices surpassed $50.Shale producers in the U.S. have said they would pay down debt and return money to shareholders rather than increasing...

By Lauren Muskett • Jan. 12, 2021

Bitcoin Breaches $41,000 Mark in Unfazed Rally

Bitcoin breached the $41,000 mark early Friday morning (New York time) in an unfazed rally that is seeing the world’s apex cryptocurrency hit a new all-time high every day. At last check, Bitcoin traded at $41,415.89, up 11.1% over a 24-hour period.What Happened: Among other cryptocurrencies, Eth...

By Lauren Muskett • Jan. 8, 2021

Airlines Expect Turbulent 2021

Travel data and analytics company Cirium said in a report that “the pandemic and its consequences wiped out 21 years of global passenger traffic growth in a matter of months, reducing traffic this year to levels last seen in 1999.”A press release about the report added that passenger traffic in 2...

By Vincent Ryan • Jan. 5, 2021

Google Workers Form a Union

More than 200 workers at Alphabet have formed a labor union. The Alphabet Workers Union, which includes some employees of the company’s Google unit, will be part of the Communication Workers of America and will be open to employees and third-party contractors.The “minority union” will have limite...

By Lauren Muskett • Jan. 5, 2021

2020 CFO Departures and Arrivals

CFOs this year played a critical role in navigating their companies through a global economic crisis. The increasing pressure intensified the spotlight on finance chiefs, and many CFOs left their posts over the last 12 months. Some joined new companies, others pursued new opportunities. Their pla...

By Lauren Muskett • Jan. 4, 2021

Producing Management Reports Faster: Metric of the Month

Period-end management reports are an important form of decision-making support that helps leaders gain insight into specific business areas. These reports typically include financial highlights, graphical analyses, and comments on trends or variance from expected results. They also provide a foun...

By Perry D. Wiggins • Jan. 4, 2021

China Vows Retaliation After NYSE Announces Plans to Delist Telecoms

The China Securities Regulatory Commission said the delisting of three Chinese telecoms ignored the “legitimate rights” of global investors and “severely disrupted” market order after the New York Stock Exchange said it would delist China Telecom, China Mobile, and China Unicom Hong Kong under an...

By Lauren Muskett • Jan. 4, 2021

The Most-Read CFO Stories of 2020

Which of the more than 1,100 stories we published in 2020 are worth a second read (maybe even a third)? The following 10 articles and columns fit the bill. They were the most widely read stories on CFO and are presented here in no particular order. Together, they form a portrait of a tumultuous 1...

By Vincent Ryan • Dec. 28, 2020

Five Lessons for CFOs As We Approach 2021

While many companies are still dealing with the acute impacts of the economic and social disruption of 2020, innovative companies will apply what they’ve learned to excel in 2021. Here are five ways that companies can build resilience and weather future challenges while being better positioned to...

By Vincent Ryan • Dec. 21, 2020

Google Waives $1.5B in DeepMind Startup Debt

Google continues to heavily subsidize its DeepMind artificial intelligence startup, writing off $1.5 billion in debt as losses grew.According to a filing with the U.K.’s Companies House, DeepMind’s revenue more than doubled from 103 million pounds ($140 million) in 2018 to 266 million pounds ($36...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 17, 2020

The Advantages of Switching to Long-Term Remote Work

The ability to work remotely has been a lifeline for countless companies trying to keep their operations running while the COVID-19 pandemic persists, but few business leaders could have predicted how broad and deep the adoption would be. Many major enterprises continue to have a large percentage...

By Lauren Muskett • Dec. 16, 2020

Oracle Beats Estimates on Strong Cloud Results

Oracle reported better-than-expected quarterly results as its key cloud applications businesses continued to benefit from the shift to remote work.For the second quarter, the software giant’s revenue rose nearly 2% to $9.80 billion while net income increased 5.7% to $2.44 billion. On an adjusted ...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 11, 2020

The Decision to Buy or Sell Non-Core Assets

As the coronavirus pandemic stretches on, the role of the chief financial officer has been adapting to meet organizations’ changing needs. CFOs have always worked to maximize ROI for stakeholders and ensure the immediate and long-term health of their organizations. Now their finance acumen is pro...

By Frank Williamson • Dec. 8, 2020

Kodak Loan Involved No Wrongdoing, DFC Concludes

There was no wrongdoing involved in the process of Eastman Kodak Company receiving a $765 million federal loan for its pharmaceuticals foray, the U.S. International Development Finance Corp. has reportedly concluded.What Happened: The DFC is the federal agency that originally granted the loan. As...

By Lauren Muskett • Dec. 7, 2020

Cheesecake Factory Fined Over COVID Disclosures

In the first enforcement action of its kind, the Cheesecake Factory has been charged with misleading investors about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on its business.According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the restaurant chain’s regulatory filings on March 23 and April 2 w...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 4, 2020

Snowflake Posts 119% Revenue Gain, Shares Slip

Snowflake shares fell Wednesday after the data warehouse startup posted a larger-than-expected loss in its first quarterly earnings report as a public company.For the third quarter, Snowflake’s revenue increased 119% year over year to $159.6 million while its net loss declined to $1.01 per share ...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 3, 2020

Embattled Industries: Profiles in Resilience

Aimbridge Hospitality’s worst-case scenario in its planning for “black swan” events used to be 9/11. “Nobody traveled. Our revenues went down 17% to 22% the following two years. We built plans around that scenario,” recalls Judy Hendrick, CFO of the hotel management firm whose brands include Marr...

By Lauren Muskett • Dec. 2, 2020

Alibaba, JD, Pinduoduo’s U.S. Listing Fate Hangs in Balance

The U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote on legislation on Wednesday that could force the delisting of Chinese stocks in the country if they don’t comply with audit regulations, reports the Wall Street Journal. The legislation would require a two-thirds majority for passage of the bill in...

By Lauren Muskett • Nov. 30, 2020

Unlocking Digital Value Creation

The pandemic put a spotlight on corporate digital strategy as a strategic survival tool, revealing many new strengths and weaknesses along the way. Now, we start to look past the immediate crisis response: How are corporate leaders leaning into digital to create new value in the new normal?While ...

By Vincent Ryan • Nov. 25, 2020

IBM to Buy Software Company Instana

IBM has reached an agreement to buy application performance monitoring and observability company Instana.In a statement, the U.S. tech giant said the move would help it better manage modern applications that span the hybrid cloud landscape and strengthen its AI-powered automation capabilities.Fin...

By Lauren Muskett • Nov. 18, 2020

Amazon Opens Online Pharmacy

Amazon is launching an online pharmacy business that will allow customers to order prescription medications for home delivery.The online retail giant said its Amazon Pharmacy offering will allow patients to transfer prescriptions from existing retailers or have their doctors send documents direct...

By Lauren Muskett • Nov. 17, 2020

Walmart’s E-Commerce Surge Continues in Q3

Walmart beat quarterly earnings estimates as it continued to benefit from the shift to e-commerce accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic.For the third quarter, Walmart’s online sales rose 79%, slowing from the 97% jump in the previous quarter. Comparable stores sales, including those from digita...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 17, 2020

DraftKings Beats Estimates as Pro Sports Return

DraftKings almost doubled its quarterly revenue, a larger-than-expected gain that reflected in part the resumption of major professional sports, and raised its guidance for the full year.For the third quarter, the online gaming company reported revenue of $133 million, up 98% on a year ago. On an...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 16, 2020

Disney Loses $710M, Gets Boost From Streaming

Disneyland remains closed but Walt Disney Co. gave investors something to cheer about in its latest quarter as it lost less money than expected and its new streaming service reached more than 70 million subscribers.Disney shares rose 3.3% to $139.98 in extended trading Thursday even though the co...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 13, 2020

Former Kodak Execs Sold $5.1M in Stock Options They Didn’t Own

Eastman Kodak said a series of internal errors allowed five former executives to sell about $5.1 million in stock options they didn’t own.In an earnings call on Tuesday, chief financial officer David Bullwinkle said inadequate controls had failed to prevent the “unauthorized issuance” of the comp...

By Lauren Muskett • Nov. 12, 2020