Zoom Revenue Soars on Remote Work Boom

The Zoom boom continued in the second quarter as the videoconferencing company’s revenue nearly quadrupled amid soaring demand from businesses whose employees are working from home.Zoom said revenue rose 355% to $663.5 million in the quarter ended July 31, crushing analysts’ estimates of $500.5 m...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 1, 2020

Walmart to Launch Subscription Service This Month

Walmart will be launching its long-speculated Walmart+ subscription service nationwide on Sept. 15, the company announced Monday.What Happened: Walmart was rumored to be rolling out a subscription plan earlier this year, but the idea was put on hold.The new program will cost $98 a year, or $12.95...

By Lauren Muskett • Sept. 1, 2020

Employers May Balk at Payroll Tax Holiday

President Donald Trump’s payroll tax holiday began on Tuesday but some employers may balk at offering the temporary relief to employees.Under Trump’s executive order, employees earning no more than $4,000 every two weeks are eligible for a deferral of the 6.2% tax that is deducted from their payc...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 1, 2020

Gap Blunts Covid Impact With E-Commerce Surge

Gap Inc. reported better-than-expected quarterly results as store reopenings and strong online business cushioned the retailer from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.Gap’s net sales fell 18% to $3.3 billion for the second quarter and the company swung to a net loss of $62 million, or 17 cent...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 28, 2020

Beware of the Working Capital Safety Net

Regardless of where an organization sits in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic—ranging from crisis management to growth mode to something in between—effectively managing working capital will likely continue to be paramount for finance and other leaders as long as uncertainty persists around th...

By Anthony Jackson • Aug. 28, 2020

Remote Workers, Learners Power Dell Sales

Dell Technologies shares jumped on Friday after the tech giant topped analysts’ estimates as stay-at-home workers and virtual learners fueled strong demand for laptops.As Reuters reports, “The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a rapid shift to cloud, spurring demand for products that allow organizatio...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 28, 2020

Coty Misses Estimates as Sales Plunge 62%

Coty shares fell sharply on Thursday after the cosmetics maker reported a larger than-expected quarterly loss, citing the “external shocks” of the coronavirus pandemic.For the fourth quarter, Coty’s net revenue plunged 62.8% to $560.4 million while its net loss narrowed to $722.8 million, or $1.0...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 27, 2020

Work-From-Anywhere Future Exposes Holes in Operational Strategy

By 2030, Facebook will have at least half of its 50,000 employees working from home. Twitter and Square’s employees will be allowed to work wherever they feel most creative and productive, even once offices begin to reopen. In the UK, lawmakers are considering making it mandatory for employers to...

By Vincent Ryan • Aug. 27, 2020

E-Commerce Powers Best Buy Sales Gain

Best Buy posted its biggest same-store sales gain in two years but the retailer’s shares fell on uncertainty over growth in the second half of 2020.For the second quarter, Best Buy’s comparable sales jumped 5.8%, well above analysts’ estimates of a 2.3% increase even though stores were open by ap...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 25, 2020

American Airlines to Suspend Flights to 15 U.S. Cities

American Airlines said it plans to suspend service to 15 U.S. airports, over 700 flights, in October as Congress mulls appropriating an additional $25 billion in payroll assistance to the industry.“This is the first step as American continues to evaluate its network and plans for additional sched...

By Lauren Muskett • Aug. 20, 2020

Walmart Online Sales Grow Record 97% in Q2

Walmart’s quarterly results crushed analysts’ estimates as record growth in online sales offset a decline in U.S. store traffic.According to CFO Brett Biggs, Walmart has expanded the availability of delivery and pickup time slots about 30% since February to accommodate the surge in ecommerce busi...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 18, 2020

DraftKings Loses $161M Amid Lull in Betting

DraftKings reported a larger-than-expected quarterly loss on Friday but said business is picking up as major professional sports have returned to action after pauses or delays due to the coronavirus pandemic.The online gaming company’s shares dipped 6.5% to $33.70 on news that it lost $161.4 mill...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 14, 2020

Cisco CFO to Retire

Cisco finance chief Kelly Kramer is retiring after five years in the position.CEO Chuck Robbins made the announcement on an earnings call on Wednesday, saying, “Kelly has made the decision to retire from Cisco.”Robbins said that Kramer will step down once her replacement is found and will help wi...

By Lauren Muskett • Aug. 13, 2020

Walmart Partners With Instacart for Same-Day Grocery Delivery

Walmart is running a pilot with Instacart for same-day deliveries in a few U.S. markets, CNBC reported Tuesday.The hypermarket chain will partner with Instacart in four markets in California and Oklahoma, according to CNBC.Instacart already has existing partnerships with retailers such as Aldi, T...

By Lauren Muskett • Aug. 12, 2020

General Motors’ CFO Leaves to Join Payments Company Stripe

General Motors’ chief financial officer Dhivya Suryadevara is leaving the automaker to become finance chief at online billing and payments company Stripe.Dhivya Suryadevara Suryadevara, who has served as CFO at GM since 2018, oversaw financial operations amounting to over $100 billion in annual r...

By Lauren Muskett • Aug. 11, 2020

Sysco Shares Rise Despite $618 Million Loss

Sysco shares jumped on Tuesday as the foodservice giant posted a smaller-than-expected loss amid the coronavirus headwinds that have slammed its customers in the restaurant industry.For the fourth quarter, Sysco lost $618.4 million, or $1.22 a share, compared with a profit of $535.8 million, or $...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 11, 2020

California Judge Says Lyft and Uber Drivers Are Employees

A judge in California ordered ridesharing companies Lyft and Uber to reclassify their drivers in the state as employees instead of as independent contractors.In a 34-page ruling, Judge Ethan Schulman of San Francisco Superior Court cited the companies’ “prolonged and brazen refusal” to comply wit...

By Lauren Muskett • Aug. 11, 2020

The Prospect of Higher Taxes Could Spur Rush of Year-End PE Deals

We are inside 100 days until the presidential election, and no matter one’s political affiliation there’s a lot riding for businesses and the economy on the results from November 3.For the private equity marketplace, hollowed out by the COVID-19 pandemic and the drying up of leveraged lending, th...

By Vincent Ryan • Aug. 11, 2020

Marriott Posts Big Loss, Sees Recovery Signs

Marriott International took a larger-than-expected quarterly loss due to the coronavirus pandemic but its shares rose as investors focused on signs of a recovery in global travel, particularly in China.For the second quarter, the world’s second-largest hotel chain posted a loss of $234 million, o...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 10, 2020

Zynga Rides Gaming Binge to Record Quarter

Zynga delivered a record quarter for sales and bookings as Americans sheltering at home from the coronavirus binged on video games to entertain themselves.The social gaming giant said revenue jumped 47% to a best-ever $452 million in the second quarter while bookings rose 38% to $518 million, ano...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 6, 2020

MetLife Earnings Tumble 43% to $758M in Q2

MetLife reported a sharp drop in quarterly profit, reflecting in part losses in private equity and derivative investments.For the second quarter, the insurer’s adjusted earnings fell 43% to $758 million, or 83 cents per share. Analysts had expected earnings of 91 cents per share.Net investment in...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 6, 2020

The Hidden Tax Obligations in Financial Restructuring

It is an unfortunate reality that as the economic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to be felt, companies — even those that were performing quite strongly at the start of 2020 — will face significant headwinds, if they haven’t already. Many may need to consider some sort of restruct...

By Vincent Ryan • Aug. 5, 2020

BP Halves Dividend, Posts $16.8B Loss in Q2

BP cut its dividend for the first time in a decade and reported a huge quarterly loss as the coronavirus pandemic forced it to write down the value of assets.The energy giant said its second-quarter dividend would halve to 5.25 cents a share, compared to 10.5 cents in the first quarter. It tradit...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 4, 2020

Metric of the Month: Uncollectable Balances as a Percentage of Revenue

In a chaotic business environment hampered by a global pandemic, many vendors, suppliers, and other businesses are holding “bad debt” in the form of payments owed that will never be collected from customers. When does a finance chief know his or her company is holding too much bad debt, and what ...

By Perry D. Wiggins • Aug. 4, 2020

Stay-at-Home Demand Drives Apple Growth

Apple reported sales growth across all its products, with iPads and Mac computers in particular benefiting from the shift to working and learning from home.Apple’s overall sales rose 11% in the third quarter to $59.7 billion and profits increased 12% to $11.25 billion. Earnings came in at $2.58 p...

By Matthew Heller • July 31, 2020