Norwegian Cruise Line Issues ‘Going Concern’ Alert

Norwegian Cruise Lines indicated Tuesday it may not be able to stay afloat, citing the effects of the coronavirus pandemic that has shut down the global cruise industry.The smallest of the three major publicly traded cruise operators said in a regulatory filing that it has experienced “substantia...

By Matthew Heller • May 5, 2020

COVID-19 Highlights Need to Reset SEC Proposal on MD&A Disclosures

The comment period for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed rule, Management’s Discussion and Analysis, Selected Financial Data, and Supplementary Financial Information closed this week, and investors weighed in.In broad strokes, the proposal seeks to reduce the “burden” on preparers...

By Lauren Muskett • May 5, 2020

Selecting and Preparing Data for Machine Learning Projects

This article is the second in a series of articles called, “Opening the Black Box: How to Assess Machine Learning Models.” The first piece, “What Kind of Problems Can Machine Learning Solve?” was published last October. The third piece, “Understanding and Assessing Machine Learning Algorithms,” w...

By Devin Rochford and Chandu Chilakapati • May 5, 2020

Tyson Foods Shares Dive on 15% Profit Drop

Tyson Foods shares fell sharply on Monday after the company reported a 15% drop in quarterly profit due to business disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.For the second quarter, Tyson posted net income of $364 million, or $1 per share, compared to $426 million, or $1.17 per share a year ...

By Matthew Heller • May 4, 2020

Exxon Posts $610M Loss Amid Oil Price Dive

Exxon Mobil posted its first quarterly loss in decades on Friday, underscoring the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the oil industry.The company said it lost $610 million, or 14 cents per share, compared to a profit of $2.35 billion, or 55 cents per share. Revenue fell by $7.4 billion, or ne...

By Matthew Heller • May 1, 2020

Amazon’s Q1 Profit Dips on COVID Response

Coronavirus lockdowns sparked increased demand for Amazon’s services in the first quarter but profit fell more than 30% as the company spent heavily on responding to the pandemic.CEO Jeff Bezos said the crisis was “demonstrating the adaptability and durability of Amazon’s business as never before...

By Matthew Heller • May 1, 2020

What COVID-19 Has Revealed About Working Remotely

Large organizations around the world have pivoted to remote work amid the COVID-19 pandemic. And to a remarkable extent, many have continued to carry out much of their business operations. Especially compared to the macro-environment in which some industries and smaller businesses that interact d...

By Lauren Muskett • April 30, 2020

LabCorp Loses $317M as Test Demand Slumps

LabCorp swung to a quarterly loss of more than $300 million as demand for its COVID-19 tests only marginally offset a sharp decline in diagnostic testing volumes due to the pandemic.For the first quarter, the company reported a net loss of $317.2 million compared to earnings of $185.6 million a y...

By Matthew Heller • April 30, 2020

AICPA Calls for Federal Loans Backed by Accounts Receivables

The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) has called for the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve to create a federally backed short-term accounts receivable lending facility that would allow companies to deal with the cash flow shortfalls brought on by the coronavirus crisis.In an open lette...

By Lauren Muskett • April 29, 2020

HSBC Sets Aside $3B for Virus Loan Losses

HSBC, Europe’s largest bank, said Tuesday it had increased loan loss provisions by more than 400% as it anticipates “severe recession events” due to the coronavirus pandemic.The increase in HSBC’s expected credit losses (ECL) for the first quarter to $3 billion from $600 million — its highest qua...

By Matthew Heller • April 28, 2020

AmEx Takes Profit Hit, Plans Spending Cuts

American Express took a major, coronavirus-related hit to quarterly profit as the credit card giant set aside $1.7 billion to cover possible card holder delinquencies.AmEx’s net income for the first quarter fell 76% to $367 million, or 41 cents per share, from $1.55 billion, or $1.80 per share, w...

By Matthew Heller • April 24, 2020

Hershey’s Sales Weaken Due to Virus Lockdowns

Hershey Co. missed quarterly earnings estimates amid signs that coronavirus-related changes in consumer behavior are depressing sales in such categories as snacks.For the first quarter, Hershey earned $1.63 per share as net sales rose 1% to $2.04 billion. Analysts had expected earnings of $1.71 p...

By Matthew Heller • April 24, 2020

Virus Lays Bare Corporate Reporting Debate

U.S. companies faced with a later onset of the COVID-19 virus are also confronted with an earlier reporting obligation than companies in other jurisdictions who have a half-yearly, rather than quarterly, reporting obligation.While in jurisdictions outside the United States, 2019 annual accounts a...

By Vincent Ryan • April 23, 2020

AT&T Misses Q1 Estimates Amid Pay TV Woes

AT&T reported lower-than-expected quarterly results on Wednesday as continuing losses of premium TV subscribers outweighed growth in its wireless phone business.For the first quarter, the company earned an adjusted 84 cents per share as revenue fell 4% to $42.8 billion. Analysts had expected ...

By Matthew Heller • April 22, 2020

Casper Sleep Lays off 21% of Corporate Workers

Casper Sleep announced cost-cutting measures, including layoffs of 21% of its corporate workforce, as it seeks to become profitable despite the coronavirus crisis.The bed-in-a-box pioneer will also wind down its European operations as part of an effort to reduce operating costs by more than $10 m...

By Matthew Heller • April 22, 2020

Food, Glorious Food: The Quiz

It would seem painfully obvious that if a pandemic were going to force people to isolate at home, grocery stores would become essential businesses. Clearly, however, it wasn’t. As a tribute to the cashiers, stock clerks, food preparers, and order-takers keeping shopping carts filled and the natio...

By CFO Editorial Staff • April 22, 2020

Coke Warns of Q2 Hit From Virus Lockdowns

Coca-Cola is bracing for a significant hit to sales in the current quarter as coronavirus lockdowns force consumers to stay away from venues such as movie theaters, restaurants, and sports arenas that sell its products.The soda giant said Tuesday that it saw “significant changes in consumer purch...

By Matthew Heller • April 21, 2020

United Posts $2.1B Loss, Expects Worse Ahead

United Airlines said Monday it lost $2.1 billion in the first quarter and previewed what could be even worse numbers to come with the collapse in travel demand due to the coronavirus pandemic.In a regulatory filing, the company preliminarily reported what is its biggest loss since 2008 and that r...

By Matthew Heller • April 20, 2020

P&G Sales Surge 6% on Home Products Demand

Procter & Gamble reported its biggest U.S. sales gain in decades on Friday amid increased demand for household staples ranging from toilet paper to laundry detergent due to coronavirus lockdowns.P&G’s organic sales increased 10% in the U.S. in the third quarter and 6% overall, with its bu...

By Matthew Heller • April 17, 2020

Yuma Energy Files for Bankruptcy, Plans to Liquidate

Yuma Energy has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas. The company said its cash position deteriorated in the first quarter of 2020 and its cash flow from operations was no longer sufficient to cover its operating costs.It was s...

By Lauren Muskett • April 17, 2020

Goldman Profit Dives on Big Investment Losses

Goldman Sachs reported a 46% drop in first-quarter profit as losses from its investment portfolio amid the coronavirus-driven downturn overshadowed the strong performance of its trading division.The bank’s profit fell to $1.21 billion, or $3.11 a share, from $2.25 billion a year ago. Revenue of $...

By Matthew Heller • April 16, 2020

Roku Shares Surge as Lockdowns Boost Revenue

Shares in Roku jumped in after-hours trading on Monday after the streaming device maker predicted first-quarter revenue above analysts’ estimates as Americans stay home for their entertainment amid coronavirus lockdowns.Roku said that in late Q1, it “started to see the effects of large numbers of...

By Matthew Heller • April 14, 2020

SOX 404 Exemption Pushes Small Companies to Incur Debt: Study

For some years now, growing corporate debt has evoked much headshaking among financial observers, who have described it in terms ranging from “big concern” to “unexploded bomb,” and who now see its hazards greatly increased by the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.While extremely low inte...

By Vincent Ryan • April 14, 2020

CFOs Respond Rapidly to Pandemic

How much damage will the coronavirus outbreak and the accompanying economic downturn do to companies’ sales? In a special CFO Research survey, more than half (53%) of U.S. finance executives responding said they estimated a drop of between 1% and 20% in the first quarter. But about 29% of finance...

By Vincent Ryan • April 13, 2020

Ford Expects Loss But Says Cash Position Strong

Ford Motor said Monday it expects to lose $600 million in the first quarter but has enough cash to see it through at least the next six months even if it can’t produce vehicles due to the coronavirus shutdown.The automaker detailed the impact of the virus in a preliminary release of its first-qua...

By Matthew Heller • April 13, 2020