Gap Shares Dive on Old Navy Spinoff Doubts

Gap shares fell sharply on Friday after the surprise resignation of CEO Art Peck raised doubts about the struggling retailer’s plan to spin off its Old Navy brand.According to Retail Dive, Peck had been “a cheerleader” for the planned split of Gap into two publicly-traded companies — Old Navy and...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 8, 2019

Zillow Gets Boost From Home Sales Business

Zillow’s big shift into home sales is showing signs of paying off as its revenue nearly doubled in the third quarter.The company “Homes” segment, which includes the Zillow Offers program it launched last year, generated $384.6 million in revenue, up 55% from the second quarter, as it sold 1,211 h...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 8, 2019

A Controller Demonstrates Strategic Value

While the CFO is a vital mouthpiece in directing investment and funding operations, the finance team as a whole is becoming more of a daily strategic asset to the success and growth of an organization. Every finance team member has unique insight and skill sets that can help business managers suc...

By Jason Lin • Nov. 7, 2019

Teva Shares Rise on Revenue Beat, Guidance; New CFO Named

Teva Pharmaceuticals shares jumped on Thursday after the company reported better-than-expected sales and raised its full-year guidance.For the second quarter, Teva earned an adjusted 58 cents per share, down nearly 15% from a year ago, as revenue slipped 6% to $4.26 billion. Analysts had expected...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 7, 2019

New Top Concern for Internal Audit: Data Governance

As organizations continue to collect customer and employee data, chief audit executives (CAEs) are increasingly concerned about how to govern and protect it, according to Gartner’s latest annual Audit Plan Hot Spots Report.Data governance has risen to the top spot of CAEs’ audit concerns, up from...

By David McCann • Nov. 7, 2019

SoftBank Posts Record Loss on Startup Bets

SoftBank posted the worst quarterly loss in its 38-year history as its signature tech investment fund Vision Fund took an $8.9 billion hit from bad bets on cash-burning startups.CEO Masayoshi Son apologized for his “really bad” investment judgment and indicated a shift in strategy after SoftBank ...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 7, 2019

CVS Health Reports Q3 Earnings Beat, Raises Guidance

CVS Health reported third-quarterly earnings of $1.84 per share on Wednesday, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $1.77 by 3.95%. This is a 6.36% increase over earnings of $1.73 per share from the same period last year.The company reported quarterly sales of $64.81 billion, which beat th...

By Lauren Muskett • Nov. 6, 2019

Tapestry Hit by Continued Kate Spade Struggles

Fashion house Tapestry missed quarterly revenue estimates amid continued weakness at the Kate Spade accessories brand it acquired in 2017.Chief Executive Officer Jide Zeitlin said he would review the Kate Spade business after Tapestry reported that global same-store sales for the brand fell 16% i...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 5, 2019

Sell-Side Digests Shake Shack’s Earnings, Guidance

Shake Shack on Monday reported third-quarter results, leading to a 20% stock drop but some analysts continue to like the stock.The AnalystsWedbush analyst Nick Setyan maintains a Neutral rating on Shake Shack’s stock with a price target lowered from $84 to $75.Morgan Stanley analyst John Glass ma...

By Lauren Muskett • Nov. 5, 2019

Uber Beats Estimates But Loss Widens to $1.16B

Uber’s shares fell more than 5% in extended trading Monday after it beat quarterly earnings estimates but reported a wider year-on-year loss amid rising costs.For the third quarter, Uber’s net loss increased 18% to $1.16 billion from a year ago — down from the previous quarter’s record $5.2 billi...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 5, 2019

Sprint Loss Widens Amid Drop in Phone Subscribers

Sprint reported lower-than-expected quarterly earnings and another drop in postpaid phone subscribers on Monday as its mega-merger with T-Mobile remained in limbo.For the second quarter, the company posted a loss of 7 cents per share down from 5 cents a year earlier but worse than the Wall Street...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 4, 2019

Feds Investigate Under Armour’s Accounting Practices

Sportswear retailer Under Armour is facing investigations from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission over its accounting practices. A report in the Wall Street Journal said investigators were proving whether the company shifted sales from quarter to quarter to ...

By Lauren Muskett • Nov. 4, 2019

Metric of the Month: Cycle Time To Perform a Financial Evaluation of New Products

How long does it take your finance team to perform financial evaluations for new products? Have you thought about why it takes as long as it does and what might be causing delays in the process? Have you considered the benefits of this process happening faster? This month’s metric, the cycle time...

By Perry D. Wiggins • Nov. 4, 2019

Altria Takes $4.5 Billion Hit on Investment in Juul

Tobacco giant Altria disclosed Thursday it had written down its investment in Juul by more than a third, citing the regulatory backlash in the U.S. against vaping products.According to Reuters, the writedown “highlights the spectacular reversal in Juul’s fortunes in the last few months, with its ...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 31, 2019

U.S. Treasury Department Mulls 50-Year Bonds

Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Treasury secretary The U.S. Treasury Department said it is considering issuing ultra-long 50-year bonds, the longest ever issued by the U.S. government, as the budget deficit widens to $1 trillion.“Treasury is taking a proactive approach to prepare for prospective future fina...

By Lauren Muskett • Oct. 31, 2019

Mattel CFO to Step Down After Whistleblower Investigation

Mattel’s chief financial officer Joseph Euteneuer will leave the company following an investigation into accounting errors that were raised by a whistleblower.The company said the investigation, conducted by the board of directors’ audit committee, found income tax expense was understated by $109...

By Lauren Muskett • Oct. 30, 2019

GM Beats Estimates Despite $1B in Strike Costs

General Motors reported better-than-expected quarterly results on Tuesday but warned it would take a big earnings hit for the year from the 40-day strike at its U.S. factories.For the third quarter, GM had adjusted earnings of $1.72 per share, ahead of analysts’ estimates of $1.31 per share. The ...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 29, 2019

Grubhub Shares Tank on Reduced Q4 Outlook

Grubhub reported a 40% decline in quarterly earnings and lowered its guidance for the current quarter, reflecting slowing growth amid intense competition among food-delivery providers.Grubhub’s adjusted third-quarter earnings of $0.27 per share met analysts’ estimates but were down from $0.45 per...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 29, 2019

Spotify Shares Gain 14% on Surprise Q3 Profit

Federica Tremolada at a Spotify photocall Spotify shares jumped on Monday after the music-streaming service reported a surprise quarterly report and strong subscriber growth despite intense competition.For the third quarter, Spotify earned $0.41 per share, versus analysts’ estimates of a loss of ...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 28, 2019

Amazon Profit Dives on One-Day Shipping Costs

Amazon posted its first decline in profit in more than two years as its heavy investment in free one-day shipping for Prime members cut into margins.For the third quarter, net income fell 26% to $2.1 billion, or $4.23 per share, missing analysts’ estimates of $4.62 per share. It was the first tim...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 25, 2019

Nokia Shares Tank as 5G Costs Hit Q1 Outlook

Nokia shares had one of their worst days ever on Thursday after the Finnish telecom equipment supplier reduced its profit outlook to reflect the costs of developing 5G products.The stock fell more than 24% to $3.87 — the largest drop since 1991 — as Nokia also disclosed in its third-quarter earni...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 24, 2019

Tesla Shares Jump 20% on Surprise Q3 Profit

Tesla Motor posted a surprise quarterly profit and assured investors that it was on track to achieve “sustained, industry-leading profitability.”For the third quarter, the automaker had net income of $143 million and adjusted earnings of $1.86 per share. Analysts had expected a loss of 24 cents p...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 24, 2019

Investors Want a Clear Story on CECL. Are CFOs Ready to Tell It?

Financial and non-financial institutions alike are nearing adoption of the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s new Current Expected Credit Loss (CECL) standard, which will take effect at the beginning of the next fiscal year for most public companies.Considered to be one of the most impactful ...

By David McCann • Oct. 23, 2019

WeWork Founder Gets $1.7B Payout to Leave Company

WeWork founder Adam Neumann will get a payout up to $1.7 billion under a bailout deal that will give SoftBank 80% ownership of the beleaguered startup company.As part of the bailout, Neumann will reportedly sell $1 billion worth of WeWork stock to Softbank. Softbank will pay him a $185 million co...

By Lauren Muskett • Oct. 23, 2019

Heineken Lowers Guidance on Americas Sales Dip

Heineken shares fell on Wednesday after the world’s second-largest brewer lowered its profit guidance, reflecting an unexpected sales decline in the Americas.Heineken said operating profit before one-offs would rise by about 4% on a like-for-like basis in 2019, at the bottom of its previous forec...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 23, 2019