Private Equity CFOs Face Extra Complexities

A successful CFO acts as the gatekeeper for all financial activities (and in many cases HR, administration, and/or other functions) and serves as a conduit for the presentation of operational performance to financial reports.But, having served as finance chief for several sponsor-backed portfolio...

By David McCann • Nov. 25, 2019

Pure Storage Shares Dive on Weak Guidance

Pure Storage shares tumbled on Friday after the data center storage equipment maker offered lower-than-expected guidance, citing falling prices and “a little bit of global economic headwinds.”Pure said it expects sales of $484 million to $496 million in the fourth quarter, below the $511.3 millio...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 22, 2019

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Tax policy shifts: What CFOs need to know to stay ahead

Discover how evolving tax policies are creating new opportunities and challenges for CFOs.

By CFO.com staff

Gap Beats Estimates But Comp Sales Dip 4%

Gap reported another tough quarter while reiterating its commitment to spinning off its Old Navy brand.For the third quarter, the struggling retailer earned an adjusted 53 cents per share as revenue fell 2% to $4.00 billion. The results beat analysts’ expectations of earnings of 51 cents per shar...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 22, 2019

Macy’s Posts First Comp Sales Drop in 2 Years

Macy’s reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings but same-store sales declined for the first time in two years, reflecting weak traffic at some shopping malls.For the third quarter, the retailer’s net income fell to $2 million, or a penny a share, from $62 million, or 20 cents, a year earl...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 21, 2019

Outside Board Service Boosts Inside Accounting Quality

Few CFOs serve on boards of directors of outside companies. That probably reflects concerns about the amount of time board service entails, according to a new study, especially since a majority of finance chiefs on outside boards are members of the time-consuming audit committees.Yet the study co...

By David McCann • Nov. 20, 2019

JCPenney Loss Narrows to $93M, Shares Jump

JCPenney’s shares jumped on Friday after it reported a lower-than-expected quarterly loss, boosting investor confidence in its turnaround strategy.CEO Jill Soltau, who has been leading the turnaround effort since joining the ailing retailer last year, described the third quarter as “an exciting a...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 15, 2019

Cisco Sees Revenue Drop Amid Weak Demand

Cisco Systems shares fell more than 5% in extended trading Wednesday after the company projected its first quarterly revenue decline in more than two years amid continued weak demand.For the first quarter, Cisco earned an adjusted 84 cents per share, up from 75 cents a year ago, as revenue rose 0...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 14, 2019

DOJ Lays Out a Path to Reduced Corporate Penalties

Every year in C-suites around the world, CEOs, CFOs, and chief legal officers find themselves facing the prospect of a criminal prosecution of their company for alleged misconduct. The potential results are not only negative publicity and mandated remedial measures, but also a massive monetary pe...

By David McCann • Nov. 14, 2019

Slaughterhouse Fire Singes Tyson Beef Sales

Tyson Foods missed quarterly earnings estimates on Tuesday after a fire at a Kansas slaughterhouse delivered a hit to beef sales and pushed up its costs.Excluding items, the largest U.S. meat producer earned $1.21 per share as sales rose nearly 9% in the fourth quarter to $10.88 billion on the st...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 12, 2019

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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