Location Lures

There seems to be no limit these days to what U.S. states and cities will do to lure businesses to their communities. Incentives recently dangled in front of companies include the $3 billion in tax breaks — amounting to $15,000 to $19,000 per job annually — that Wisconsin’s governor has offered F...

By Bob Violino • Nov. 6, 2017

Starbucks Misses Estimates With 2% Sales Rise

Starbucks reported another quarter of disappointing sales and lowered its profit forecast, missing analysts’ same-store sales target amid competition at both the high and low ends of the coffee market.For the fourth quarter, the coffee giant’s net income attributable to the company fell 1.6% to $...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 3, 2017

Explore the Trendline➔

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

CFO Pushes Pharma Startup to Market

For the CFO of a pharmaceutical company whose only products are in trials, the future is uncertain and the end is always near.Josh Blacher Well, almost always. Josh Blacher, finance chief at Therapix Biosciences, is waxing optimistic about prospects for the company’s synthetic cannabinoids that a...

By David McCann • Nov. 3, 2017

Osiris Executives Accused of Accounting Fraud

Biotech firm Osiris Therapeutics has agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle charges that four former top executives, including two finance chiefs, used “illegal accounting gimmicks” to artificially inflate revenue.The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said the alleged fraud reflected a cultur...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 3, 2017

DowDuPont’s First Earnings Beat Estimates

Newly-merged chemicals giant DowDuPont on Thursday reported a better-than-expected profit in its first quarterly earnings report and detailed its plan to save $3 billion in costs, including job cuts and plant consolidations.For the third quarter, DowDuPont posted $232 million, or 55 cents of per ...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 2, 2017

Under Armour Shares Dive as U.S. Sales Slump

Under Armour shares dropped sharply after the sneaker company reported lower-than-expected quarterly sales and trimmed its outlook amid lower demand in the key U.S. market.For the third quarter, Under Armour’s total revenue fell 4.5% to $1.41 billion while net profit declined to $54.2 million, or...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 1, 2017

SEC Audit Committee Rule Is Worthless: Study

With the perennial issue of regulatory reform gaining renewed impetus from the Trump administration, some new research suggests a potential target: the Securities and Exchange Commission’s mandate spelling out the basic composition of audit committees.Arthur Levitt The regulation has its roots in...

By David McCann • Nov. 1, 2017

Mastercard Profit Jumps 21% to Record $1.43B

Mastercard posted a record quarterly profit as the payments company maintained the momentum of the first half of the year amid particularly strong growth overseas.For the third quarter, Mastercard’s revenue jumped 18% to $3.4 billion while net income rose 21% to $1.43 billion, or $1.34 per share....

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 31, 2017

SEC Unfairly Seen as Scapegoat for IPO Slump

Every few years, when the IPO market takes a dip, the SEC’s disclosure requirements get blamed. But it might be time to step back and take account of all of the ways that the Congress and SEC have made it easier for young companies to access the U.S. capital markets through an initial public offe...

By Thomas Conaghan • Oct. 30, 2017

Many Factors Influence the Market for IPOs

The SEC’s focus on capital formation gives a perennial rush to commercial interests, mainly lawyers and investment banks who make lots of revenue from the IPO-underwriting business.Kurt Schact The notion is that our economic engine is turbocharged by companies’ ability to access public capital ma...

By Kurt Schacht • Oct. 30, 2017

Google Revenue Hits Record on Ad Sales Surge

Google parent Alphabet’s stock price rose above $1,000 after it reported record quarterly revenue driven by a 21% increase in revenue from its core advertising business.Revenue for the third quarter totaled $27.77 billion, with $24.1 billion, or about 87%, of that coming from Google ad sales. Alp...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 27, 2017

Strong Deal Intensity Can Backfire

Analyzing major software companies’ 10-year performance and merger and acquisition activity, EY found enormous differentiation in both returns and degree of reliance on M&A. Some companies achieved differentiated returns while doing lots of deals, while others performed well with minimal M&am...

By Dean McCauley and Joel John • Oct. 27, 2017

JC Penney Stock Dives 14% on Q3 Loss Warning

J.C. Penney shares fell sharply on Friday after the struggling retailer said its third-quarter loss would be far worse than analysts expected due to heavy discounting on its apparel lines.For the quarter ending Oct. 28, Penney is now expecting a loss of between 40 cents to 45 cents a share, well ...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 27, 2017

Durable Goods Orders Rise 2.1% in September

Orders for U.S. durable goods in September posted the biggest gain in three months, easily beating economists’ forecasts and signalling that the rebound in manufacturing remains on track.The Commerce Department on Wednesday said orders for long-lasting goods manufactured by U.S. companies rose 2....

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 26, 2017

Twitter May Be Headed for First Profit in Q4

Twitter shares jumped more than 18% on Thursday after the social media platform posted better-than-expected quarterly results and indicated it could turn its first-ever profit in the next quarter.For the third quarter, Twitter’s revenue fell 4% to $590 million but beat analysts’ estimates of $586...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 26, 2017

American Weathers Storms With Revenue Gain

American Airlines on Thursday reported a fourth straight quarterly gain in unit revenue despite thousands of hurricane-related flight cancellations but its stock dropped more than 4%, apparently reflecting investors’ concern over rising expenses.For the third quarter, American’s total revenue ros...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 26, 2017

Chipotle Sales Rise 8.8% But Stock Dips 9.5%

Chipotle Mexican Grill’s turnaround from a food-safety scandal hit a setback as the fast-food chain’s quarterly earnings and same-store sales missed analysts’ estimates.The third quarter featured Chipotle’s initial pilot and then chainwide rollout of Genuine Queso, a blend of cheddar cheese with ...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 25, 2017

Boeing Stock Drops 3% Despite Delivery Record

Boeing set a new record for commercial aircraft deliveries in the third quarter but its shares dropped more than 3% as two key businesses saw declines in revenue.The aerospace giant on Wednesday also announced a further $329 million in charges on the troubled KC-46 military tanker aircraft progra...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 25, 2017

Promotions Drive McD’s 6% Comp Sales Jump

McDonald’s reported Tuesday that same-store sales rose 6% in the third quarter as promotions and fresh foods offerings offset any effects from the recent hurricanes.The third-quarter gain followed a 6.6% jump in the previous quarter — the best in five years — and topped analysts’ expectations of ...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 24, 2017

Caterpillar’s Q3 Results Roar Past Estimates

Caterpillar shares rose nearly 5% on Tuesday after the construction and mining giant announced quarterly results that blew by analysts’ estimates amid continued strong demand for heavy equipment in North America and China.For the third quarter, Caterpillar posted revenue of $11.4 billion, up 24% ...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 24, 2017

Whirlpool Lowers Guidance, Shares Drop 6%

Whirlpool shares fell more than 6% in after-hours trading after the appliance maker reported quarterly earnings and sales below expectations and lowered its guidance for the full year.Whirlpool said Monday it earned $276 million, or $3.72 a share, in the third quarter, compared to $238 million, o...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 24, 2017

GE Broods on Cash-flow Woes

Times are tough at General Electric, and the big problem is cash.That much was evident on an extraordinary third-quarter earnings call on Friday, with outgoing GE CFO Jeffrey Bornstein saying that “the buck stops with me” and CEO John Flannery declaring, “We can, and we will, and we must improve ...

By David Katz • Oct. 23, 2017

P&G Sales Rise 1% on Grooming Weakness

A week after fending off Nelson Peltz’s bid for a board seat, Procter & Gamble (P&G) delivered another quarter of stagnant sales, possibly giving more ammunition to the activist investor.For the first quarter, P&G’s net sales rose just 1% to $16.65 billion, missing analysts’ expectati...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 23, 2017

Kimberly-Clark Misses on Sales, Profit Beats

Kimberly-Clark reported lower-than-expected quarterly sales on Tuesday amid continued weakness in the North American market but the personal care company’s cost-cutting helped drive a 3% increase in profit.For the third quarter, Kimberly-Clark’s net revenue totaled $4.64 billion, up 1% from $4.59...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 23, 2017

GE Chief Exec Calls Q3 Results ‘Unacceptable’

General Electric’s third-quarter report highlighted the challenges facing new CEO John Flannery, who called it “completely unacceptable” and indicated there are big changes ahead for the conglomerate.Excluding one-off items, GE earned 29 cents per share from continuing operations in the third qua...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 20, 2017