Trading Revenue Drop Hurts Goldman Profit

Goldman Sachs surprised Wall Street on Tuesday, reporting a rare earnings miss as trading revenue fell 2% to $3.36 billion.The firm’s shares dropped 4.7% to $215.59, a 4-1/2 month low, on the first-quarter report, which also showed earnings per share of $5.15 and revenue of $8.026 billion. Analys...

By Matthew Heller • April 18, 2017

Blockchain: Should CFOs Believe the Hype?

Tipped as one of the technologies set to revolutionize how business is done across a range of industries, blockchain has risen to prominence in recent years. In Gartner’s 2016 Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies, which listed blockchain as an “at the peak” technology,  the firm estimated that it...

By Jeanne Boillet • April 14, 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

The New World of the R&D Tax Credit

When it comes to the research and development (R&D) tax credit, it’s a new world out there for U.S. startups and small businesses — and their CFOs should be getting in front of this potentially game-changing opportunity, no matter when their companies file their taxes.In December 2015, Congre...

By Dean Zerbe • April 13, 2017

Citi Earnings Beat Estimates With 17% Gain

Citigroup’s first-quarter earnings topped analysts’ estimates on both the top and bottom line as the bank’s institutional business posted double-digit sales growth across almost all business lines.Citigroup reported Thursday that net income for the first quarter rose 17% year over year to $4.1 bi...

By Matthew Heller • April 13, 2017

Four Pitfalls Keeping Big Companies from Getting Bigger

Large companies are continuing to recover from the last recession, an economic tsunami that remains relevant even though it happened almost a decade ago. At the same time, “recovery” doesn’t necessarily equate to robust growth.The fact is, sustained growth has proven elusive for a majority of suc...

By David McCann • April 13, 2017

Wells Fargo Earnings Hit by Accounts Scandal

Wells Fargo on Thursday reported flat earnings and a decline in revenue amid signs that the scandal over fake accounts is continuing to hurt its business.Net income for the first quarter totaled $5.5 billion, or $1 a share, actually beating analysts’ estimates of earnings of 96 cents a share. but...

By Matthew Heller • April 13, 2017

Pier One Earnings Top Estimates But Sales Fall

Pier One reported fourth-quarter earnings Wednesday that topped analysts’ estimates while its top line benefited from a 28% increase in e-commerce sales.For the quarter ended Feb. 25, Pier One earned an adjusted 34 cents a share on sales of $528.4 million. Analysts had expected earnings of 33 cen...

By Matthew Heller • April 12, 2017

Toshiba Issues ‘Going Concern’ Warning

Hard on the heels of the bankruptcy filing of its U.S. nuclear power unit, Toshiba has warned that it may not be able to stay in business.The warning came as the ailing Japanese conglomerate released unaudited third-quarter results showing it lost 648 billion yen ($5.9 billion) and projected a 1....

By Matthew Heller • April 11, 2017

The Great Divide

All the attention on corporate income taxes at the federal level means state corporate income taxes in the United States rarely get discussed. While some states are raising taxes to address budgetary crises, others are lowering tax rates to lure businesses to operate within their borders. The res...

By CFO Editorial Staff • April 10, 2017

POTUS Primer: Kill the Tweets

Senior finance executives in the United States are concerned that President Trump’s off-the-cuff Twitter posts and public comments may affect business, specifically by causing market fluctuations and uncertainty. Finance chiefs also consider some of the president’s signature policy and tax initia...

By CFO Editorial Staff • April 6, 2017

Democrats Seek Probe of Acting SEC Chair

Democratic members of the Senate Banking Committee have asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate whether its acting chair has exceeded his authority in directing staff to review two Obama-era rules.In a letter to the SEC’s internal watchdog, the senators said Michael Piwow...

By Matthew Heller • March 30, 2017

Cargill Posts Strongest Quarter in Seven Years

Agribusiness giant Cargill posted a sharply higher quarterly profit, reflecting improved performance in sweeteners, bio-industrials, ocean shipping and chocolate.The company said adjusted operating profit for the third quarter rose 50% to $715 million, while net profit increased 42% to $459 milli...

By Matthew Heller • March 30, 2017

Bitcoin Users May Be Cheating on Taxes

An Internal Revenue Service investigation into tax evasion related to Bitcoin has found that only a tiny percentage of virtual currency owners are declaring profits or losses on Bitcoin transactions in their annual returns.As part of the investigation, the IRS is seeking a court order requiring v...

By Matthew Heller • March 28, 2017

Two CFOs Tell a Tale of Fraud at HealthSouth

The infamous $2.8 billion accounting scandal at HealthSouth, which was perpetrated from 1996 through 2002, left a trail of misery in its wake. Included in the carnage was the imprisonment of CEO Richard Scrushy and several HealthSouth CFOs, among a number of other company officials. Two of the...

By David McCann • March 27, 2017

GameStop Shares Plunge on 13% Sales Decline

GameStop shares dropped more than 13% on Friday after the video game retailer reported a sharp drop in same-store sales though its non-gaming businesses showed strong growth.GameStop has been diversifying away from its core gaming business as its core customers move away from physical video games...

By Matthew Heller • March 24, 2017

Ford’s Heavy Spending to Cut Into 2017 Profit

Ford Motor has made a surprisingly weak earnings forecast for 2017 amid an industry-wide sales decline but expects an improvement in 2018 as its investments in “emerging opportunities” start to pay off.In a regulatory filing Thursday, the automaker predicted adjusted pre-tax profit of about $9 bi...

By Matthew Heller • March 24, 2017

Accenture Shares Fall 4.5% on Earnings Misses

After rising 8% this year and hitting record levels earlier this week, Accenture shares suffered a setback as the consulting and outsourcing services provider issued lower-than-expected guidance for the full fiscal year.Accenture reported that net revenue for the second quarter rose 4.75 to $8.32...

By Matthew Heller • March 23, 2017

Why Workday Adopted New Revenue Recognition Rules Early

Given the complexity inherent in the new revenue recognition standard, it’s not surprising that only a small handful of large companies have signed up as early adopters.All public companies are required to adopt the new standard as of their first reporting period that begins after Dec. 15, 2017. ...

By David McCann • March 23, 2017

Nike Sales Just Didn’t Do It in Third Quarter

Nike shares fell more than 7% on Wednesday after the retailer reported lower-than-expected quarterly sales and indicated it is expecting a 4% decline in futures orders, a barometer of sales growth.Nike’s third-quarter revenue grew just 5% to $8.43 billion, missing analysts’ estimates of $8.47 bil...

By Matthew Heller • March 23, 2017

Lands’ End’s Loss More Than Doubles to $94M

Lands’ End’s losses more than doubled in the fourth quarter but the struggling apparel retailer’s new CEO said its fortunes could improve if it leverages its “iconic brand heritage” and e-commerce platform.For the quarter ended Jan. 27, Land’s End posted a net loss of $94.8 million, or $2.96 per ...

By Matthew Heller • March 22, 2017

Prosper’s Loss Increases to $118M in 2016

Prosper Marketplace has joined other online lenders in reporting a net loss for 2016 as the sector continues to struggle with a reduction in loan purchases by investors.Prosper’s annual loss more than quadrupled to $118.7 million from $26 million for 2015. Total revenue fell 33% to $68.3 million,...

By Matthew Heller • March 21, 2017

Pricing Strategy Hurts General Mills’ Q3 Sales

General Mills’s pricing strategy was a double-edged sword in its third quarter, helping profits beat analysts’ estimates but contributing to a seventh straight quarterly sales decline.As rivals have been slashing prices to compete for retailers’ shelves, General Mills has opted instead to limit d...

By Matthew Heller • March 21, 2017

Watch Out for Tax Hits from Global Expansion

With companies of all sizes and industries looking to expand, or expand further into international markets — and with young companies aiming to do so earlier in their lifecycles — it is vital that they are equipped to manage the resulting tax implications.Christine Ballard Top of mind for many CF...

By Christine Ballard and Roy Deaver • March 20, 2017

More Agile Budgeting is the Wave of the Future

Chances are that the budgets that were carefully crafted at the end of last year already need adjusting. With increasing pressure to improve their budgeting and planning processes, savvy finance chiefs recognize that flexibility is key. Here are five articles that focus on a more nimble FP&A ...

By CFO Editorial Staff • March 18, 2017

Oracle Beats Estimates, Cloud Revenue up 63%

Oracle reported third-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates while cloud revenue posted another big gain as the company continued its shift away from its legacy software licensing business.Oracle’s non-GAAP earnings were 69 cents a share on revenue of $9.2 billion, up from 64 cents a shar...

By Matthew Heller • March 17, 2017