More Companies Met Project Objectives in 2016

For the first time in five years, more organizations are meeting project goals on time and on budget, according to new data from the Project Management Institute. Seventy percent of all projects met strategic business goals in 2016, up from just over 60% the previous year, PMI said.The Pulse of t...

By Sean Allocca • Feb. 10, 2017

Whole Foods Same-Store Sales Slide 2.4% in Q1

Whole Foods reported lower-than-expected earnings and a sixth straight quarterly decline in same-store sales as the grocer continued to struggle with competition from conventional grocery stores offering organic foods at lower prices.For the first quarter, Whole Foods earned 30 cents per share on...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 9, 2017

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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

No ‘Trump Bump’ for Twitter in 4th Quarter

Twitter shares tumbled more than 12% on Thursday after the social media platform’s fourth-quarter results suggested it is struggling to convert growing usage into revenue growth.While the number of daily Twitter users rose 11% year over year, revenue increased just 1% to $717.2 million — the slow...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 9, 2017

ComScore Gets Booted Over Delinquent Filings

Media measurement and analytics company ComScore, known for tracking website metrics, has been curiously unable to track its own financial numbers for the better part of a year.The firm was finally delisted from the Nasdaq exchange this morning after announcing it won’t meet a Feb. 23 deadline to...

By Sean Allocca • Feb. 8, 2017

GrubHub Delivers 27% Increase in Food Sales

Grubhub’s revenue jumped 38% in the fourth quarter as the food delivery service added markets and customers, though profit missed analysts’ estimates.As The Wall Street Journal reports, GrubHub, which went public in April 2014, “has grown rapidly, generating increasing profit by charging restaura...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 8, 2017

‘Fantastic Beasts’ Boosts Time Warner in Q4

Time Warner’s fourth-quarter revenue and profit beat analysts’ expectations as the media conglomerate benefited from hits such as the movie “Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them” and the HBO series “Westworld.”Time Warner on Wednesday reported that revenue rose 11% to $7.9 billion due to incre...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 8, 2017

Tyson Shares Dip on News of SEC Subpoena

Tyson Foods shares dropped more than 3% after the nation’s largest poultry processor disclosed that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had opened an investigation into its chicken-pricing practices.In a regulatory filing, Tyson said Monday it had received a subpoena from the SEC on Jan. ...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 7, 2017

Institutional Ownership Spurs Tax Avoidance: Study

If corporate tax reform is high on the national economic agenda, the time is none too soon, a new study suggests.While criticism of the current tax law most commonly targets its high statutory rate, the new research underscores another important issue: the significant disadvantage the IRS code im...

By David McCann • Feb. 7, 2017

GM Hits Record Profit But Expects Flat Growth

General Motors on Tuesday reported a sharp decline in fourth-quarter profit and predicted flat profit growth for 2017.Net income for the last quarter dropped 70.7% to $1.8 billion, reflecting in part special items and a $500 million negative foreign currency impact. Profit in the year-ago quarter...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 7, 2017

Disney’s Profit Drops 14% But Beats Estimates

Walt Disney Co. reported first-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates but its media networks segment continued to struggle, posting declines in revenue and operating income.The company earned $2.5 billion, or $1.55 per share, down 14% from the year prior figure of $1.63, but better than t...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 7, 2017

Hershey Hit by 16.6% Sales Decline in China

Hershey’s fourth-quarter revenue missed Wall Street estimates as its business in China continued to struggle, but the bottom line got a boost from low cocoa prices and cost cuts.The chocolatier reported that net sales rose 3.2% to $1.97 billion but analysts on average had expected $1.99 billion. ...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 6, 2017

Amazon Shares Dip 3% on Revenue Miss

Amazon shares dropped more than 3% on Friday as a 55% increase in fourth-quarter profit couldn’t offset lower-than-expected revenue growth.The online shopping giant posted net income was $749 million, or $1.54 a share, up from $482 million, or $1 a share, during the same period a year earlier. An...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 3, 2017

Acting SEC Chair Calls Disclosure Rule ‘Misguided’

The Republican now leading the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has called the conflict mineral disclosure rule “misguided” and directed staff to reconsider how companies should comply with it.The rule, mandated by the Dodd-Frank financial reforms, was intended to help determine whether th...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 2, 2017

Accounting Change Boosts Facebook’s Earnings

Facebook’s earnings more than doubled in the fourth quarter, reflecting the tax benefit from a change in the way companies account for stock payments to employees.The social-media giant reported that net income rose to $3.57 billion, up from $1.56 billion a year ago, while full-year 2016 earnings...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 2, 2017

Artificial Intelligence Comes to Financial Statement Audits

Can we trust Artificial Intelligence (AI) to audit financial statements?Perhaps.Artificial intelligence advocates speak of a time to come when these systems will be capable of auditing 100% of a company’s financial transactions. These visionaries foresee the day when AI will enable auditing that ...

By Bill Brennan, Mike Flynn, and Mike Baccala • Feb. 2, 2017

Shell’s Cash Flow Boosts Hopes for Strong 2017

Royal Dutch Shell posted its worst annual profit for more than a decade but better-than-expected cash flows cheered investors looking for an improved performance this year.Shell’s fourth-quarter earnings fell to $1.0 billion from $1.8 billion a year ago, while the company earned $3.5 billion for ...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 2, 2017

$2B Asset Writedown Hits Exxon’s Q4 Earnings

Exxon Mobil missed fourth-quarter earnings estimates, reflecting a $2 billion asset impairment charge to account for a decline in the value of U.S. gas assets.The company reported net income of $1.68 billion, or $0.41 per share, down from $2.8 billion, or $0.67 per share a year earlier. The FactS...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 1, 2017

How to Reduce Investment Decision Complexity

Far too many companies have bureaucratic investment procedures that evolve over time into a complex, cumbersome, conflicting, and confusing approval process. Whether it’s for the approval of a capital expenditure, acquisition, research and development program, or marketing investment, there are o...

By Gregory V. Milano • Feb. 1, 2017

Apple Posts Record Quarterly Revenue of $78B

Apple rebounded from three straight quarters of declining revenue, reporting all-time record quarterly revenue for the first quarter amid strong sales of the new iPhone 7.The company posted revenue of $78.4 billion and all-time record quarterly earnings of $3.36 per share, up from revenue of $75....

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 1, 2017

Balance-Sheet Cash Likely to Rise, Not Fall, in 2017

Are corporations going to deploy a chunk of their cash reserves this year? The Association for Financial Professionals’ Corporate Cash Indicators index seems to indicate they will.The quarterly survey of corporate treasury and finance professionals released Monday found that 30% of U.S. company r...

By Vincent Ryan • Jan. 30, 2017

Time to Prepare for Upcoming Accounting Rule Changes

Deadlines to comply with the new lease accounting and revenue recognition standards are coming up fast, and it is time to step up the compliance efforts. These two issues are expected to have a significant impact on financial reporting systems and practices. Here are five articles to help you pri...

By CFO Editorial Staff • Jan. 28, 2017

Caterpillar Beats Q4 Estimates, Lowers Outlook

Caterpillar reported better-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter but its guidance for 2017 fell below analysts’ expectations.The construction and mining equipment manufacturer earned an adjusted 83 cents a share, matching results in the year-earlier period, while revenue fell to $9.57 bi...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 27, 2017

Google’s Non-Advertising Revenue Rises 62%

Google-parent Alphabet posted lower-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter but its push to develop non-advertising revenue sources may be gaining some traction.The company earned $9.36 per share, adjusted and excluding items, on revenues of $26.06 billion. Analysts had expected earnings of...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 27, 2017

Leading U.S. Indicators Point to Continued Growth

The Conference Board’s economic index of future business conditions increased 0.5% in December, to 124.6, based on improving sentiment about the U.S. economy, according to the Conference Board.“The U.S. Leading Economic Index increased in December, suggesting the economy will continue growing at ...

By Vincent Ryan • Jan. 26, 2017

Ford Swings to $783M Loss on Special Charges

Ford Motor swung to a net loss of $783 million in the fourth quarter as special charges offset strong underlying results in markets including Europe.The charges were related to Ford’s change in its pension accounting, the cancellation of a plant in Mexico, and a safety recall. Excluding those ite...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 26, 2017