First Data Decline Fuels $553M Loss for KKR

KKR & Co. swung to a first-quarter loss amid volatility in the financial markets that dragged down the value of payment processor First Data, its largest private-equity holding, by 19%.The firm on Monday reported an economic net loss of $553 million, or 65 cents a share, compared with a year-...

By Matthew Heller • April 26, 2016

Xerox’s Restructuring Costs Cut Into Profits

Xerox shares tumbled on Monday after the company reported that first-quarter profit plunged due in part to costs from its breakup into two separate entities.Xerox’s profit fell 85% to $34 million, or 3 cents per share, while revenues were $4.3 billion, down from $4.5 billion a year ago. Adjusted ...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • April 25, 2016

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

Halliburton Cuts 6,000 Jobs as Revenue Falls 17%

The oil price slump took its toll on Halliburton in the first quarter as the oilfield services cut 6,000 jobs and posted a 17% decline in revenue from the previous quarter.Announcing the layoffs on Friday, Halliburton said it took a $2.1 billion restructuring charge mainly for severance costs and...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • April 25, 2016

5 Things to Know about Owning a Small Business

Starting a business can be an intimidating venture. Fortunately, as risky as it seems, there are people who make it work — even Fortune 500 companies started somewhere! Here are a few recent CFO stories for anyone looking to take the leap-of-faith that is starting a small business, as well as tho...

By Kerry Maruna • April 25, 2016

Finance Roundup for Executives: April 25, 2016

Standout StoriesRisk at the NRA… “It’s such a significant part of what we’re doing for the future,” Emily Cummins, the risk manager of the National Rifle Association, says, enthusiastically describing the NRA’s charitable gift annuity program.The focus of the NRA “is always on training, education...

By Kerry Maruna • April 25, 2016

Microsoft Stock Falls as Cloud Growth Slows

Microsoft shares on Friday dropped 7.2%, their worst day in 15 months, as the software giant’s third-quarter earnings missed estimates and faltering growth in cloud computing spooked investors.Microsoft said its Intelligent Cloud segment, which includes its lineup of Azure public cloud services, ...

By Matthew Heller • April 22, 2016

McDonald’s Continues Double-Digit EPS Growth

The success of McDonald’s all-day breakfast menu does not appear to be a flash in the pan. On Friday, the company posted another healthy quarterly earnings report, driven again by the breakfast initiative that is part of its turnaround plan.McDonald’s first-quarter earnings rose 22% to $1.23 per ...

By Matthew Heller • April 22, 2016

VW Posts $6B Loss on Emissions Scandal Costs

Volkswagen on Friday posted a massive loss for 2015 due to charges related from its diesel emissions cheating scandal that were more than double what the automaker initially anticipated.VW said it lost 5.5 billion euros ($6.2 billion) last year, mainly due to a writedown of 16.2 billion euros ($1...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • April 22, 2016

GE’s Core Revenue Climbs 6% to $25.8B

General Electric reported Friday that revenue from its core industrial businesses grew 6% in the first quarter as the company continued its efforts to divest most of its finance arm.Core revenue rose to $25.87 billion, with GE booking a 62%  increase in revenue from renewable energy. That segment...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • April 22, 2016

Alphabet Stock Tumbles 6% on Earnings Miss

Google parent Alphabet Inc.’s first-quarter revenue and profit rose sharply, but fell short of analysts’ expectations, sending its shares tumbling in after-hours trading on Thursday.Revenues increased 17% to $20.26 billion from a year ago, while adjusted net income rose nearly 16% to $7.50 a shar...

By Matthew Heller • April 22, 2016

SecureWorks to End Long Tech IPO Drought

All eyes are on how SecureWorks’ initial public offering fares Thursday — the first tech IPO in four months — and whether other tech firms will follow suit and go public.Dell parent Denali Holding Inc. is aiming to sell 9 million shares of its cybersecurity unit SecureWorks, in an offering that w...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • April 21, 2016

GM’s Q1 Profit Beats Expectations

GM posted better-than-expected profit for the first quarter, mainly due to strong sales growth particularly in the United States and China, and “breakeven performance” in Europe.The Detroit-based automaker said on Thursday that first-quarter net income more than doubled to $2 billion, or $1.24 a ...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • April 21, 2016

Finance Roundup for Executives: April 21, 2016

Standout StoriesCFO Square-Off… Assessing a law that’s only four years old is difficult: by legislative life spans, four years is a blip. But the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 was designed to be a fast-acting measure — an economic defibrillator that would revive access to capital fo...

By Kerry Maruna • April 21, 2016

Will Reg A Offerings Flourish in the IPO Downturn?

While the JOBS Act helped spur larger, venture capital- and private equity-backed companies to consider IPOs, it has not served to revive the smaller IPO market. Perhaps the IPO market downturn will cause market participants to consider the merits of a Regulation A+ offering with an exchange list...

By Anna Pinedo • April 21, 2016

EMC Misses Q1 Estimates But Dell Deal on Track

EMC Corp. on Wednesday reported lower-than-expected results for the first quarter due to unfilled orders, but said its $67 billion deal to be acquired by Dell remained on track.The Hopkinton, Mass. firm posted a profit of $268 million, or 14 cents a share, up from $252 million, or 13 cents, a yea...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • April 20, 2016

Yahoo Says Sale of Core Assets a ‘Top Priority’

Yahoo lost $99 million, or 10 cents a share, in the first quarter, but CEO Marissa Mayer cheered investors by announcing efforts to sell its core business are making “substantial progress.”The loss compared with a profit of $21 million, or 2 cents per share, a year ago. But on an adjusted basis, ...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • April 20, 2016

Budgeting for Risk Management Unknowns

Risk managers are “comfortable dealing with the unknown,” says Gordon Adams. That’s a good thing, he adds, because they’re dealing with it all the time.Indeed, the unknown is a permanent aspect of the budgeting and planning process of corporate risk management and insurance departments, according...

By David Katz • April 20, 2016

Finance Roundup for Executives: April 20, 2016

Standout StoriesConnected cars… The shift to a “digital” economy is fundamentally changing virtually every industry. Over the next decade or so, the accelerating integration of digital technologies will make many things connected and “smarter,” capable of reporting where they are, who’s using the...

By Kerry Maruna • April 20, 2016

IBM Beats Estimates But Sales Drop Again

IBM’s first-quarter results provided more ammunition for skeptics of its reinvention strategy even though earnings and revenue beat analysts’ expectations.The company on Monday reported adjusted earnings of $2.35 per share, easily clearing estimates of $2.09, while revenue of $18.7 billion exceed...

By Matthew Heller • April 19, 2016

Metric of the Month: Audit Control Violations

There has never been more pressure on finance leaders to ensure integrity in internal auditing and controls. Boards of directors want assurance that official financial statements are squeaky clean, with every piece of data in tables and in footnotes double-checked. There’s zero tolerance for such...

By Mary C. Driscoll • April 19, 2016

A Blueprint for Better Benchmarking

CFOs are continuously tasked with ensuring that all areas of the business are running at peak performance, and technology and data are critical to benchmarking their efforts. Leveraging data to identify new opportunities as well as improving existing processes is essential to the role of the mode...

By CFO Editorial Staff • April 19, 2016

Finance Roundup for Executives: April 18, 2016

Standout StoriesBetter business for restaurants… Lower operating costs and stronger consumer demand will bolster top-line growth and operating income for the U.S. restaurant industry this year, said Moody’s Investors Service in a report released Thursday.The credit rating firm said steady economi...

By Kerry Maruna • April 18, 2016

PepsiCo’s Sales Fall for 6th Straight Quarter

PepsiCo’s sales fell for the sixth straight quarter and net profit dropped 24%, reflecting the strong dollar and last year’s deconsolidation of its Venezuelan business.PepsiCo on Monday reported revenue for the first quarter of  $11.86 billion, down 2.9& from $12.22 billion a year earlier. Ne...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • April 18, 2016

Morgan Stanley’s Profit Dives on Weak Markets

Morgan Stanley’s first-quarter income beat analysts’ expectations, but the company’s continued struggle to boost profitability weighed down shares Monday.The bank’s earnings applicable to common shareholders fell 54.4% to $1.06 billion, or 55 cents per share, from a year earlier. Analysts on aver...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • April 18, 2016

Citi’s Q1 Revenue, Earnings Beat Expectations

Citigroup on Friday reported a 27% drop in net income but earnings and revenue beat analysts’ expectations.The bank has been restructuring to focus on more profitable businesses. The decline in profits, to $3.5 billion from $4.8 billion a year earlier, came as Citi has set aside more cash to cove...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • April 15, 2016