ReportWire

Tag: Retail

  • Bed Bath & Beyond’s Equity Plan, and Why Investors Were Interested

    Bed Bath & Beyond’s Equity Plan, and Why Investors Were Interested



    Bed Bath & Beyond


    ‘s move to raise equity has depressed its stock and lifted its bonds as investors try to understand the terms of a dilutive and very complex offering.

     The troubled retailer, which had said it faced the prospect of bankruptcy if it can’t raise $1.025 billion in the equity offering, said late Tuesday that it completed the deal. That brought in initial gross proceeds of approximately $225 million, while management expects to receive an additional $800 million in future installments, if certain conditions are met.  

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  • U.S. Polo Assn. Supports Collegiate Polo Teams for the 2023 Polo Season

    U.S. Polo Assn. Supports Collegiate Polo Teams for the 2023 Polo Season

    Global, Sport-Inspired Lifestyle Brand Reaches Five Years of Collegiate Partnership Program

    Press Release
    –

    Feb 7, 2023


    WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., February 7, 2023 (Newswire.com)
    –
    U.S. Polo Assn., the official brand of the United States Polo Association (USPA), will outfit competitive collegiate polo players for the fifth consecutive year through its nationwide Collegiate Partnership Program (CPP) for the 2023 Collegiate Polo Season. 

    A total of 29 colleges have signed up to participate in U.S. Polo Assn.’s annual CPP, representing 47 collegiate teams with 28 women’s and 19 men’s teams. Enrollment for the sports enrichment program is open to all colleges and universities with a USPA-sanctioned polo team and lasts for one academic year. Teams in the program range from East Coast to West Coast and include small private and large public institutions, as well as Ivy Leagues and Historically Black Colleges or Universities (HBCUs). New schools joining the program this year include Grossmont College and Middle Tennessee State University. 

    Participating Schools Include:

    Cal Poly State University  Oregon State University University of California Davis University of South Carolina Aiken
    Colorado State University Skidmore College University of California Santa Barbara University of Virginia
    Grossmont College St. Edwards University University of Colorado University of Wisconsin- Madison
    Michigan State University Stanford University University of Idaho Virginia Tech University
    Middle Tennessee State University Texas A&M University University of Kentucky Yale University
    Montana State University Texas Christian University University of Massachusetts  
    Morehouse College Texas Tech University University of Michigan
         		  
    Oklahoma State University Trinity University University of North Texas  

    Through this program, U.S. Polo Assn. will provide student-athletes with complete game attire that includes customized performance team jerseys, white performance pants, polo shirts, caps and equipment gear bags. A monetary donation is also given to the teams, which can be used for travel or other expenses. 

    For the first time, a USPA Pro item will be donated to all student-athletes. The USPA Pro performance products are designed in collaboration with professional polo players. There will also be a “Collegiate Social Media Contest” where teams will have the opportunity to win additional prizes for their creative social media posts.

    Sanctioned by the USPA, collegiate polo teams compete in the Fall and Spring with the official season beginning September 2022 and running through April 2023. This season will conclude with the National Intercollegiate Championship (NIC) hosted at the Virginia Polo Center in Charlottesville, VA, from April 10-15, 2023. The Men’s and Women’s NIC Finals will air on ESPNU on April 15, 2023. Check your local listings for game times.

    “U.S. Polo Assn. is proud to continue our support of student-athletes across the country through our Collegiate Partnership Program because these athletes are the future of the game,” said J. Michael Prince, President and CEO of USPA Global Licensing, which manages the global, multi-billion-dollar U.S. Polo Assn. brand. “As the official brand of the United States Polo Association (USPA), we want to continue growing and building our authentic connection to the sport of polo, and the Collegiate Partnership Program, now in its fifth year, is one of our most rewarding programs.” 

    An exciting new addition for student-athletes this season was the implementation of the College Polo Tour. This exchange program between America and Argentina supported 21 collegiate polo players on a seven-day trip to Argentina for the opportunity to compete in both grass polo and arena polo, tour the renowned Ellerstina Polo Club, attend one of the heart-stopping Argentine Polo Open Semi-Finals and more. Players from Yale University, Harvard University, Cornell University, and Georgetown University, alongside other Argentinean polo players, had the opportunity to experience this program in November 2022.

    “We are excited to continue our partnership with U.S. Polo Assn. and all of the amazing opportunities available to our student-athletes,” said Liz Brayboy, Chair of the USPA’s Intercollegiate/Interscholastic Committee. “We look forward to an exciting 2022/2023 Collegiate Polo Season and are grateful to have the support of the official brand of the United States Polo Association for these important polo programs across the United States.”

    About U.S. Polo Assn. 

    U.S. Polo Assn. is the official brand of the United States Polo Association (USPA), the non-profit governing body for the sport of polo in the United States and one of the oldest sports governing bodies, having been founded in 1890. With a multi-billion-dollar global footprint and worldwide distribution through some 1,100 U.S. Polo Assn. retail stores and thousands of department stores as well as sporting goods channels, independent retailers and e-commerce, U.S. Polo Assn. offers apparel for men, women, and children, as well as accessories and footwear in more than 190 countries worldwide. U.S. Polo Assn. was named in the top five sports licensors in 2022, according to License Global. Visit uspoloassnglobal.com and follow @uspoloassn.

    About the United States Polo Association® (USPA)

    The United States Polo Association was organized and exists for the purposes of promoting the game of polo, coordinating the activities of its Member Clubs and Registered Players, arranging and supervising polo tournaments, competitions and games, and providing rules, handicaps, and conditions for those tournaments, competitions, and games including the safety and welfare of participants and mounts. Founded in 1890, the USPA is the national governing body for the sport of polo. The USPA is currently comprised of almost 200 member clubs with thousands of individual members and oversees 40 national tournaments. For more information, please visit uspolo.org.

    Source: USPA Global Licensing Inc.

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  • Big Tech just added to a shrinking forecast, but maybe Bob Iger can brighten the mood

    Big Tech just added to a shrinking forecast, but maybe Bob Iger can brighten the mood

    Wall Street’s expectations for 2023 have been diving as forecasts for the new year come in light, and the news could get worse once they factor in disappointing results from Big Tech. But at least Bob Iger is coming back for a sequel.

    Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple all disappointed with holiday earnings this week. Their forecasts ranged from nonexistent to piecemeal to meh, and the fallout will only add to the biggest dive in Wall Street’s expectations through the beginning of a year since 2016.

    Analysts’ average forecast for 2023 earnings from the S&P 500 index
    SPX,
    -1.04%
    dropped by 2.5% in January, according to FactSet Senior Earnings Analyst John Butters, the worst in seven years. Those projections began heading lower last year, and the decline is only steepening — analysts are now projecting 3% earnings growth in 2023, and that is contingent on a big holiday rebound from the results being released this quarter.


    Uncredited

    The news was even worse for the first quarter, for which projections declined 3.3% in January as companies whiffed on their forecasts at a rapid pace: 86% of the 43 companies that have guided for first-quarter earnings have missed projections, Butters reported. Earnings are now expected to decline 4.2%, which would be the first year-over-year earnings decline since the third quarter of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic write-offs started to come in.

    Big Tech only added to the downward trajectory in recent days. Amazon.com Inc.
    AMZN,
    -8.43%
    missed on its holiday earnings as well as its forecast for the first quarter, and that company could determine if S&P 500 profits rise in 2023 all on its own. Amazon’s worst holiday earnings since 2014 could also contribute to the consumer discretionary sector’s first earnings decline since the beginning of the pandemic, with holiday sector earnings now expected to drop more than 5%.

    Google parent Alphabet Inc.
    GOOGL,
    -2.75%
    GOOG,
    -3.29%
    and Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc.
    META,
    -1.19%
    also missed their respective earnings targets amid problems with the digital-advertising industry, leading to the communications-services sector having the worst earnings season in the S&P 500. Profit has declined 25.2% in that sector so far, the worst among the 11 S&P 500 sectors, but would be down just 6.5% without the effects of Meta and Alphabet, Butters reported.

    Apple Inc.
    AAPL,
    +2.44%
    also didn’t do projections any favors, reporting its biggest sales decrease since 2016 and an earnings miss Thursday afternoon. In a piecemeal forecast, executives projected a similar sales decline in the calendar first quarter, though unofficially.

    This week in earnings

    After the busiest week in earnings season wrapped up, don’t expect much of a breather — 95 S&P 500 companies are expected to report in the week ahead, the third consecutive week with at least 90 companies reporting. There will be plenty of intrigue among companies not in the S&P 500 too, including Robinhood Markets Inc.
    HOOD,
    -3.59%
    and Affirm Holdings Inc.
    AFRM,
    -14.14%
    reporting together on Wednesday afternoon.

    Only one Dow Jones Industrial Average
    DJIA,
    -0.38%
    stock will report, but that is the Wednesday call you will want to tune in for: Bob Iger’s return to the Walt Disney Co.
    DIS,
    -2.21%
    earnings show.

    The calls to put on your calendar
    The numbers to watch

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  • Adani Offshore Investor Has Links to Adani Family

    Adani Offshore Investor Has Links to Adani Family

    A short seller’s allegations of fraud by Gautam Adani’s conglomerate center on whether his family wielded influence over Mauritius-based investors

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  • Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Ford, Nordstrom, and More Stock Market Movers

    Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Ford, Nordstrom, and More Stock Market Movers

    This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers visit http://www.djreprints.com.

    https://www.barrons.com/articles/stock-market-movers-apple-amazon-google-ford-51675354870

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  • Amazon stock falls as least profitable holiday quarter since 2014 leads to its worst annual loss on record

    Amazon stock falls as least profitable holiday quarter since 2014 leads to its worst annual loss on record

    Amazon.com Inc. reported its least profitable holiday quarter since 2014 on Thursday, leading to the biggest annual loss on record for the e-commerce giant, which also disappointed Wall Street with its forecast amid concerns about cloud growth.

    Amazon
    AMZN,
    +7.38%
    reported a holiday profit of $278 million, or 3 cents a share, down from $1.39 a share a year ago. Revenue increased to $149.2 billion from $137.41 billion a year ago. Analysts on average were expecting earnings of 17 cents a share on sales of $145.71 billion, according to FactSet.

    Shares fell 5% in after-hours trading following the release of the results, after closing with a 7.4% increase at $112.91.

    “In the short term, we face an uncertain economy, but we remain quite optimistic about the long-term opportunities for Amazon,” Chief Executive Andy Jassy said in a statement.

    Amazon was expected to post a loss for the whole year for the first time since 2014, but worse-than-expected holiday earnings actually led Amazon to the company’s worst annual loss on record. For the year, Amazon produced a net loss of $2.7 billion and revenue of $513.98 billion, up from $469.82 billion a year ago and the company’s first annual sales total to surpass a half-billion dollars. Amazon had never lost more than $1.4 billion in a single year since going public in 1997, according to FactSet records.

    Amazon’s fourth-quarter profit was hindered again by the decline of Rivian Automotive Inc.
    RIVN,
    +5.94%
    stock, which cost Amazon $2.3 billion in net income in the quarter. In addition, Amazon recognized many of the costs of its recently announced layoffs and other cost cuts in fourth-quarter results as well — a $2.7 billion impairment charge included $640 million in severance charges related to layoffs and $720 million related to closures and impairment of physical stores, Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky said in a call with reporters.

    Without those charges, Amazon would have exceeded expectations, and recognizing them in 2022 leaves a cleaner sheet for this year, when Amazon’s ability to return to strong profitability will be the focus of Wall Street. The end result will likely rest on Amazon Web Services, or AWS, the cloud-computing offering that has supplied the bulk of Amazon’s profit in recent years, including 2022. Last year, AWS had operating profit of $22.84 billion, while the rest of the business produced an operating loss of $10.59 billion.

    But cloud-computing growth has slowed, as Microsoft Corp.
    MSFT,
    +4.69%
    displayed in its results and forecast last week, and Olsavsky confirmed the slowdown Thursday after AWS results missed expectations and suggested revenue growth had slowed to mid-teens and could stay there.

    “Starting back in the middle of the third quarter of 2022, we saw our year-over-year growth rates slow as enterprises of all sizes evaluated ways to optimize their cloud spending in response to the tough macroeconomic conditions,” he said in a conference call with analysts. “As expected, these optimization efforts continued into the fourth quarter.”

    Olsavsky told reporters he expected “slower growth rates for the next few quarters” for AWS, and later disclosed to analysts that revenue growth was in the mid-teens in the first month of this year. He noted that AWS revenue growth rates had been hit by customers looking to cut their cloud spending, and “we expect these optimization efforts will continue to be a headwind to AWS growth in at least the next couple of quarters.”

    Opinion: The cloud boom has hit its stormiest moment yet, and it is costing investors billions

    Making his first appearance on an earnings call since being named CEO two years ago, Jassy — who led AWS before being promoted to replace Jeff Bezos as CEO — said “if it’s good for our customers to find a way to be more cost effective in an uncertain economy, our team is going to spend a lot of cycles doing that.”

    “We’re the only ones that really break out our cloud numbers in a more specific way, so it’s always a little bit hard to answer your question about what we see,” Jassy said to an analyst asking about the larger cloud industry, while referencing rival Microsoft’s refusal to provide full financial information about Azure. “But to our best estimations, when we look at the absolute dollar growth year over year, we still have significantly more absolute dollar growth than anybody else we see in this space.”

    In the fourth quarter, AWS produced operating income of $5.21 billion on revenue of $21.38 billion, with sales growing more than 20% and operating income declining slightly. Analysts on average were expecting profit of $5.73 billion on sales of $21.85 billion, according to FactSet.

    Any slowdown in AWS would hit Amazon’s bottom line as well as its overall top line, and executives’ forecast for the first quarter shows less optimism than Wall Street expected. Amazon’s guidance calls for operating profit of break-even to $4 billion and revenue of $121 billion to $126 billion, while FactSet recorded an average analyst forecast of $4.04 billion in operating profit on sales of $125.09 billion.

    Amazon’s e-commerce business has struggled for growth amid the worst inflation in decades, with Olsavsky saying in a call with reporters that Amazon “saw customers spend less on discretionary items… [while] continuing to spend on everyday essentials.” Amazon recently announced it would start charging for grocery delivery for Prime members, which could increase revenue from sales of fresh food.

    For more: Amazon Fresh to start charging Prime customers up to $10 for grocery deliveries

    Amazon’s domestic e-commerce business posted an operating loss of $240 million on sales of $93.36 billion, after a $206 million loss on sales of $82.36 billion in the holiday quarter of 2021. Olsavsky said cuts in the company’s physical stores and device businesses would improve operating margins in North America.

    Amazon’s international efforts struggled more, with a sales decline and increasing losses, as Olsavsky said the U.K. and other parts of Europe showed slowdowns. Amazon reported an operating loss of $2.23 billion on revenue of $34.46 billion overseas, after a loss of $1.63 billion on sales of $37.27 billion a year ago.

    One bright spot in Amazon’s report was a record quarter for its advertising business, which has grown fast in recent years in a challenge to Alphabet Inc.’s
    GOOGL,
    +7.28%
    GOOG,
    +7.27%
    Google and other online ad giants. Ads brought in $11.56 billion in the holiday quarter, growing nearly 19% from $9.71 billion a year ago and beating the analysts’ consensus.

    Amazon stock has fallen more than 25% over the past 12 months, but has experienced a rebound so far in 2023, gaining more than 33% year to date. The S&P 500 index
    SPX,
    +1.47%
    has declined 10.2% in the past year while gaining 7.3% since the calendar flipped to 2023.

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  • Bed Bath & Beyond misses more than $28 million in interest payments on bonds: report

    Bed Bath & Beyond misses more than $28 million in interest payments on bonds: report

    Beleaguered retailer Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. has missed interest payments on its bonds, the Wall Street Journal reported late Wednesday, as the possibility of bankruptcy looms over the company.

    Bed Bath & Beyond
    BBBY,

    confirmed to the Journal that it missed more than $28 million in payments for three tranches of notes totaling about $1.2 billion that were due Wednesday.

    On Friday, the company said it was in default on loans that had been called in, and early last month warned that it may need to declare bankruptcy as it had “substantial doubt” about its “ability to continue as a going concern.” 

    The Journal has previously reported that Bed Bath & Beyond is expected to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection soon, and has been making preparations for weeks.

    On Monday, the company said it was closing more than 140 additional stores.

    Bed Bath & Beyond stock slid about 2% in after-hours trading Wednesday after the Journal’s report was published. Its shares have tumbled 13% over the past five trading days and are down 83% over the past 12 months.

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  • Amazon gets 3 more warehouse-safety citations as OSHA warns company to ‘take these injuries seriously’

    Amazon gets 3 more warehouse-safety citations as OSHA warns company to ‘take these injuries seriously’

    The federal government on Wednesday hit Amazon.com Inc. with worker-safety related citations and penalties at three more warehouses, two weeks after issuing citations at the company’s warehouses in three different states.

    The latest citations are the result of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s investigation of Amazon
    AMZN,
    +1.96%
    warehouses stemming from referrals from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. At all six locations, OSHA investigators cited the company for exposing warehouse workers to a high risk of low back injuries and other musculoskeletal disorders and asked for a multitude of changes and corrections.

    “Amazon’s operating methods are creating hazardous work conditions and processes, leading to serious worker injuries,” said OSHA Assistant Secretary Doug Parker in a statement Wednesday. “They need to take these injuries seriously and implement a company-wide strategy to protect their employees from these well-known and preventable hazards.”

    See: Amazon cited for warehouse working conditions ‘designed for speed but not safety’

    The newest citations come from investigations into Amazon warehouses in Aurora, Colo.; Nampa, Idaho; and Castleton, N.Y. At all three sites, OSHA inspectors concluded that workers are suffering from musculoskeletal injuries “as a result of lifting heavy items while attempting to meet pace of work and production quotas,” according to each of the hazard letters that were sent to those warehouses’ operations managers. Those concerns were similar to those raised by OSHA at the three other Amazon warehouses in Florida, Illinois and a different warehouse in New York a couple of weeks ago.

    In Aurora and Nampa, inspectors also found evidence that injuries may not have been reported because Amazon’s on-site first-aid clinic “was not staffed appropriately.” In Castleton, staffers at the company’s on-site clinic, known as AmCare, “question whether workers are actually injured, pressure injured workers to work through their injuries, and steer injured workers to Amazon-preferred doctors,” Rita Young, OSHA area director, wrote in the hazard letter.

    The penalties associated with the citations at the three sites total $46,875. OSHA also asked Amazon to detail the changes it makes in response, and said the company’s response will determine whether more evaluation is needed. In addition, the agency’s inspectors may do follow-up visits within the next six months.

    Just like with the first three citations, Amazon intends to appeal.

    “We take the safety and health of our employees very seriously, and we don’t believe the government’s allegations reflect the reality of safety at our sites,” Amazon spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said in an emailed statement.

    A company spokeswoman also referred to several safety-related efforts by the company, including its partnership with the National Safety Council; equipment that’s supposed to help reduce the need for twisting, bending and reaching; and “process improvements” designed by Amazon’s robotics team.

    In anticipation of Wednesday’s OSHA citations, a group of worker advocates held a virtual news conference Tuesday. Among the panelists was Debbie Berkowitz, a former chief of staff at OSHA and now a fellow at the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor at Georgetown University.

    “I want to make it clear to everybody that these OSHA citations are incredibly historic and significant,” Berkowitz said. “Don’t get thrown by the low amount of penalties,” she added, saying the Occupational Safety and Health Act is a “weak law.”

    She went on to say that “OSHA really grounded their investigations using doctors, experts, and what to do to mitigate the hazards… They show that Amazon needs to take action.”

    Also present on the news conference was Amazon warehouse worker Jennifer Crane, from St. Peters, Mo.

    “I’m glad to see OSHA investigate the safety crisis at Amazon,” she said. “The company blames us for getting injured. They push us to work at unrealistic speeds.”

    Also: As Amazon shareholders call for audit of warehouse working conditions, report finds more than double the rate of injuries than at other warehouses

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  • These 20 stocks led the January rally

    These 20 stocks led the January rally

    The initial version of this story had incorrect price changes for 2023. It is now updated with information as of the market close on Jan. 31.

    Investors staged a January rally, with solid gains for the S&P 500 and an even better showing for technology stocks that led the dismal downward action in 2022.

    This…

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  • Biden to end U.S. COVID emergencies on May 11, but more than 500 people are still dying every day

    Biden to end U.S. COVID emergencies on May 11, but more than 500 people are still dying every day

    President Joe Biden will end the twin national emergencies for addressing COVID-19 on May 11, as most of the world gets closer to normalcy nearly three years after the emergencies were first declared, the Associated Press reported. 

    The move would formally overturn the federal response to the virus and change it to one where COVID is treated as an endemic threat to public health, much like the flu, which returns seasonally but can be managed without major disruption to the healthcare system.

    The…

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  • Tesla, GM, Lucid, Alibaba, and More Stock Market Movers

    Tesla, GM, Lucid, Alibaba, and More Stock Market Movers

    This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers visit http://www.djreprints.com.

    https://www.barrons.com/articles/stock-market-movers-tesla-alibaba-gm-lucid-51674835133

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  • Could Big Tech layoffs keep growing? Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google may give hints in biggest week of earnings.

    Could Big Tech layoffs keep growing? Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google may give hints in biggest week of earnings.

    In the biggest week of the holiday-earnings season, Big Tech results will receive the spotlight amid thousands of layoffs that could only be the beginning.

    After tech stocks were decimated in 2022, investors will be looking for signs of a turnaround in holiday reports and potential forecasts for the year ahead from three of 2022’s top five market-value losers: Amazon.com Inc.
    AMZN,
    -0.66%    ,
    Apple Inc.
    AAPL,
    -0.63%
    and Meta Platforms Inc.
    META,
    -0.60%    .
    The other two stocks on that list — Microsoft Corp.
    MSFT,
    -1.38%
    and Tesla Inc.
    TSLA,
    -0.15%
    — reported last week, and Microsoft’s results in the wake of a mass-layoffs announcement did not bode well for its Big Tech brethren.

    See also: Microsoft could be the cloud sector’s ‘canary in the coal mine’

    Those companies — along with Google parent Alphabet Inc.
    GOOGL,
    -1.32%
    GOOG,
    -1.49%
    — will deliver results after finding themselves in unfamiliar territory: A backdrop of layoffs amid slowing demand for core products like digital ads, electronics and e-commerce, after a two-year pandemic surge and a two-decade-plus honeymoon with investors. Some analysts say the bottom hasn’t arrived, for either their finances or their workforces.

    The one Big Tech company that hasn’t taken a sword to its payroll is Apple, which also increased its staff the least among the group during the COVID-19 pandemic. Apple shed $846 billion from its market cap last year, and now reports after its core product was part of the smartphone industry’s worst year since 2013 and worst holiday-season decline on record. The iPhone maker could also face questions from Wall Street about changing up its product sourcing, which has relied heavily on China, a nation whose COVID-19 restrictions have constrained production of some phones.

    While the tech-industry layoffs have yet to hit Apple, some analysts say the company is unlikely to be spared, despite Chief Executive Tim Cook requesting and receiving a healthy cut to his compensation.

    “Similar to other big technology companies, we expect Apple to adjust its head count to reflect an increasingly challenging global macroeconomic environment,” D.A. Davidson analyst Tom Forte said in a research note Tuesday.

    Rivals that have already cut could face more if profit continues to fall along with revenue growth. Alphabet, for instance, is cutting 12,000 employees, but an activist investor has already said that is not enough considering how much the company grew during the pandemic, and the difficulties it now faces in the online-ad sector.

    Opinion: Microsoft’s big move in AI does not mean it will challenge Google in search

    Analysts have said Meta’s “darkest days” are still ahead, as it navigates a round of more than 11,000 layoffs, competition from TikTok and its early stumbles in the metaverse. While cutting, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has promised to keep spending on metaverse development, even as the efforts slash the Facebook parent company’s previously healthy bottom line.

    “In 2023, we expect Meta to remain engulfed in arduous battles inside the Octagon,” Monness Crespi Hardt analyst Brian White said in a research note on Thursday. “In the long run, we believe Meta will benefit from the secular digital ad trend and innovate in the metaverse; however, regulatory scrutiny persists, internal headwinds remain, and we believe the darkest days of this downturn are ahead of us.”

    Full Facebook earnings preview: Meta’s ‘darkest days’ are ahead, but some analysts say ad sales are still on track

    Online retailer Amazon
    AMZN,
    -0.66%
    was the first Big Tech company to publicly declare cost-cutting was in order a year ago, and still coughed up $834 billion in market value in 2022. It kicked off 2023 with plans to lay off more than 18,000 workers as struggles continued throughout last year, when inflation siphoned away more consumer dollars toward essentials.

    Amazon’s own AWS cloud-infrastructure unit has helped to drive sales in years past, as businesses built out their tech infrastructures. But remarks and the outlook from Microsoft executives — the third-biggest market-cap loser of 2022, and a big barometer for tech spending overall — weren’t exactly encouraging for cloud growth: Executives there last week warned of “moderating consumption growth” for its own cloud business.

    For more: One company could determine whether U.S. corporate profits rise to a record in 2023

    “Sentiment was already bearish on AWS, with investors looking for slowing revenue over the next three quarters, largely confirmed after Microsoft earnings and conversations with industry checks,” Oppenheimer analyst Jason Helfstein said in a note on Wednesday. “Positively, we believe e-commerce revenue has stabilized, and margins should improve from organic scale and announced head-count reductions.”

    Layoffs are also starting to spread beyond Big Tech companies that grew fast during the pandemic in response to massive demand spikes. International Business Machines Corp.
    IBM,
    +0.76%
    confirmed plans for 3,900 layoffs as it reported earnings, despite already reducing its workforce by at least 20% during the pandemic.

    One sector to watch is semiconductors, where a chip shortage has turned into a glut: Chip-equipment maker Lam Research Corp.
    LRCX,
    +0.04%
    announced layoffs in the past week as Silicon Valley semiconductor giant Intel Corp.
    INTC,
    +0.27%
    displayed “astonishingly bad” results while laying off workers. When Intel rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
    AMD,
    -1.64%
    reports this week, it could determine whether there is any silver lining in the semiconductor storm.

    Earnings preview: AMD faces even more scrutiny after ‘astonishingly bad’ Intel outlook

    Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives said in a Sunday note that a common theme of this week’s Big Tech earnings will be that “tech layoffs will accelerate with more pain ahead to curb expenses,” though he added that “Apple will likely cut some costs around the edges, but we do not expect mass layoffs from Cupertino this week.”

    Big Tech earnings were a salve to other problems in the market for the past decade-plus, but with layoffs already under way and doubts about the path forward, don’t expect salvation from their results this week.

    This week in earnings

    For the week ahead, 107 S&P 500
    SPX,
    -0.19%
    companies, including six members of the Dow Jones Industrial Average
    DJIA,
    +0.18%    ,
    will report results, according to FactSet. While more Dow components reported last week, this will be the busiest week for S&P 500 holiday earnings of the season, FactSet senior earnings analyst John Butters confirmed to MarketWatch.

    Appliance-maker Whirlpool Corp.
    WHR,
    +1.18%
    reports on Monday, after it forecast fourth-quarter sales that were below expectations, following what it called a “one-off supply-chain disruption” and the pandemic home-renovation boom.

    On Tuesday, package-deliverer United Parcel Service Inc.
    UPS,
    -0.26%
    reports, amid questions about holiday-season demand. So does streaming service Spotify Technology,
    SPOT,
    -0.02%
    following its own layoffs and suggestions of possible price hikes, as well as McDonald’s Corp.
    MCD,
    -0.30%    ,
    amid concerns that rising prices are keeping people from dining out. Exxon Mobil Corp.
    XOM,
    -0.99%    ,
    Caterpillar Inc.
    CAT,
    -0.12%    ,
    Snap Inc.
    SNAP,
    +0.64%
    and Pfizer Inc.
    PFE,
    +0.72%
    also report Tuesday.

    Earnings outlook: McDonald’s earnings haven’t been hit by higher prices

    On Wednesday, T-Mobile US Inc.
    TMUS,
    +0.23%
    reports, in the wake of a data breach and wobbling cellphone demand. Coffee chain Starbucks Corp.
    SBUX,
    -0.58%
    reports on Thursday, with analysts likely to be zeroed in on U.S. demand and China’s reopening, after executives said they were confident that higher prices, along with enthusiasm from younger customers and for customizable drinks, could help them navigate any potholes in the economy.

    For the Big Tech companies, Thursday is also the big day: Apple, Amazon and Alphabet will report that afternoon, after Meta reports the prior day.

    The calls to put on your calendar

    WWE upheaval: World Wrestling Entertainment Inc.
    WWE,
    +0.91%
    reports earnings on Thursday, as Vince McMahon — who returned to the professional-wrestling organization this month following allegations of sexual misconduct — seeks a buyer or some other so-called “strategic alternative” for the company.

    Analysts have speculated how the company’s wrestling events and backlog of media content might be repurposed, with some entertaining the possibility of interest from Amazon or Netflix Inc.
    NFLX,
    -0.39%    .
    But WWE has struggled to develop story lines that stick with viewers, and has thinned its ranks of wrestlers.

    The Wall Street Journal this month reported that McMahon would pay a multimillion-dollar settlement to a former referee who accused him of raping her. Among the changes since McMahon returned was the departure of his daughter, who had been promoted to co-CEO after he stepped down from the role last year.

    There isn’t much clarity on whether Vince McMahon will be on Thursday’s earnings call, which was moved from the morning to the afternoon due to a scheduling conflict. But it should offer drama no matter who attends.

    The numbers to watch

    GM and Ford auto sales: Auto makers General Motors Co.
    GM,
    -2.00%
    and Ford Motor Co.
    F,
    -0.94%
    will issue results on Tuesday and Thursday respectively, amid signs of waning demand and rising interest rates that have made car loans more expensive. Despite falling new-vehicle sales in the third quarter, GM managed to keep its own sales higher, the AP noted.

    Mary Barry, GM’s chief executive, called out the popularity of vehicles like the Escalade, the Chevrolet Bolt EV and some pickups and SUVs during the auto maker’s third-quarter earnings call in October. During that quarter, GM said it completed and shipped nearly 75% of the unfinished vehicles held in its inventory in June. She said supply-chains were opening up again, but added that “short-term disruptions will continue to happen.”

    The auto makers report as they try to put a chip shortage and other production constraints behind them. But some forecasts call for 2022 auto sales, or sales volumes, to be the weakest in roughly a decade. Electric vehicle maker Tesla’s recent price cuts could also cut into GM’s and Ford’s own EV sales.

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  • FDA panel backs plan for annual COVID-19 booster, as new omicron subvariant continues to dominate in new cases

    FDA panel backs plan for annual COVID-19 booster, as new omicron subvariant continues to dominate in new cases

    A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted unanimously Thursday for Americans to get a once-a-year booster against COVID-19, with the strain to be decided midyear for a fall campaign, the Associated Press reported. 

    “This is a consequential meeting to determine if we’ve reached the point in the pandemic that allows for simplifying the use of current COVID-19 vaccines,” said the FDA’s Dr. David Kaslow.

    The panel agreed that people should get the same vaccine formula whether they’re receiving their initial vaccinations or a booster. Today, Americans get one formula based on the original coronavirus strain that emerged in 2020 for their first two or three doses, and their latest booster is a combination shot made by Pfizer
    PFE,
    -0.33%
    or Moderna
    MRNA,
    -0.90%
    that adds protection against omicron.

    The FDA would have to decide how to phase in that change.

    COVID-19 vaccines have saved millions of lives, and booster doses remain the best protection against severe disease and death. But Americans are tired of getting vaccinated. While more than 80% of the U.S. population has had at least one COVID-19 shot, only 16% of those eligible for the latest boosters — so-called bivalent doses updated to better match more recent virus strains — have gotten one.

    Separately, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offered an update Friday on the strains that are dominant in the U.S., showing that XBB.1.5, the omicron sublineage that first emerged in small numbers in October, has extended its lead over other variants.

    XBB.1.5 accounted for 61.3% of cases in the week through Jan. 28, the data shows, up from 49.1% a week ago. The prior dominant variants, BQ.1.1 and BQ.1, together accounted for 31.1% of new cases.

    In the CDC’s Region 2, which includes New York, New Jersey, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, XBB.1.5 accounted for 91.1% of new cases, up from 86.8% the previous week.

    The World Health Organization said this week that it now has data on XBB.1.5 from 54 countries, showing it has a growth advantage over other circulating strains but still appears no more severe.

    In its weekly epidemiological update, the agency said it has raised the confidence level of its risk assessment for XBB.1.5 to “moderate” from “low,” using these additional reports. The highest number of XBB.1.5 cases are showing up in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Denmark, Germany, Ireland and Austria.

    The news comes as the seven-day average of new cases stood at 46,300 on Thursday, according to a New York Times tracker. That’s down 24% from two weeks ago. The daily average for hospitalizations was down 24%, at 34,833. The average number of deaths was 549, down 3% from two weeks ago. 

    Cases are currently climbing in eight states — Illinois, Tennessee, Minnesota, Alaska, South Dakota, Vermont, Kentucky and Kansas — as well as in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Washington, D.C.

    Coronavirus update: MarketWatch’s daily roundup has been curating and reporting all the latest developments every weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began

    Other COVID-19 news you should know about:

    • China’s claim that COVID cases and deaths have peaked and are falling fast is failing to take on board that testing is not keeping up with infections, the Guardian reported. China ended its zero-COVID policy in December and promptly saw a wave of cases spread across the nation. Its health authorities said this week that the worst is behind it, but experts are wary that it is underreporting numbers, as it has since the start of the pandemic. Now the pullback in testing is a factor, according to the Guardian. Daily tests had dropped to 280,000 by Monday, down from 150 million on Dec. 9, and 7.54 million on Jan. 1. Some provinces had enacted systems for collecting the results of residents or allowing residents to self-report, but the figures were “affected by the willingness of residents to test.”

    What’s seen as the world’s largest annual human migration is under way again in China for the Lunar New Year, after the country lifted pandemic restrictions. WSJ’s Yoko Kubota reports on how it’s expected to boost the economy–and the risk of new Covid-19 outbreaks. Photo: Cfoto/Zuma Press

    • South Korea says it will continue to restrict the entry of short-term travelers from China through the end of February over concerns that the spread of COVID may worsen following the Lunar New Year holidays, the AP reported. South Korea in early January stopped issuing most short-term visas at its consulates in China, citing concerns about the virus surge in the country.

    • Spain is set to end the mandatory use of face masks on public transport nearly three years after the start of the pandemic, the AP reported separately. Spanish Health Minister Carolina Darias said Thursday she would recommend that the government remove the health regulation when the cabinet meets on Feb. 7. Face masks will remain obligatory inside hospitals, health clinics, dentist offices and pharmacies.

    Here’s what the numbers say:

    The global tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases topped 669.9 million Wednesday, while the death toll rose above 6.82 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.

    The U.S. leads the world with 102.3 million cases and 1,107,559 fatalities.

    The CDC’s tracker shows that 229.6 million people living in the U.S., equal to 69.2% of the total population, are fully vaccinated, meaning they have had their primary shots.

    So far, just 51.4 million Americans, equal to 15.5% of the overall population, have had the updated COVID booster that targets both the original virus and the omicron variants.

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  • Must Read: How Climate Change Has Affected Shopping Habits, Getting to Know Twitter’s ‘Menswear Guy’

    Must Read: How Climate Change Has Affected Shopping Habits, Getting to Know Twitter’s ‘Menswear Guy’

    These are the stories making headlines in fashion on Friday.

    How climate change has affected shopping habits
    Forecasting shopping trends has never been harder, due to the unpredictable weather the world has been experiencing in the face of climate change. And it’s made merchandising seasonally and managing inventory more difficult for retailers, as Sarah Kent writes in Business of Fashion. These shifts are leading to retailers seeking out seasonless products, to help navigate the unforeseeable future — and, naturally, that’s had an impact on consumers. {Business of Fashion}

    Brooke Frischer

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  • U.S. consumer sentiment strengthens in final January reading

    U.S. consumer sentiment strengthens in final January reading

    The numbers: U.S. consumer sentiment improved in late January to 64.9, according to the University of Michigan’s gauge of consumer attitudes.

    This added 5.2 index points from 59.7 in December and was up from the initial January reading of 64.6.

    Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had forecast an unchanged reading of 64.6.

    Key details: A  gauge of consumer’s views of current conditions rose to a final reading of 68.4 in January from 59.4 in the prior month.

    The indicator of expectations for the next six months rose to 62.7 from 59.9 in December.

    Americans viewed that inflation was moderating in January. They expected the inflation rate in the next year to average about 3.9%, down from 4.4% in December. This is the lowest level since April 2021.

    In the longer run, inflation expectations held steady at 2.9%.

    Big picture: Consumer confidence rose for the second straight month on lower energy prices and better financial market conditions. Assessments of personal finances are improving, supported by higher income and easing price pressures.

    But sentiment remains well below the pre-pandemic level of 101 hit in February 2020 and the more recent high of 88.3 hit in April 2021.

    Market reaction: Stocks
    DJIA,
    -0.20%

    SPX,
    -0.17%
    opened higher on Friday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note
    TMUBMUSD10Y,
    3.534%
    rose to 3.54%.

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  • Hasbro plans to lay off 15% of workforce and warns of holiday-season loss

    Hasbro plans to lay off 15% of workforce and warns of holiday-season loss

    Hasbro Inc. late Thursday said it plans to lay off about 15% of its workforce and warned Wall Street to brace for a quarterly loss and a drop in revenue after a disappointing holiday season.

    Hasbro
    HAS,
    -0.50%
    reported preliminary losses between $1 a share and 93 cents a share for its fourth quarter, and an adjusted loss of between $1.29 a share and $1.31 a share in the period.

    That runs counter to FactSet consensus of an adjusted profit of $1.52 a share for the quarter.

    The maker of My Little Pony, Baby Alive and other toy brands also reported preliminary fourth-quarter revenue of about $1.68 billion, down 17% year-over-year. That compares with FactSet consensus for revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter.

    Hasbro stock fell more than 8% in the extended session after ending the regular trading day down 0.5%.

    Hasbro’s “consumer-products business underperformed in the fourth quarter against the backdrop of a challenging holiday consumer environment,” despite “strong growth” for digital gaming and other areas of the company, Chief Executive Chris Cocks said in a statement.

    Several retailers have posted lower-than-expected fourth-quarter sales as concerns about the economy simmer. Layoffs have also been widespread, with International Business Machines Corp.
    IBM,
    -4.48%
    and SAP
    SAP,
    -1.77%
    among the latest announcing cuts.

    The global job cuts will start in the next few weeks, Hasbro said. The toy maker employed 6,640 people worldwide as of December 2021, according to its most recent annual filing with securities regulators.

    Hasbro said that the layoffs and “ongoing systems and supply-chain investments” will keep the company on track to hit its goal of between $250 million and $300 million in cost savings by the end of 2025.

    Until then, however, 2022 and “particularly” the fourth quarter were a “a challenging moment for Hasbro,” the company said.

    Earlier this month, analysts at BMO said they expected Hasbro’s holiday-season sales were likely among “the weakest in the North American toy industry.”

    Hasbro’s stock has fallen about 29% in the last 12 months, compared with a decline of around 7% for the S&P 500 index
    SPX,
    +1.10%    .

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  • Bed Bath & Beyond stock plunges more than 20% after filing shows default on loans

    Bed Bath & Beyond stock plunges more than 20% after filing shows default on loans

    Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. shares plunged more than 20% and were halted Thursday afternoon, after the retailer disclosed in a filing that it was in default on loans that have been called in.

    The struggling retailer finally filed its quarterly report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday at roughly 2:30 p.m. Eastern time, after being threatened with having its stock delisted for being late with the required report.

    Included in the filing is news that Bed Bath & Beyond
    BBBY,
    -22.22%
    had defaulted on loans earlier this month, and executives were informed on Wednesday by banker JP Morgan Chase & Co.
    JPM,
    +0.62%
    that the debt was due immediately.

    “On or around January 13, 2023, certain events of default were triggered under the Company’s Credit Facilities as a result of the Company’s failure to prepay an overadvance and satisfy a financial covenant, among other things,” the filing reads.

    “As a result of the continuance of such events of default, on January 25, 2023, the administrative agent under the Amended Credit Agreement notified the Company that (i) the principal amount of all outstanding loans under the Credit Facilities, together with accrued interest thereon, the FILO Applicable Premium and all fees (including, for the avoidance of doubt, any break funding payments) and other obligations of the Company accrued under the Amended Credit Agreement, are due and payable immediately.”

    See also: Bed Bath & Beyond bankruptcy warning marks latest chapter in troubled retailer’s downward spiral

    Shares had traded between $3.25 and $3.47 on the day until about 5 minutes after the filing was released, when shares suddenly dove, triggering a halt. The stock fell as low as $2.10 and was halted three times between 2:46 p.m. and 3:14 p.m. before closing at $2.52, a 22.2% daily decline.

    The struggling retailer admitted earlier this year that it has “substantial doubt” about its “ability to continue as a going concern” and may need to declare bankruptcy. The home goods retailer also said that it expects to record lower sales for the latest quarter than analysts were anticipating.

    “As we consider all paths and strategic alternatives, we continue to work with our advisors and implement actions to manage our business as efficiently as possible,” a Bed Bath & Beyond spokesperson said in an email Thursday. “As is our practice, we do not comment on speculation. We will update all stakeholders on our plans as they develop and finalize.”

    Bed Bath & Beyond stock has become popular with “meme” traders and short sellers, who have been betting on opposite sides of the trade as the retailer reported a poor holiday season and plans to shut down stores. Shares have traded as high as $30.06 and as low as $1.27 in the past 12 months, while declining 81.8% overall in that time. The S&P 500 index
    SPX,
    +1.10%
    has declined 7.7% in the past 12 months.

    See also: Why naked short selling has suddenly become a hot topic

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  • Why Shopify’s New Pricing Plan Is Driving the Stock Higher

    Why Shopify’s New Pricing Plan Is Driving the Stock Higher



    Shopify


    stock got a lift after the e-commerce company announced changes to its pricing—a move one analyst said positions it for better growth.

    “The price we charge for access to the best tools in commerce has remained largely unchanged for the last 12 years,” wrote Kaz Nejatian,


    Shopify


    ‘s chief operating officer, in a blog post announcing the changes.

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  • Nordstrom Report Hints at Weaker Spending by Wealthy Shoppers

    Nordstrom Report Hints at Weaker Spending by Wealthy Shoppers

    Nordstrom’s holiday season sales were softer than prepandemic levels, the company said.


    Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Nordstrom

    If
    Nordstrom’s
    latest sales update is anything to go by, high-income shoppers are finally starting to feel the pinch of a slowing economy.

    The luxury department store, whose product lineup is aimed mainly at wealthier people, said late on Thursday that holiday sales were softer than hoped. It is the latest retailer to warn that consumers took a more cautious approach to holiday shopping in 2022.

    “The holiday season was highly promotional, and sales were softer than prepandemic levels,” said CEO Erik Nordstrom in a news release late Thursday. “While we continue to see greater resilience in our higher income cohorts, it is clear that consumers are being more selective with their spending given the broader macro environment.”

    Shares of Nordstrom (ticker:
    JWN
    ) were largely unchanged in early Friday trading, with a gain of 0.1% to $17.47.

    The company also updated its financial forecasts for fiscal 2022, the 12 months ending January 2023. It now expects revenue growth to be at the low end of the range of 5% to 7% it had forecast. Holiday sales fell by 3.5% in 2022, driven by a 7.6% decline in the company’ Nordstrom Rack banner and a 1.7% decrease in core Nordstrom sales.

    Nordstrom also said that the need to sell off outdated inventory weighed heavily on profit and margins. Adjusted earnings per share will range between $1.50 and $1.70, compared with the company’s prior call for $2.30 to $2.60. The consensus call among analysts surveyed by FactSet was for earnings to land at $1.81 for fiscal 2022.

    Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes margin will be 3.1% to 3.3%, compared with the 4.3% to 4.7% management had predicted.

    While costly to the bottom line, discounting heavily during the holiday season may actually be better for Nordstrom in the long run. The company expects year-end inventory levels to be down by a double-digit percentage compared with last year, putting them roughly at 2019 levels.

    “We believe this reduction, coupled with cleaner inventory (~flat to 2019), may actually have been better than feared,” wrote BMO Capital Markets analyst Simon Siegel in a research note. Siegel maintained a Market Perform rating and trimmed his target for the stock price to $20 from $23.

    Still, it isn’t an easy time to be a department store. Nordstrom’s announcement comes weeks after
    Macy’s
    provided investors with a similar update, saying sales would come in at the low to middle end of the range it had forecast as a result of unexpected lulls in demand outside of the peak shopping weekends.

    On Wednesday, the Census Bureau reported that department stores’ retail sales fell by 6.6% in December from November, and were down 0.6% from December 2021.

    Analysts have also expressed concern about what Nordstrom’s guidance means for demand from high-end consumers, whose buying has remained fairly resilient despite macroeconomic challenges.

    For
    Piper Sandler
    ‘s Edward Yruma, who the revision indicates that high-income shoppers may be “undergoing a cyclical slowdown,” driven by layoffs in white-collar industries, a volatile stock market, and a weak housing market. He maintained a Neutral rating on the stock.

    Write to Sabrina Escobar at sabrina.escobar@barrons.com

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  • Bed Bath & Beyond gets Nasdaq delisting warning, stock tumbles 7%

    Bed Bath & Beyond gets Nasdaq delisting warning, stock tumbles 7%

    Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. has received a warning that it is not in compliance for continued Nasdaq listing because the company has not yet filed its Form 10-Q quarterly report with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    In an SEC filing Thursday, the troubled home-goods retailer said it had received the Nasdaq notice on Jan. 12. The notice has no immediate effect on the listing or trading of Bed Bath & Beyond’s
    BBBY,
    -4.09%
    common stock on the Nasdaq
    COMP,
    +0.86%    ,
    the filing said. “The Notice states that the Company has 60 calendar days from the date of the Notice, or March 13, 2023, to submit a plan to regain compliance with the Listing Rule,” Bed Bath & Beyond said in the filing.

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