Tag: Big Employers

Latest Headlines

Haier tiptoes toward union, Churchill in $25M hotel plan, and Amazon’s primed for growth

Latest news, with a special focus on big Louisville employers; updated at 11:46 a.m.

GE: In a letter to employees, new owner Haier is raising potentially fraught labor-management relations with the IUE-CWA union representing workers at the mammoth Appliances Park complex. The China-based company has agreed to buy GE Appliances for $5.4 billion in a deal expected to close this spring (Business First). Also, GE Appliances and Amatrol Inc. have donated $123,000 in funds and equipment for new state-of-the-art lab opening in Bullitt County to help prepare students for a manufacturing career (WLKY).

CHURCHILL DOWNS‘ stock is sinking following yesterday’s first-quarter earnings miss. Shares recently traded for $135.65, down 4.8%, amid an overall decline in U.S. markets. Also, the company plans a new $25 million hotel for its Oxford Casino in Maine. Construction is expected to start in June and be completed in summer 2017. Churchill bought the property three years ago for $160 million. It now employs 400 and will add another 60 jobs with the hotel expansion (press release).

Amazon logoAMAZON‘s Prime memberships grew 51% last year, including 47% growth in the U.S., the company said yesterday in its surprisingly strong first-quarter earnings report. The shipper doesn’t release detailed numbers on Prime, but Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter estimates there are about 50 million members. And he estimates members spend about four times what others do, and account for about a third of all Amazon purchases (ABC News). As always, what’s good for Amazon is good for UPS’ enormous Louisville hub. In pre-market trading this morning, Amazon’s stock skyrocketed 12% to $676 a share.

FORD is developing an electric car competitive with Chevrolet’s Bolt and Tesla’s Model 3, CEO Mark Fields said yesterday (Automotive News and Bloomberg). Also, a transcript’s now available of yesterday’s first-quarter conference call with top executives of the automaker and Wall Street analysts (Seeking Alpha). Ford’s stock jumped 3.2%, closing at $14.10 on the earnings report.

PAPA JOHN’S yesterday declared a regular quarterly dividend of 17.5 cents per share, payable May 20 to shareholders of record May 9 (press release). Shares fell 2.8% to $56.49.

UPS is comfortable with China growth, but concerned about the possibility of Britain leaving the European Union (Reuters). Also, the shipper’s transcript of yesterday’s quarterly conference call with Wall Street analysts is now available (Seeking Alpha).

In other news, Ohio developer Edwards Cos. has cleared up a financial roadblock and will proceed with plans to develop two large apartment complexes along East Broadway near Baxter Avenue at a combined cost of $65 million. The company had previously cast doubt on the project’s future without Metro Louisville incentives beyond the $7.5 million already offered (Courier-Journal). And U.S. stock index futures pointed to a flat to slightly lower open this morning, following hefty losses on yesterday, as traders eyed earnings and data (CNBC).

Latest Headlines

Amazon blows past forecasts; Churchill, not so much; as Ford, UPS disclose cascade of first-quarter earnings

Latest news, with a special focus on big Louisville employers; updated 4:50 p.m.

AMAZON just reported a huge first quarter, and its stock was recently soaring 12% in after-hours trading, to $675 a share (MarketWatch).

CHURCHILL DOWNS just released first-quarter results showing what appears to be a big miss on earnings per share: 16 cents vs. a Wall Street consensus forecast of 48 cents. But the $288 million in revenue was ahead of the consensus $275 million (forecasts). Here’s the press release. The company’s stock was unchanged in late trading.

FORD this morning delivered record first-quarter results amid strong truck sales, with net income more than doubling and operating margins in the core North American unit rivaling those of high-end luxury brands (MarketWatch); shares surged 1.6% to $13.88 in pre-market trading. Separately, Ford supplier Louisville Seating is planning a $13 million expansion in Shepherdsville that could add 170 jobs (Courier-Journal).

UPS beat first-quarter profit forecasts, but whiffed on revenue. (MarketWatch); premarket, shares rose less than 1%, to $106.90. HUMANA: Aetna reported a nearly 4% decline in first-quarter operating earnings as the health insurer lost members in its commercial business; Aetna has agreed to buy Humana for $37 billion, subject to a tough regulatory review (Reuters); Aetna shares were flat at $111.52, premarket.

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Gibbs

YUM‘s newly appointed CFO will get additional stock rights worth $500,000, which and will vest in four equal annual installments starting May 20, 2017 (SEC filing). David Gibbs was promoted to the job from CEO of Pizza Hut yesterday. Yum shares closed yesterday at $81.53, essentially flat.

GE: Qingdao-Haier Co. is making written offers to GE employees as the China-based company nears completion of its $5.4 billion purchase of the appliance maker (Business First).

In other news, AT&T is laying ultra-fast Internet fiber lines throughout Norton Commons, the 600-acre Northeast Louisville residential development. Work is expected to be finished by the end of the year, and comes as Google Fiber advances plans to offer the service city-wide (WFPL). And U.S. stock markets were headed for an ugly day; Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were plunging 140 points after the Bank of Japan’s surprise decision to keep monetary policy steady (CNBC).

Latest Headlines

Yum names Gibbs CFO; Papa hit with $11M verdict, and Brown-Forman returns to Scotch

Latest news, with a special focus on big Louisville employers; updated at 3:19 p.m.

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Gibbs

YUM just announced the promotion of David Gibbs, 53, to president and CFO, effective May 2. Gibbs, who’s been with the company 27 years, previously served as CEO of the Pizza Hut Division. He replaces interim CFO Dave Russell, who’ll return to Yum’s vice president, finance and corporate controller. (Press release.) A leadership shakeup at Yum has been in the cards for some time now (Business First). He arrives at a crucial time for the company (Nation’s Restaurant News). Former CFO Pat Grismer announced his resignation in December (Insider Louisville). Yum’s stock traded recently for $81.44, down less than 1%.

PAPA JOHN’S: In Georgia, a DeKalb County jury awarded $11 million to a woman claiming permanent brain damage from a crash with a pizza delivery vehicle on a rain-slicked road. The company’s lead attorney said the verdict would likely be appealed (Daily Report).

BROWN-FORMAN is getting back into the Scotch business after an 11-year absence with the $415.42 million purchase of the BenRiach Distillery in the north Scotland city of Newbridge. BenRiach’s brands include the Heart of Speyside. Today’s deal follows Brown-Forman’s sale of the Southern Comfort and Tuaca brands to Sazerac for $543.5 million three months ago (Reuters). Brown-Forman’s press release about the deal. Also, the company has named Eric Helms as new marketing director for its Global Travel Retail division (Travel Retail Business).

FORD: A threat to the Kentucky Truck Plant? Ford says it needs additional capacity for production of its next-generation Super Duty pickup (Courier-Journal).

TEXAS ROADHOUSE opened its newest location Monday, in Blackman Township, Mich (M Live).

In other news, Woodford Reserve followed an annual Kentucky Derby tradition and unveiled this year’s $1,000 Mint Julep yesterday (WLKY). The Al J. Schneider family drama over downtown’s Galt House grinds on in court (Insider Louisville). And on Wall Street, stocks were poised to tumble after Apple whiffed on earnings yesterday (MarketWatch).

Latest Headlines

Ford in a new push for self-driving cars, and Churchill shows off

A news summary focused on 10 big employers; updated 6:32 p.m.

FORD, Uber, Google and two other companies have formed a coalition to push for federal action they hope will speed self-driving cars to market (Reuters). Also, Ford reports first-quarter financial results Thursday; analyst forecasts. Ford’s shares closed at $13.76 a share today, up 18 cents.

CHURCHILL DOWNS unveiled $18 million in improvements at its namesake track in time for the Derby (CJ).

AMAZON won’t be a threat to FedEx or UPS anytime soon. Why? It doesn’t have the density and reach of UPS/FedEx, and retail customers won’t want to switch to a shipper run by one of their largest competitors. (Business Insider).

UPS pilots’ action will affect German flights (CJ). More signs emerge that Louisville could be the next city to get lightning-fast Google Fiber service: It’s all about “huts” (Business First). Appeals court denies request to stop Galt House sale (WDRB).

PAPA JOHN’S introduces new Pepperoni Rolls as their latest side option (Brand Eating). UPS mechanics say a contract proposed by the shipper would significantly increase health care costs and do little to improve wages (Business First).

Fresh ThymeIn other news, the new Fresh Thyme Farmers Market will give away a free bag of “healthy groceries” to the first 250 people in line before the store officially opens tomorrow; this is the two-year-old grocery chain’s first outlet here (CJ). SuperChefs plans to open a new restaurant on Bardstown Road in the Highlands, replacing an earlier location in St. Matthews that was destroyed by fire three months ago (WDRB). U.S. stock futures rise amid earnings deluge.

Latest Headlines

Sound the bugle: Breeders’ cup is Louisville-bound; BBB’s got a new chief, and Gannett’s on the prowl

Latest business news, with a special focus on big Louisville employers; updated at 4:42 p.m.

CHURCHILL DOWNS said this morning it would host the Breeders’ Cup in 2018; the high-profile two-day series of races brings together top American and international thoroughbreds. The track has hosted the event eight times, most recently in 2010 and 2011 (Wall Street Journal).

BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU chief Charles Mattingly is retiring after 20 years as head of the staff of the organization that serves Louisville, Southern Indiana and much of western Kentucky. Reanna Smith-Hamblin, the agency’s vice president of communications, is replacing him (CJ). The press release. Mattingly was paid about $143,000 a year, according to the BBB’s 2014 tax return, the most recent available on GuideStar.

Courier-Journal logoGANNETT has offered to buy the Tribune Co., which owns some of the nation’s largest dailies, including The Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, for $815 million cash. The surprise offer unveiled an hour ago for Tribune’s eight papers represents a 63% premium over the company’s closing price Friday. The offer could ignite a bidding war for some of the dailies, especially the Hollywood-centric Los Angeles title, which has previously attracted interest from several high-profile investors (CNBC). In a letter to Tribune released this morning, Gannett said it had made its offer April 12, and was “disappointed” that Tribune had rejected it out of hand. The company, which in addition to The Courier-Journal and USA Today, owns about 100 other dailies, made clear that it would not give up without a fight. “As we have indicated previously,” the letter says, “we would prefer to negotiate a transaction with Tribune, but we have determined that making your stockholders aware of our all-cash proposal is necessary, given Tribune’s attempts to delay constructive engagement.” (Press release, including letter.) But Tribune’s board issued its own statement, saying it’s “committed to acting in the best interests of shareholders and will respond to Gannett as quickly as feasible (statement). In pre-market trading, Tribune’s shares soared 61%, suggesting Wall Street doesn’t expect a higher bid yet. Gannett’s stock was up 2%, pre-market.

GE: A union that represents 200 workers says it will fight efforts by the company to outsource work at Appliance Park (Insider Louisville).

HOME SALES in Louisville jumped 12% last month to 911 houses and condos vs. 812 in March 2015, the local Realtors Association says. The median price rose less than 1% to $149,000 vs. $148,000. All data including for Bullitt and Oldham counties in press release.

In other news,  U.S. stock index futures traded lower this morning, ahead of major central bank meetings and the busiest week of first-quarter earnings season.