Tag: Churchill Downs

The A-list

New Derby sponsor Sentient was a winner right out of the gate

Boulevard noticed the jet-share company’s logo appeared prominently on winner Nyquist’s post-run blanket, as well as ball caps worn by the thoroughbred’s owner Paul Reddam and others during TV broadcasts and other news media.

Based in the Boston area, Sentient announced a multi-year agreement with Churchill Downs in February, under which the company would offer exclusive benefits to Derby and Kentucky Oaks guests.

How prominent was Sentient’s role? Look no further than this photo Boulevard took of today’s Courier-Journal sports section:

Sentient

RSVP

Uncork the bubbly: We’re taking a gander at the Carstanjen party

Big smiles, big personalities and big business networking — yes, it’s everyone’s favorite feature in the society shiny sheets: party photos! Boulevard picks through the pics, choosing our favorite coverage. Today’s entry is from The Voice-Tribune:

Champagne bottleCarstanjen Hat and Tie Exchange
Last Tuesday, Churchill Downs CEO Bill Carstanjen and his wife Julia hosted their annual hat and tie exchange at their lovely Prospect home. The event encouraged attendees to bring their hats and ties from last year and swap them with other party-goers to create the perfect Derby look.

Related: Churchill’s CEO sells another 4,500 shares.

Latest Headlines

Texas shares jump despite Q1 miss; Papa tests new crunchy crust, and man drives 870 miles for KFC

Latest news, with a special focus on big Louisville employers; updated at 4:29 p.m.

Texas Roadhouse logoTEXAS ROADHOUSE shares surged 4% to $47.33 after hours even though it reported weaker-than-expected first-quarter results (The Street). Press release.

CHURCHILL DOWNS and Levy Restaurants announced a 10-year extension to their current contract today (Courier-Journal).

PAPA JOHN’S is testing a new pan pizza crust at select locations in Kentucky. The new pizza is described by the chain as “pan baked for a thick, crunchy crust,” and should be ready for a national launch this summer (Brand Eating).

UPS: Negotiators for the shipper and the 2,500-member Independent Pilots Association will resume contract talks later this month. Pilots have been working under the terms of their previous contract for five years, and the union late last month set up a strike center here in Louisville (WFPL).

YUM: Inspired by Uber, Pizza Hut is officially launching “Visible Promise Time,” showing what time a pizza will be prepared, ready, and delivered before customers place their order (Business Insider). A Canadian man drove 870 miles to get his wife some KFC (Metro). And U.S. stock index futures were set to be broadly higher this morning amid subdued trading in Asia and Europe and ahead of the key nonfarm payrolls data at the end of the week (CNBC).

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.

Gibbs_rt
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).