Tag: Earnings

Latest Headlines

Trump renews Amazon attack, 93-year-old KFC retiree hits rare milestone; and UPS plans big new Austin facility

A news summary focused on big employers; updated 2:02 p.m.

Donald Trump
Trump

AMAZON: White House GOP candidate Donald Trump attacked Jeff Bezos again, claiming the Amazon CEO bought The Washington Post to promote a political agenda that would help the company on taxes (CNN). Also, a former software director who led the company’s new FireTV initiative was charged with promoting prostitution in the Seattle area (KIRO).

KFC: A retired 29-year employee in Ontario has reached an American Legion milestone that few reach in any organization: he’s been a member for 60 years. William Young, 93, worked at a KFC franchise, rising to manager before retiring. And he met founder Col. Harland Sanders (Argus Observer).

UPS plans a new $70 million, 300-employee distribution center in Austin with room for 300 vehicles; it’s to open at the end of 2018 (Austin Statesman). Asked and answered: How important is e-commerce to the shipper’s sales (Motley Fool).

In other news, The Courier-Journal has joined 199 other investors in buying a two-year-old colt, which the nascent Churchill Downs Racing Club hopes to run during the current spring meet. The horse is being trained by Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas (Courier-Journal).

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Kindred’s Q1 results beat forecasts; Papa shares surge 8% at the close, and a Yum operator just got way bigger

Latest news, with a special focus on big Louisville employers; updated at 4:48 p.m.

KINDRED just reported first-quarter earnings per share of 25 cents, down 27% from a year ago, but better than analysts’ expectations. Revenue rose nearly 10% to $1.84 billion, in line with forecasts (press release). In late trading, shares surged 3.4% to $14.98.

PAPA JOHN’S stock soared 8% to $60.16 a share at the close today, after the company reported first-quarter results late yesterday that beat forecasts on earnings, but missed on revenue (Reuters). The company is charging into a record number of foreign markets this year: “Our international business is on fire,” CEO John Schnatter told analysts during a conference call today (Insider Louisville).

HUMANA said first-quarter profit dove 28% to $1.86 per share, but that was higher than management’s earlier forecast of $1.80, excluding items (press release and The Wall Street Journal). Shares closed moments ago at $175.70, down less than 1%.

Diablo sauceYUM: One of Yum Brands’ biggest operators has added 91 more KFC and Taco Bell outlets in five states: Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Florida. The deal gives KBP Foods of Overland Park, Kan., 361 locations in 14 states (Nation’s Restaurant News); overall, Yum has nearly 43,000 restaurants worldwide. Taco Bell is permanently bringing back Diablo Sauce, according to USA Today (which now apparently has some sort of sponsored content agreement with the Yum unit). Pizza Hut has bacon-stuffed crust pies again (Daily Meal). KFC has opened a high-tech concept store in Shanghai (Manila Bulletin). Also, a Florida woman told police she found something seriously gross in a chicken sandwich (Smoking Gun).

TEXAS ROADHOUSE continues to tinker with its Bubba’s 33 pizza-and-burger concept stores (Insider Louisville and Business First). Also, the chain will open its latest Texas Roadhouse restaurant, in Virginia’s Roanoke County, June 20; the chain is now looking to hire 160 people for the location (WDBJ). The company already has more than 460 restaurants in 49 states, plus five locations in the Middle East.

KROGER: The operator of a huge Kroger distribution center in Colorado is moving to replace employees who’ve been on strike nearly a week (Gazette).

And in other news, Norton Hospital in downtown Louisville is the fourth-most profitable hospital in the country, according to a new academic study — a study the hospital disputes (WDRB). Louisville tobacco company Turning Point Brands is exploring an IPO (Business First).

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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).

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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).