Tag: Papa John’s

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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

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.

Gibbs_rt
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).

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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.

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How R&B star Tiller got his start

Latest business news focused on big Louisville employers.

Bryson Tiller
Tiller

PAPA JOHN’S: Rising R&B singer Bryson Tiller, who plays the second of two shows today at Radio City Music Hall, was discovered when he was working 12-hour shifts at a Papa John’s in his native Louisville. Three years ago, producer Timbaland heard his early song “Don’t” and encouraged Tiller, 23, to quit his job to focus on music (NY Post). He also worked at UPS (Wikipedia). Here’s a video of “Don’t.” (NSFW!) More Papa John’s news.