Good morning, CFOs. Sporting goods chain Academy is testing tech; the latest earnings season kicks off; plus, a White House report says DEI hurts productivity.

Academy Sports & Outdoors hasn’t always been at the forefront of infusing technology into its in-person and online shopping experiences. That’s changing.

The sporting goods chain’s customers tend to be outdoor enthusiasts and families interested in sports. They are value shoppers even as Academy has seen more high-income customers, and many of both groups shop in person.

Now, Academy is moving into ChatGPT and Gemini, has added an AI agent called “Scout” and plans to launch a presence on TikTok Shop—all efforts to reach new customers.

“It’s tapping into a consumer that was not already shopping at Academy,” said Chief Financial Officer Carl Ford during a recent interview in New York. “I think for a long time, we’ve been behind.”

Lately, though, “I think we’re keeping up,” he said.

On Scout

Academy launched Scout over the holidays last year. When I met with Ford, he pulled out his phone to show me how the AI agent works. For instance, a shopper might ask for gift suggestions for someone who’s into camping and fitness but also training for a marathon, Ford said. Scout responds with a list of gift ideas to consider.

Scout seemed to be hitting the mark, the company said. Those who used the AI agent over the holidays were twice as likely to make a purchase than those who used the standard search, while the average value of orders was 12% higher, executives told analysts last week. Scout will soon be rolled out to enhance the traditional search function shoppers use to look for items, which Ford said should be done later this year.

Read on below to find out more about how Academy plans to use TikTok Shop.

📆 Earnings

• Albertsons
• BlackRock
• CarMax
• Citigroup
• Johnson & Johnson
• JPMorgan Chase
• Wells Fargo

📈 Economic Indicators

The National Federation of Independent Business releases its Small Business Optimism Index for March.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the producer price index for March.

As we noted above, Academy is moving beyond just its Scout agent, and thinking about tech in new ways, including ChatGPT, Gemini and TikTok Shop.

Why? Academy also wants to be in front of more shoppers. Through a partnership with Google, the company is working to ensure its products are available in Gemini and that they show up when consumers search for sporting goods, running shoes or other Academy categories.

The company is also piloting advertisements on OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and this year will launch its own TikTok Shop.

As new ways to shop arise, retailers risk losing control of the online shopping experience. A lot of web traffic already originates elsewhere, such as a Google search, but consumers then tend to click through to retailers’ websites to make a purchase. That’s changing, with companies like Walmart offering shopping through ChatGPT. Bypassing a retailer’s website could hurt ad revenue as well as add-on sales opportunities.

Academy executives are mindful of the possible impacts.

“I don’t think people are going to abandon retailers’ websites,” Ford said. “I think this just becomes another way that some portion of the population looks stuff up.”

Iran blockade intensifies historic supply squeeze: President Trump’s order to cut off Iranian trade through the Strait of Hormuz and Tehran’s promise to continue to choke the strait are leaving global energy markets in even deeper trouble than they were just days ago.

• U.S. Oil Blockade Is Set to Boost American Exports—and Prices at the Pump
• How the U.S. Navy Is Blockading the Strait of Hormuz to Choke Off Iran’s Ports
• Iran War’s Economic Shock Wave Is Expected to Get Even Bigger
• Saudi Arabia Is Pressing U.S. to Drop Its Hormuz Blockade
• How Trump’s Iran War Reversals Have Whipsawed Markets

Earnings season kicks off: Goldman Sachs said its profit jumped 19% in the first quarter, powered by a resurgence in deal activity and volatile markets. Still, investors are worried the war in Iran may slow Wall Street’s performance for the rest of the year. Goldman’s results kick-start the earnings season for big banks and companies, with competitors JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley scheduled to report in the coming days.

📰 Other headlines

• White House Study Says DEI Hurts Productivity
• Exclusive: McDonald’s to Add Energy Drinks, Crafted Sodas to Menus
• Sam Altman Attack Suspect Had ‘Anti-AI’ Document with CEO Names, Authorities Say
• Louis Vuitton Owner Misses Revenue Views as Middle East War Dims Rebound Hopes
• Texas Probes Lululemon Over ‘Forever Chemicals.’ The Company Says It Stopped Using Them.
• Somnigroup to Acquire Supplier Leggett & Platt in $2.5 Billion Deal
• Flimsier Cabinets and Fewer Windows: Home Builders Are Skimping on the Basics
• AI Is Finding Bugs That Hackers Can Exploit. Get Ready for Bugmageddon.

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FedEx, the Memphis, Tenn.-based shipping giant, named Claude Russ, the company’s enterprise vice president of finance, as interim CFO while the company looks for a permanent CFO. Finance chief John Dietrich plans to step down after the company completes the spinoff of its freight unit. Dietrich's resignation will take effect following the spinoff on June 1, and he will remain with FedEx until July 31, the company said. Russ has worked at FedEx for more than two decades and currently leads its global financial planning and analysis team. He has held several roles at the company, including CFO of FedEx's freight unit.

AeroVironment, the Arlington, Va.-based drone maker, named Sean Woodward its new executive vice president and CFO, effective May 1. Woodward has been with AeroVironment since 2010, most recently as finance chief of its autonomous-systems segment, the company said. AeroVironment in February said Kevin McDonnell, who has been chief financial officer since February 2020, plans to retire at the end of July. The company on Monday said McDonnell will stay on in an advisory role through July to assist with the transition.

—Kelly Cloonan and Colin Kellaher contributed to today’s Ledger.

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