Good morning, CFOs. An exclusive on the latest PwC layoffs; CFO Q&A: Why did E.l.f. Beauty acquire Hailey Bieber’s Rhode? Plus, Apple’s $100 billion investment.

PricewaterhouseCoopers is laying off employees in its U.S. business services, which spans back-office functions, people familiar with the matter tell my colleague Mark Maurer, who covers the Big Four accounting firms.

The cuts affect about 80 people, or roughly 1% of U.S. business services at PwC, one of the people said. Business services generally include marketing, communications, legal and finance.

I asked Mark for more background on what he’s hearing.

Why is PwC doing this?

Mark: The firm has streamlined processes in business services in the past year as part of broader efforts to improve the structure of the U.S. operation.

Why are these cuts happening now? Are these moves part of broader cuts at the company or profession?

Mark: PwC is among the large accounting firms that have continued to experience slower-than-expected levels of voluntary attrition after aggressively hiring people during the pandemic.

PwC last fall underwent its first formal set of U.S. layoffs since 2009, cutting about 1,800 people, or roughly 2.5% of the U.S. workforce. The cuts centered on advisory and products and technology operations. In May, the firm slashed about 1,500 additional jobs, primarily in audit and tax. PwC and other large accounting firms also focus on individual performance as the basis for some cuts.

✏️ Have a tip or viewpoint? Click “Reply” to our newsletter to reach us, or contact Mark at mark.maurer@wsj.com or via Signal at 347-405-0489 and Markreporter.97

📆 Earnings: Atlassian, Barclays, Block, Brookfield, ConocoPhillips, Consolidated Edison, Constellation Energy, Eli Lily, Expedia Group, Gilead Sciences, GoDaddy, Live Nation Entertainment, Microchip Technology, Motorola Solutions, Occidental Petroleum, Restaurant Brands International, Shell, Toyota Motor, Vistra and Warner Bros. Discovery

📈 Economic Indicators

​​The Federal Reserve reports consumer credit data for June.

The Department of Labor releases initial jobless claims for the week ending Aug. 1.

E.l.f. Beauty closed its $1 billion acquisition of Hailey Bieber’s cosmetics and skin-care line, Rhode, on Tuesday, which included $800 million up front and a $200 million earnout. E.l.f. reported its 26th consecutive quarter of growth in market share and net sales, which rose 9% to $353.7 million in the quarter ended June 30. The company also reported that profits fell 30% as tariffs on Chinese imports hit the company’s bottom line.

The following is an edited excerpt of our conversation with E.l.f. Beauty CFO Mandy Fields.

WSJ: Can you elaborate on the specific drivers behind your sustained growth?

Fields: Our growth has been pretty broad-based, particularly in this quarter. We continue to have strength here in the U.S. We picked up 210 basis points of market share here in the U.S. and then internationally we grew 30% in our international markets this quarter…Our value proposition still rings true, particularly in this environment where you do see a consumer who's a little bit more choiceful about how they're spending; 75% of our portfolio is $10 or less, and so that really resonates with the consumer.

WSJ: You completed your acquisition of Rhode this week. Can you expand on the strategic reasons behind this acquisition? How will Rhode contribute to E.l.f. Beauty's long-term growth?

Fields: So overall, the acquisition is $1 billion in value: $800 million with the upfront portion, $200 million is an earnout over a three-year period. But why we love Rhode so much is because this brand has gone from zero to $212 million in three years. We are launching in Sephora in September, and that is going to be their first retail launch. So all of this growth has really been direct-to-consumer. They have a tremendous following. They have people waiting in lines 14 hours at these pop-up events that they have. And so we saw something very special in Rhode. Hailey Bieber has done a fantastic job with that brand. This is her baby. She wants to see it continue to grow.

WSJ: The acquisition was funded by $600 million in cash via a term loan and $200 million of stock. How will this new debt structure impact E.l.f. Beauty's cost of capital and overall capital allocation strategy moving forward?

Fields: So even with the additional $600 million that we've taken on with the Rhode acquisition and our existing debt of about $256 million we will still be roughly around 2 times on a net leverage basis to adjusted EBITDA, so still very reasonable. From a cost of capital [perspective], the new term loan did increase slightly where we're borrowing at, but it’s still relatively unchanged versus where we were; I mean it moved slightly. And so we're very pleased with our overall capital structure.

All eyes are on any last-minute trade updates ahead of President Trump's tariff deadline on Thursday. The president followed through on threats to punish India for buying Russian oil: Indian imports will be subject to an extra 25% tariff, on top of the 25% rate they already face.

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Apple pledged to invest another $100 billion in U.S. operations at a White House event on Wednesday, adding to the tech industry’s efforts to meet President Trump’s request to expand domestic manufacturing.

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Disney’s ESPN and TKO Group’s World Wrestling Entertainment have reached a more than $1.6 billion agreement that will give the sports-media company exclusive rights to many of WWE’s most high profile events.

📈 Earnings wrapup

• Disney Forecasts Stronger Streaming, Parks Growth as Cord-Cutting Continues
• McDonald’s Sales Rebound After Burger Giant Hammers Value Message
• Lyft’s Second-Quarter Profit Rises as Ridership, Bookings Grow
• Airbnb Results Beat, But Investments Weigh on Margin Outlook
• Zillow Swings to Profit Despite Slow Housing Market

For more earnings coverage, click here.

📰 Other headlines

• MAGA Antitrust Agenda Under Siege by Lobbyists Close to Trump
• Starboard Value Builds Over 9% Stake in Engineering-Materials Maker Rogers
• Detroit Rediscovers Its Love for Giant Gas Guzzlers
• FTC Files Lawsuit to Block Edwards Lifesciences’ Purchase of JenaValve Technology
• Developer of Crypto Mixer Tornado Cash Found Guilty on One Criminal Charge
• Auto Industry Takes $12 Billion Hit From Trade War
• U.S. Trading Partners Race to Secure Exemptions From Trump’s Tariffs

Bumble, the Austin, Texas-based online dating company, appointed Kevin Cook as chief financial officer, effective Aug. 12. Cook succeeds interim Finance Chief Ronald Fior, who will serve in an advisory role through the end of August, the company said. Cook previously held the top finance role at Cloudera, a hybrid cloud data and artificial intelligence platform company, Bumble said. He has also held roles at Barracuda Networks, Cowen, Credit Suisse, Wachovia Securities and RBC Capital Markets.

—Kelly Cloonan contributed to today’s Ledger.

The Wall Street Journal's CFO Journal offers corporate leaders and professionals CFO analysis, advice and commentary to make informed decisions. We cover topics including corporate tax, accounting, regulation, capital markets, management and strategy.

Follow us on X @WSJCFO. The WSJ CFO Journal Team comprises reporters Kristin Broughton, Mark Maurer and Jennifer Williams, and Bureau Chief Walden Siew.

You can reach us by replying to any newsletter, or email Walden at walden.siew@wsj.com.