|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Costco’s Longtime Finance Chief and Its ‘Voice to Wall Street’ Is Stepping Down
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Costco Wholesale store in Washington, D.C. PHOTO: MICHAEL REYNOLDS/SHUTTERSTOCK
|
|
|
|
|
|
Good morning. Costco Wholesale’s finance chief plans to step down after nearly four decades directing finances at the retailer, which is weighing a potential increase in membership fees, a major driver of profits.
Richard Galanti, who was named as chief financial officer in 1985, became a key figure for the discount membership retailer. Often, he was the only person leading the company’s earnings calls with analysts. “Richard has been the primary Costco ‘voice’ to Wall Street and others,” Chief Executive Ron Vachris wrote in an internal company email viewed by The Wall Street Journal.
The sentiment rings true for analysts. “Richard Galanti is the face of the company for a lot of people,” said Chuck Grom, a managing director at Gordon Haskett Research Advisors. “I’ve covered Costco for 20 years, I’ve done 80 conference calls, give or take,” and Galanti has overwhelmingly led those calls, he said.
|
|
|
|
|
Editor’s Note: Some readers might get this email on a delay because of technical difficulties we are working to fix. This email was sent at 7 a.m.
|
|
|
|
|
Content from: DELOITTE
|
|
Turning the Key to Well-Being and Performance With a Sport Mindset
|
|
|
Elements of sport psychology, from reframing challenges to openly acknowledging pressures, can serve as game-changers in boosting performance for finance executives. Keep Reading ›
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
🗓️ Earnings
-
Alibaba Group Holding
-
CVS Health
-
Hilton Worldwide Holdings
-
PayPal Holdings
-
Uber Technologies
|
|
|
|
|
|
E.l.f. Beauty Boosts Marketing Expenses to Drive Sales Growth
|
|
|
Cosmetics company e.l.f. Beauty is investing more in marketing to drive higher sales, according to Chief Financial Officer Mandy Fields. The company’s marketing expenses amounted to 26% of net sales during the quarter ended Dec. 31, up from 17% a year earlier, Fields said in an interview. E.l.f. Beauty generated $270.9 million in net sales during the quarter, up 85% from a year earlier, the company said. “I like to think of it as the flywheel for growth,” Fields said.
—Kristin Broughton
|
|
|
|
What Else Matters to CFOs Today
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Federal Reserve left its benchmark federal-funds rate unchanged last week, but borrowing costs in the corporate bond market have nonetheless fallen. PHOTO: JOSHUA ROBERTS/REUTERS
|
|
|
|
|
|
Finance chiefs are taking advantage of favorable conditions in the corporate bond market while they last.
Big U.S. companies including General Mills, T-Mobile US and International Business Machines issued bonds in January, capitalizing on lower borrowing costs and stronger investor demand after a volatile 2023.
Excluding financial institutions, U.S. investment-grade companies raised $81.5 billion by issuing debt in January, according to Dealogic, a financial data provider. The sum was 38% higher than the same month a year earlier and the largest January figure since 2017. High-yield bond issuance, by comparison, increased 16% over the same period, to $22.3 billion, according to Dealogic. Including financial institutions, last month was a record January for investment-grade corporate issuance.
|
|
|
|
-
Adam Neumann, the former chief executive and co-founder of WeWork, is trying to regain control of the bankrupt co-working company less than five years after the board forced him out.
-
Toyota on Tuesday forecast a record $30.3 billion net profit for the fiscal year ending March thanks to higher sales of hybrid vehicles in all of its major markets.
-
DocuSign is the latest to cut jobs after years of tech industry spending and growth without constraint.
-
New York Community Bancorp shares plunged Tuesday, continuing a brutal selloff of the Hicksville, N.Y.-based regional bank after ugly fourth-quarter results last week.
-
Sebastián Piñera, a wealthy entrepreneur turned two-time president of Chile, died Tuesday when the helicopter he was traveling in crashed in a rural area of southern Chile. The billionaire businessman governed Chile for two terms, the second of which was marked by violent protests.
📰 Other headlines
|
|
|
|
|
Restaurant365, an Irvine, Calif.-based company that develops restaurant management software, named Jessica Lanier chief financial officer, effective immediately. Lanier most recently served as vice president of finance at Qualtrics.
Prudential Financial promoted Yanela Frias as its next finance chief on the upcoming departure of longtime executive Ken Tanji. The Newark, N.J.-based insurer on Tuesday said that Frias, who currently serves as president of group insurance, would succeed Tanji on March 15.
VF Corp. Finance Chief Matthew Puckett is leaving as the company looks to turn around its apparel and footwear businesses in North America. The owner of Vans, North Face and Timberland on Tuesday said that Puckett would continue serving in the role while the company looks for a successor.
H&R Block’s longtime Chief Financial Officer Tony Bowen will retire in September. The Kansas City, Mo.-based tax-filing company said that it would begin an external search for a replacement.
—Sabela Ojea and Ben Glickman contributed to this newsletter.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Content From Our Sponsor: DELOITTE
|
|
Economic News and Analysis from Ira Kalish
|
|
Deloitte Chief Global Economist Ira Kalish provides an in-depth view of the week’s most important economic reports from the U.S. and around the world, on the issues that matter to CFOs. Read more.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Wall Street Journal's CFO Journal offers corporate leaders and professionals CFO analysis, advice and commentary to make informed decisions. We cover topics ranging from corporate tax accounting, regulation, capital markets, management and strategy.
Follow us on X @WSJCFO. The WSJ CFO Journal Team is reporters Kristin Broughton, Mark Maurer and Jennifer Williams-Alvarez, and Bureau Chief Walden Siew.
You can reach us by replying to any newsletter, or email Walden at walden.siew@wsj.com.
|
|
|
|
|
|
