Selasa, 18 Februari 2020

Walmart's holiday season 'wasn't as good as expected' - CNN

Sales at stores and websites open for at least one year — a key measure of the retailer's health— increased only 1.9% during its final quarter of 2019. That included a 35% spike in online sales. Wall Street expected a stronger performance.
Macy's just dealt a big blow to the struggling American mall
"In the few weeks before Christmas, we experienced some softness" in toys, video games and clothing, Walmart chief financial officer Brett Biggs said in a news release. The holiday "wasn't as good as expected," he said.
The shorter holiday season last year also contributed to the slowdown, according to Walmart. There were six fewer days this year between Thanksgiving and Christmas than last year.
The company missed Wall Street's expectations for sales and profit, sending shares of Walmart (WMT) down slightly in pre-market trading. Heading into Tuesday, Walmart's stock has rallied 19% over the past 12 months.
Walmart and Target (TGT) have been two of the strongest traditional retailers in recent years, weathering the rise of Amazon (AMZN) and the shift to online shopping that has upended the retail industry.
But like Walmart, Target also had a disappointing holiday.
Other retailers struggled during the holidays, including Macy's (M), Kohl's (KSS) and Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY). Macy's last week announced it will close 125 stores over the next three years -- nearly one fifth of its total locations -- and lay off 10% of its corporate staff. Costco (COST) and TJMaxx parent TJX (TJX) were two outliers in the retail industry, reporting robust holiday sales.
Amazon also had a blowout holiday stretch and announced a record 150 million people now subscribe to its Prime membership program.

Strength in grocery

In recent years, Walmart has leaned on its network of more than 4,700 stores across the country to draw middle-and lower-income shoppers. Walmart has remodeled stores and lowered prices.
It has also invested in reaching wealthier shoppers online to compete with Amazon.
Despite a weak season for toys and clothes, Walmart said that groceries, its largest business, performed well over the holidays.
Walmart has rapidly built out an online grocery pickup and delivery infrastructure, an advantage over Amazon, which owns around 500 Whole Foods stores, and rival retailers that don't sell groceries.
Walmart ended the year with around 3,200 grocery pickup locations and more than 1,600 delivery locations. The company plans to continue expanding this year.
Walmart on Tuesday said that it expected a strong 2020.
Some companies, including Under Armour (UA), Nike (NKE) and Apple (AAPL), said that they expected to be hurt by the outbreak of coronavirus in China. Apple said Monday that the coronavirus is hurting its business more than previously expected by limiting how many devices it can make and sell in China.
Walmart said it was monitoring the impact from the coronavirus, but did not include any financial effects from the outbreak in its guidance to investors.
In China, Walmart has around 440 stores. The company has reducing hours at many stores. Chief financial officer Biggs told analysts that "we do anticipate some impact to the China business" in the first quarter of the year.
Biggs said that Walmart was not seeing "major impacts" limiting its ability to source products from China, but warned that could change.
"If there are any longer-term shipping issues, it would likely impact our business," he said.

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2020-02-18 14:24:00Z
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HSBC to cut headcount by 35,000, shed $100 billion in assets - CBS News

HSBC will shed some 35,000 jobs as part of a deep overhaul to focus on faster-growing markets in Asia and as it tries to cope with a slew of global uncertainties, from Brexit to the trade wars to the new coronavirus.

The interim chief executive, Noel Quinn, said Tuesday the number of people employed by the bank would fall from 235,000 to 200,000, representing a cut of about 15%, in the next three years. Some of the reductions would come from attrition as opposed to outright cuts.

HSBC, which is based in London but does most of its business in Asia, is caught among myriad uncertainties. From Brexit uncertainties to the Hong Kong protests and trade disputes between the United States and China. Now the new coronavirus is adding further uncertainty.

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The bank's net profit fell 53% to $6 billion in 2019 and, for this year, it warned of "significant disruption'' to its business due to the outbreak of the virus in China.

HSBC's operations in Europe are also under pressure. It must now also grapple with Britain's departure from the European Union and the uncertainty that will accompany negotiations future trade relations.

"No trade negotiation is ever straightforward,'' HSBC said in a statement. "It is essential that the eventual agreement protects and fosters the many benefits that financial services provide to both the U.K. and the EU."

The whopping headcount drop comes amid a downsizing in Europe. The restructure involves "consolidating" of some parts of the business and "reorganising the global functions and head office,'' Quinn said.

Focus on Asia

The bank has been carrying out a corporate overhaul designed to boost profitability by focusing on high-growth markets in Asia while shedding businesses and workers in other countries. It plans to revamp its U.S. and European business and shed $100 billion in assets to improve profitability.

"Our immediate aims are to increase returns, create the capacity to invest in the future, and build a platform for sustainable growth," Quinn said in the statement.

The sharp drop in 2019 profit reflected slower economic activity but also a $7.3 billion write-down for HSBC's Global Banking and Markets and Commercial Banking divisions in Europe. Revenue rose 5.9% in 2019 to $55.4 billion.

The bank said it would shrink its sales and trading and equity research in Europe and shift resources to Asia. In the U.S., HSBC plans to grow its international-client corporate banking business.

Restructuring costs

The restructuring is expected to cost $6 billion, with another $1.2 billion for asset sales, mainly in 2020 and 2021, the bank said.

Richard Hunter, Head of Markets at interactive investor, said the toxic mix of pressures also comes at the same time that current net interest rate environment has dropped — to 1.58% from 1.66% — "with few if any signs on the horizon of an uplift.'' Banks tend to make less money when rates are low as its squeezes their lending business.

"There remain more questions than answers as HSBC looks to overhaul its business in radical fashion,'' Hunter wrote. "Quite apart from the economic challenges, there remains space at the top for a replacement chief executive, the search for whom is an additional distraction. The bank seems determined to target its unacceptably performing units but this will take time, courage and capital.''

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2020-02-18 13:21:00Z
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Shoppers slam Amazon for 'unnecessary' packaging as Jeff Bezos pledges $10 billion to fight climate change - msnNOW

Jeff Bezos may have pledged $10 billion to fight climate change but critics are slamming the billionaire for not making changes to closer to home first and reducing the amount of packaging used to send out Amazon parcels.


Jeff Bezos wearing a suit and tie© REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

"Could he please start with his ridiculous packaging that he leaves on our doorstep??? Perhaps the amazon delivery could collect the significant waste left behind," one Amazon shopper wrote on Twitter.

"If #Bezos wants to do something for the world, he can start with his excessive packaging. Amazon shipping is the most wasteful of any retailer out there. Is junking up the world with plastics part of #BezosEarthFund?" another wrote.

Bezos announced his $10 billion pledge in an Instagram post on Monday. The money will be donated via a new initiative called the Bezos Earth Fund.

Amazon has frequently been called out for its tendency to use large amounts of packaging to send out small items and there are numerous posts documenting this habit on social media with shoppers sharing images of giant boxes used to house one relatively small item: 

In some cases, Amazon customer service agents have responded to customer's complaints on Twitter, saying that they will look into it: 

A spokesperson for Amazon did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment on this.

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Bezos said that the $10 billion will be used to fund the work done by scientists, activists, and NGOs among others "to help preserve and protect the natural world."

"Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet," he wrote on Instagram. "I want to work alongside others both to amplify known ways and to explore new ways of fighting the devastating impact of climate change on this planet we all share." The grants will be issued from this summer onward.

His announcement comes after mounting pressure from Amazon employees to do more to fight climate change as one of the world's largest retailers.

In January, more than 350 employees signed a petition that called out the company's climate change practices and urged Bezos to invest more money into fighting this cause rather than putting it toward his space exploration company, Blue Origin, for example.

"Amazon, the Earth is our only home. Spend more money on fighting Climate Change than on space exploration!" one Amazon employee wrote in the Medium post, which was reported by Business Insider's Isobel Hamilton.

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2020-02-18 13:15:00Z
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Apple shares slide after coronavirus guidance warning as its global suppliers are hammered - CNBC

Apple shares fell over 3% in pre-market trade on Tuesday after it warned that it does not expect to meet its own guidance for the March quarter because of the impact from the coronavirus.

The outbreak of the virus, which has killed over 1,800 people, also led to China's new year holiday being extended and factories and retail stores being shut for a longer period of time.

Apple said there was "a slower return to normal conditions than we had anticipated" pointing to issues around its supply and demand.

The U.S. technology giant has large exposure to China with around 15% of revenue coming from the region and most of its products, including the lucrative iPhone, being made there.

Apple said all its manufacturing facilities have re-opened in China but are "ramping up more slowly than we had anticipated" leading to "iPhone supply shortages."

All of its retail stores have been closed with some still remaining shut. The ones that have opened again are operating in a limited way with "very low customer traffic" which has hit demand.

A man cycles past a closed Apple store in Beijing on February 8, 2020.

Greg Baker | AFP | Getty Images

Analysts have reduced their revenue outlook and iPhone sales volumes for the coming quarter.

Barclays expects March quarter iPhone shipments to come in at 40.8 million versus its previous forecast of 44 million. The bank has reduced its June outlook from 36 million units to 33.8 million. It also cut its price target for Apple's stock from $304 to $297.

Meanwhile, JPMorgan lowered its iPhone volume expectations in a note on Tuesday to 39.5 million units in the March quarter versus a prior estimate of 47.5 million.

In terms of revenue, JPMorgan said it expects Apple to report revenue of $60 billion in the March quarter and earnings per share of $2.70 versus its previous estimate of $3.02.

In its fiscal first quarter earnings release last month, Apple had given wider-than-usual revenue guidance of $63 billion to $67 billion because of the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus. However, Apple's didn't give revised guidance in its latest warning.

Morgan Stanley however expects the lost revenue in the March quarter to be pushed out to subsequent quarters.

"We assume Apple ends the March quarter with three weeks of iPhone channel inventory versus the normal six weeks, representing a $7.5B revenue shortfall in the quarter," the bank said in a note on Tuesday. "To be conservative, we assume 80% of the channel inventory rebuild plays out in the June quarter, with the remainder boosting September quarter revenue."

Apple's coronavirus warning sent ripples through global supply chain stocks. In Asia, Hong Kong-listed AAC Technologies, which makes haptics and acoustics components, fell more than 3.6%. Chipmaker TSMC was down nearly 3% while Samsung Electronics was also lower.

In Europe, Dialog Semiconductor slid over 4% while AMS, STMicro and ASML all fell.

— CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this article.

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2020-02-18 11:37:00Z
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Walmart earnings miss as holiday season disappoints, outlook falls short of estimates - CNBC

Walmart reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings fell short of analysts' estimates, as the retailer saw weak demand for toys, apparel and video games during the holiday season.

Its outlook for the upcoming year also came up short of expectations, as Walmart anticipates e-commerce growth will slow. The forecast doesn't include any impact from the deadly coronavirus outbreak.

Political unrest in Chile, where protests have caused disruption in Walmart stores in the region, also weighed on its results in the latest quarter.

Walmart shares fell less than 1% in premarket trading Tuesday on the news.

Here's what the company reported compared with what analysts were expecting for Walmart's fiscal fourth quarter, based on Refinitiv data:

  • Earnings per share: $1.38, adjusted, vs. $1.43 expected
  • Revenue: $141.67 billion vs. $142.49 billion expected
  • Same-store sales: up 1.9% in the U.S. vs. growth of 2.3% expected

"The holiday season … wasn't as good as expected due to lower sales volumes and some pressure related to associate scheduling," CFO Brett Biggs said.

Walmart reported net income for the quarter ended Jan. 31 of $4.14 billion, or $1.45 cents a share, compared with $3.69 billion, or $1.27, a year ago. Excluding one-time items, Walmart earned $1.38 a share, short of expectations for $1.43 per share, according to a poll by Refinitiv.

It said disruption in Chile lowered its operating income by roughly $110 million.

Revenue grew about 2.1% to $141.67 billion from $138.79 billion a year ago. But that was short of estimates for $142.49 billion.

Sales at Walmart stores in the U.S. open for at least 12 months, and its website, were up 1.9%, short of expectations for 2.3%.

E-commerce sales during the quarter were up 35%, fueled by its best growth yet for Walmart.com. For the year, Walmart reported online sales growth of 37%, topping its own internal growth targets of 35%.

For fiscal 2021, Walmart expects that growth to slow, with an expectation e-commerce sales will rise roughly 30%.

It said earnings are expected to fall within a range of $5.00 to $5.15 a share. Analysts had been calling for annual earnings of $5.22 per share.

Walmart announced the results ahead of the company holding a meeting with investors in New York.

Wall Street has been eager to see how Walmart fared this holiday season.

The big-box company didn't release its holiday results, but rival Target's holiday sales results disappointed, with Target citing weakness in toys, leading many to believe Walmart's results would be similarly less upbeat.

As Walmart's grocery business has been on fire, its e-commerce operations have been more controversial. And some of its bets have failed.

As Walmart's grocery business has been on fire, its e-commerce operations have been more controversial. And some of its bets have failed.

Just last week, Walmart said it would be discontinuing its text-to-order e-commerce service, known as Jetblack. It launched the business in New York back in 2018. But it hasn't been able to make money on the project, nor grow the audience at scale, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal. Instead, Walmart said it plans to incorporate some of Jetblack's technology into its own business.

It sold ModCloth, a clothing start-up it had previously acquired in a bid to grow the reach of its audience, last year. Another one of its acquisitions, Bonobos, laid off employees last year. And Bonobos founder Andy Dunn late last year announced his departure from Walmart. Dunn had been tasked with helping the head of Walmart's U.S. e-commerce business, Marc Lore, acquire digital brands.

There has also been ample shake-up among Walmart's executive ranks of late.

Last month, it said its chief merchant Steve Bratspies would be departing. That news came after the chief merchant for Walmart's U.S. e-commerce business, Ashley Buchanan, left in December to become CEO of crafts retailer Michael's. And last summer, Walmart integrated many Jet.com positions into its own business, eliminating the Jet.com president role.

Walmart has said it is on track to report e-commerce sales growth of 35% for the year. During the third quarter, online sales were up 41%.

Walmart shares are up about 19% over the past 12 months. It has a market value of roughly $332.7 billion.

This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.

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2020-02-18 10:38:00Z
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HSBC to Cut 35,000 Jobs and $100 Billion of Assets - The Wall Street Journal

155-year-old HSBC is reorganizing its business as political challenges destabilize its main markets.

Photo: isaac lawrence/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
By
Simon Clark and
Margot Patrick

LONDON—HSBC Holdings PLC said it would cut 35,000 jobs and $100 billion in assets in the next three years as it scales back its operations in the U.S., mainland Europe and its investment bank.

Europe’s biggest bank by assets plans to invest more in its fast-growing Asian and Middle Eastern operations to boost profit. HSBC operates in more than 50 countries but makes half its revenue in Asia.

The bank said Tuesday that net profit fell 53% to $5.97 billion last year, impacted by a goodwill impairment of $7.3 billion.

HSBC’s London-listed shares were down 5.1% Tuesday morning.

The 155-year-old lender is reorganizing its business as political challenges destabilize its main markets, with uncertainty about the U.K. economy as it leaves the European Union, antigovernment protests in Hong Kong and trade tensions between the U.S. and China.

HSBC still faces substantial challenges in its key markets in the U.K., Hong Kong and mainland China, Chairman Mark Tucker said.

The bank is monitoring the impact of the coronavirus outbreak and has reduced its expectations for Asian economic growth in 2020 as a result, Mr. Tucker said.

The restructuring of the London-based bank is being led by Chief Executive Noel Quinn , who replaced John Flint in August on an interim basis. Mr. Quinn is vying for the permanent role of CEO, which the bank said will be decided this year.

“Around 30% of our capital is currently allocated to businesses that are delivering returns below their cost of equity, largely in global banking and markets in Europe and the U.S.,” Mr. Quinn said.

HSBC will be “exiting businesses where necessary,” Mr. Quinn said.

HSBC Chief Financial Officer Ewen Stevenson told journalists there will be “meaningful job cuts” in HSBC’s investment bank and headquarters in London.

The bank, which employs 235,000 people, expects to incur about $7.2 billion of costs because of the restructuring in the next few years.

Write to Simon Clark at simon.clark@wsj.com and Margot Patrick at margot.patrick@wsj.com

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2020-02-18 09:02:00Z
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Senin, 17 Februari 2020

Watch: Pilot lands 394-ton A380 sideways as Storm Dennis rages - Euronews

An Airbus A380, the world’s largest passenger plane, was forced to make a spectacular “crab” landing at the weekend amid fiercely strong winds at London’s Heathrow Airport.

The name is derived from the manner in which crabs move sideways across the beach. In similar fashion, the Etihad Airways jet approached the runway at an angle to cope with strong crosswinds.

Having struggled to make contact with the ground, the aircraft then veered slowly off the tarmac before coming to rest.

The plane, which had flown from Abu Dhabi, landed at London’s main airport on Saturday when dozens of flights were grounded due to winds of up to 68 kph.

The footage shows the plane appearing to hang in the air as it comes in. Immediately prior to touching down, its tail swings round as it hovers over the runway. The aircraft touches down pointing to the left before continuing its sideways manoeuvre.

The two Etihad pilots have been praised on social media for their handling of the plane, which has a maximum landing weight of 394 tons.

Watch the plane landing in the video player above.

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2020-02-17 13:07:32Z
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