Finance & Capital Management

Target Corp. is extending its progress to renewable energy and making progress on its goal to have 500 buildings with rooftop solar panels by 2020.   

Amazon on Thursday posted its eight straight quarter of net profitability, fueled by growth in e-commerce sales and its lucrative cloud service platform, Amazon Web Services.   Amazon easily topped earning expectations for its first quarter, ended March 31, reporting $1.48 per share, above the $1.12 Wall Street expected. Net income rose to $724 million from $513 million in the year-ago period.  

Apple may be the next company to provide a money-transfer service.   Sources said Apple has recently held discussions with payments industry partners about introducing a program that would allow iPhone owners to send money to each other digitally, according to ReCode.   If Apple’s plan pans out, its service will rival offerings from big U.S. banks, as well as PayPal, its millennial-popular subsidiary Venmo, and Square Cash, the report said.  

Barnes & Noble has ended its quest for a new chief executive with an in-house promotion.   The struggling bookseller named Demos Parneros as CEO, effective immediately. Parneros, who has served as COO of Barnes & Noble since November 2016, is a longtime Staples veteran. Prior to joining Barnes & Noble, he was president of North American stores & online for the office supply giant.  

In an action that reflects its strong performance, Costco Wholesale Corp. is about to return some $3.1 billion to investors.    The retailer announced a special cash dividend on Costco common stock of $7.00 per share, payable May 26, 2017, to shareholders. The dividend is in addition to a 5 cent increase of the company’s quarterly cash dividend to 50 cents a share.  

One of the retail industry’s most high-profile and powerful female executives has been tapped as CEO of Weight Watchers International.   Mindy Grossman will step down as chief executive of HSNi effective May 24. She will take the reins as president and CEO of Weight Watchers, effective in July, and will also join the Weight Watchers board at that time.   

Office Depot continues to make good on its promise to focus on its North American business.     The retailer said it has closed on the sale of its business in South Korea to Excelsior Capital Asia, a Hong Kong- and Korea-based direct investment firm. Excelsior invests throughout Asia on behalf of major Korean institutions, pension funds and private family offices.  

Kit and Ace, the company founded by the family of Lululemon founder Chip Wilson, is pulling back on brick-and-mortar outside of its home base to focus online.   The upscale athleisure retailer announced it is “simplifying” its business plan and operations, reducing head office staff and closing its 32 locations in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. Kit and Ace said it is shifting focus to its “solid” Canadian showrooms and global e-commerce platform.