Finance & Capital Management

Shoppers love a deal – the perception of one anyway – which explains how TJX Companies continues to defy gravity by posting another quarter of strong same store sales growth and improved profitability.

A career that began in 1974 as a Giant Eagle supermarket clerk will end on June 30, 2016 as one of the company’s most instrumental figures in recent decades, president and COO John Lucot, will retire after 42 years of service to the Pittsburgh-area grocer.

Starbucks Corp. has turned to the bond market to fund its sustainable-coffee efforts. The chain issued a $500 million U.S. corporate sustainability bond to fund projtects that will support ethical coffee sourcing. The 10-year, 2.45 percent senior notes, due 2026, will fund programs that ensure coffee is grown and distributed in a way that can be maintained over the long run, such as providing fair pay for workers and protection for wildlife.

Ace Hardware took home "record" first quarter revenues of $1.2 billion in the first quarter, an increase of 4.3% over last year. The message was a little more muddled for earnings. Though its first quarter net income of $26.1 million was down 12.7% year-over-year, that figure was still 12.0% ahead of plan. It was also a planned reduction owing to the timing of promotions.

Atlanta-based The Home Depot reported first-quarter sales of $22.8 billion during what CEO Craig Menear described as a "stronger than expected start to the year." Comp-store sales for the quarter were up 6.5% - with comps for the U.S. stores up 7.4%. Net earnings for the three months ended May 1 were $1.8 billion, up 14.2% compared with net earnings of $1.6 billion in the same quarter last year.

Francesca’s Holdings is looking for a new CEO after the abrupt departure of former Chairman, President and CEO Michael Barnes and weaker than expected first quarter guidance caused the company’s shares to plummet.

Speaking at his company’s annual shareholders meeting, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said the online giant will open more stores—but he didn’t specify when, according to the Seattle Times.

Target Corp.’s ongoing recovery stalled a bit in the first quarter as the chain joined the list of retailers posting disappointing Q1 sales amid cool, unspring like weather and sluggish retail spending. But it was not all gloom and doom for the discounter, whose online sales continued their upward course and whose profit topped estimates.