FINANCE

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.  

Tractor Supply Company reported declines in first quarter comp-store sales and net income as mild weather reduced sales of winter products.    "Due to the challenging weather conditions, we were unable to offset the strong seasonal performance from last year's first quarter," said CEO Greg Sandfort. "As the weather has normalized over the past few weeks, we are encouraged with how the customer has responded and believe there is significant spring business ahead of us."  

Bankruptcies in the sporting goods sector is taking a toll on Under Armour, but the brand still managed to beat expectations in its first quarter.   

Authentic Brands Group has taken a 51% stake in Frye, one of the nation’s oldest footwear brands, with an eye to expanding its footprint.   ABG will co-own the brand in partnership with Global Brands Group Holding Limited, from whom it acquired the stake. This is the first time ABG and Global Brands, who have had a long history of collaboration, co-own a brand.   

Walmart is making its cheaper and faster for its customers to send money.   The retailer is adding new “rollback” fees to its Walmart2Walmart money transfer program. The new fees, beginning Wednesday, April 24, save customers between 20% and 90% on cash transfers versus the leading competitor, according to Walmart.  For example, shoppers sending $250 will pay $8 through the new program, compared to fees that could range between $12.50 and $24 on Western Union, the retailer reported.  

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.  

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.  

April's consumer confidence metric didn't live up to the new benchmark established in March, when consumer confidence reached a 16-year high.   This month, the Index declined to 120.3 from 124.9 in March.  

Deckers Brands announced on Tuesday is it reviewing strategic alternatives, including a possible sale.   The decision comes as the company said it has made “significant progress” in streamlining its cost structure, optimizing its retail store fleet, and realigning its brands to improve profitability. Deckers portfolio includes the popular footwear brands Ugg and Teva.  

Bankrupt sporting goods retailer Gander Mountain may live to see another day.   Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings Inc. is planning to bid for as many as 80% of Gander Mountain’s stores, Bloomberg reported. Gander Mountain filed for bankruptcy on March 10.