Business Analytics

A jump in mobile ads and daily users contributed to another strong quarter for Facebook — one that also beat analyst expectations.   For the second quarter ended June 30, total revenue rose 45% to $9.32 billion. This is a significant jump from $6.436 billion for the same period in 2016.    Revenues for the quarter also beat analyst forecasts of $9.20 billion, according to Thomson Reuters. This is the ninth straight quarter that Facebook has exceeded analyst expectations.  

The Home Depot elevated 14-year veteran Ted Decker to the role of EVP of merchandising to oversee all aspects of merchandising strategy and operations.

Decker had previously served as SVP of retail finance, pricing analytics and assortment planning. He assumes his new role August 4 and will report to Craig Menear, Home Depot’s president of U.S. retail.

Electrolux president and CEO Keith McLoughlin reflected on the company's progress during the second fiscal quarter, pointing to prospects for growth.

However, net sales decreased by about 4.9% year-over-year, totaling $26.3 billion for the three-month period. That decrease was slightly smaller for the six-month period — 2%.

Meanwhile, the company posted a net loss of $92 million for the quarter. For the first six months, the company's net income of $339 million compares to net income of $1.003 billion for the same six-month period last year.

Rising commodity costs and expense pressures prompted Hershey to announce an 8% increase in wholesale prices as it looks to maintain profitability in 2014 and beyond.

Burlington Stores has updated its comparable store sales guidance for the second quarter ending Aug. 2 and launched a debt refinancing transaction.

Based on the company’s results quarter to date and its estimates for the remainder of July, comparable store sales for the quarter are expected to increase between 3% and 4% — not as much as last year’s second quarter comparable-stores sales increase of 7.8%, but better than its previous estimates of 2% to 3%.

A strong spring painting season drove a near 10% increase in same store sales at Sherwin-Williams and fueled record sales and profits for the operator of 4,100 stores.

The company’s total sales increased 12.1% to slightly more than $3 billion due primarily to higher sales in the company paint stores group. Acquisitions were said to have increased net sales by 4.6%. Profits grew at an even faster pace, with earnings per share increasing 19.5% to $2.94 from $2.46.

San Jose, Calif. -- EBay Inc. on Wednesday reported that its second quarter earnings rose 5.6%, topping analysts' expectations.

The company posted $676 million in net income, up from $640 million in the same quarter a year ago.

Revenue rose 13% to $4.37 billion from $3.88 billion in the same quarter a year ago.
 

 

San Francisco -- Search ad spend increased 25% year-over-year and 2% quarter-over-quarter, according to Kenshoo, a leader in predictive media optimization technology.

Among the key findings in the research:

• Search click-through rate increased 26%, driving a 15% increase in clicks year-over-year;

• Social ad spend increased 51% year-over-year and 21% quarter-over-quarter; and

• Social impressions increased 13% year-over-year.

Redlands, Calif. — Esri announced the next generation of its Tapestry Segmentation system, which reflects a decade of analysis of major U.S. events such as the housing boom of the early 2000s and its long-term impacts on the U.S. population.

New York - Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (ESRT), a New York-based real estate investment trust, has completed the acquisition of the ground and operating leases at 112 West 34th Street and the ground lease at 1400 Broadway for a total of approximately $734 million in cash, common stock and operating partnership units. 112 West 34th Street is a 26-story, 650,769-rentable-sq.-ft.office tower, with 92,455-sq.-ft. of retail space located in the 34th Street/Penn Station submarket.