Data & Analytics

Despite what president and CEO Ajay Banga called a “mixed global economy,” MasterCard Incorporated kicked off the year with a strong quarter.

The company reported net income of $870 million, up 14%, and earnings per diluted share of $0.73, up 18%, in each case versus the year-ago period.

Kellogg Company said that its first-quarter results for earnings per share were greater than the company's expectations, while results for operating profit were in-line with expectations, thanks in part to Project K — the company’s global cost-cutting initiative.

Net sales for the quarter decreased 3.1% to $3.7 billion. Internal net sales, which exclude the effects of foreign currency translation, acquisitions, dispositions and integration costs, decreased 2.4% over the same period.  

Rite Aid posted $2 billion for the four weeks ended April 26, representing a lift of 4.9%. Same-store sales increased 5% over the prior-year period.

April front-end same-store sales increased 4.7%, with 4.6% of the increase attributable to a shift in the timing of Easter, which fell on April 20 this year, compared with March 31 last year. Pharmacy same-store sales, which included an approximate 138 basis points negative impact from new generic introductions, increased 5.2%. Prescription count at comparable stores increased 2.3% over the prior-year period.  

Skeeter Nut Free, a snack food company that manufactures peanut- and tree nut-free snacks, has added three executives to its senior leadership team. Larry Appel will be CEO and a member of the board of directors, while Javier Retamar joins as CFO and Sharyla Robinson as VP of marketing.

Walmart may not operate stores in New York but it managed to enlist the aid of the city’s top trash executive to reinforce the importance of accelerating recycling efforts.

The timing of the Easter holiday this year adversely affected first-quarter sales at Publix by 1.3% — Easter fell in the second quarter this year, rather than the first quarter as if did last year — but the company still posted a 4.1% increase to $7.8 billion from last year’s $7.5 billion.

Comparable-store sales for the quarter increased 4%.

San Jose – PayPal is rebranding itself in an effort designed to create a cohesive look and feel across the brand. The program includes a new logo and an omni-channel campaign called “powering the people economy.”

Washington, D.C. -- Driven by stronger same-store sales and customer traffic and a more optimistic outlook among restaurant operators, the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index 's rose to a 10-month high in March. The RPI – a monthly composite index that tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry – stood at 101.4 in March, up 0.9 percent from February's level of 100.5.  

Phoenix -- PetSmart has named Michael Goodwin to the position of senior VP and CIO, effective June 2.

Goodwin brings more than 20 years of information technology experience to PetSmart, most recently serving as senior VP and CIO of technology and business enablement at Hallmark, a $4 billion global enterprise with more than 2,600 stores and an extensive online presence.

San Francisco – Stock compensation expenses helped produce a net loss of $132.4 million at Twitter Inc. during the first quarter of 2014, compared to a net loss of $27 million in the same quarter of the previous year. Twitter attributed part of the net loss to $126 million in stock compensation expense.