trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/lncrhwdkhnhgevgzlm5yaw2 content esgSubNav
In This List

Target misses EPS expectations; Nordstrom spurns founding family's bid

Blog

Using ESG Analysis to Support a Sustainable Future

Video

S&P Capital IQ Pro | Powered by Expert Insights

Blog

Q&A: Streamlining Analytics for TCFD Reporting

Blog

Evergrande and the wider impact: a sentiment analytics based perspective


Target misses EPS expectations; Nordstrom spurns founding family's bid

TOP NEWS

* Target Corp. reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.37, just shy of the S&P Capital IQ mean consensus estimate of $1.38. Sales rose 3.6% year over year in the fourth quarter on a comparable basis. Comparable digital sales rose 29%. The company reported full-year 2017 adjusted EPS of $4.71. It said it expects adjusted EPS to range between $1.25 and $1.45 for the fiscal first quarter, while fiscal 2018 adjusted EPS will range between $5.15 and $5.45.

* Nordstrom Inc.'s board said it received and rejected the Nordstrom family's offer to purchase all outstanding shares not already owned by the founding family for $50 per share in cash. The board's special committee said it intends to end discussions unless the family group can "substantially improve the price it is proposing to pay."

TEXTILES, APPAREL AND LUXURY GOODS

* Italian eyewear company Luxottica Group SpA said it acquired a 67% majority stake in Japanese eyewear manufacturer Fukui Megane Co. Ltd., a specialist in the production of titanium and solid gold eyewear frames, for an undisclosed amount. The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, marks Luxottica's entry into the Japanese eyewear production hub of Fukui.

E-COMMERCE

* LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE-owned Givenchy expanded its e-commerce platform to the U.K., Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain following the French luxury brand's initial online launch in September 2017, according to a news release.

* Amazon.com Inc. is considering a "hybrid-type checking account" for its younger or unbanked customers, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing "people familiar with the matter." The e-commerce giant has reportedly already received proposals for partnerships from JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Capital One Financial Corp., among other big banks. The potential move could provide banks greater access to the highly coveted millennial demographic, analysts told S&P Global Market Intelligence.

* Amazon.com extended the free, two-hour delivery service for food and a limited range of alcoholic beverages of its supermarket chain Whole Foods Market Inc. to Prime Now subscribers in Atlanta and San Francisco, the Seattle-based company said March 6.

* Indian online shopping service Paytm Mall is in advanced talks to secure a new round of funding worth 30 billion Indian rupees from Japan's Softbank Group Corp. to better compete with rivals Flipkart India Pvt. Ltd. and Amazon.com, The Economic Times (India) reported, citing two sources close to the development. The transaction, which is likely to be completed by March-end, is expected to value Paytm Mall, in which Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and its affiliate Ant Financial own a majority stake, at about 130 billion rupees, the report added.

FOOD AND STAPLES RETAILING

* The U.S. Federal Trade Commission opposed J. M. Smucker Co.'s proposed purchase of Conagra Brands Inc.'s Wesson cooking oil brand, Reuters reports. In an administrative complaint, the FTC said that Smucker's Crisco brand and Wesson would together control at least 70% of the market, which would likely lessen competition and violate anti-trust law.

Airline caterer gategroup Holding AG said it plans to list on the Swiss stock market as its Chinese owner, HNA Group Co. Ltd., continues to raise cash amid a liquidity crunch. In a statement posted on its website, gategroup said the initial public offering on Zurich's SIX Swiss Exchange would take place at the end of the first quarter or in the second quarter of 2018. The primary listing is expected to generate proceeds of about CHF350 million for gategroup.

* A group of BRF SA shareholders nominated 10 candidates for election to the Brazilian packaged food company's board, according to a regulatory filing. The news comes the same day the company's former CEO, Pedro Faria, was arrested by Brazil's federal police in connection with the country's yearlong food safety investigation of the Brazilian meat industry, Reuters reported.

HYPERMARKETS AND SUPERCENTERS

* U.S. retailers Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. are facing a lawsuit filed by 20-year-old Oregon man Tyler Watson claiming that the two retailers discriminated against him and refused to sell him a rifle, NBC News reported. The lawsuit comes after Dick's stopped selling assault rifles, Wal-Mart raised age restrictions for gun purchases and Kroger Co. stopped selling guns to adults under 21 years of age at certain stores following a Feb. 14 Florida school shooting.

HOUSEHOLD DURABLES AND SPECIALTY RETAIL

* LEGO Group, maker of the iconic LEGO bricks, said net profit for the year ended Dec. 31, 2017, fell 17.3% year over year to 7.81 billion Danish kroner from DKK9.44 billion in 2016 as the Danish company's attempt to mop up excess inventory in North America and Europe saw sales decline 8% to DKK35.00 billion from DKK37.93 billion. The play materials maker, which announced a restructuring plan Sept. 5, 2017, said it expected to stabilize the business in 2018 and to grow "low single digits in line with the global toy market."

INDUSTRY NEWS

* U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has supported South Dakota's appeal at the Supreme Court to allow states to require online retailers to collect online sales taxes, Reuters reports. South Dakota moved to the Supreme Court after a lower court favored online retailers Wayfair Inc., Overstock.com Inc. and Newegg Inc., according to the report. In its appeal, South Dakota is seeking an overturn of a 1992 Supreme Court ruling that exempts companies with no physical presence in a state from collecting a state sales taxes.

Now featured on S&P Global Market Intelligence

Trump steel, aluminum tariffs could imperil NAFTA talks