Target exceeds expectations / Retail sales rebound in April / UBS' Credit Suisse rescue gain below expected $35B

Plus, Amazon Prime streams pro pickleball

Inside Business For May 17, 2023

Thank you to our sponsor

1 Earnings per share for Target's first quarter came in at $2.05, exceeding expectations of $1.76, and revenue came in at $25.32B, slightly exceeding expectations of $25.29B. The company maintained its full-year outlook of a low-single-digit decline to an increase despite comparable sales remaining steady. More: While the clothes and home categories showed sales reductions, the food/beverage and beauty categories saw sales growth. Comparable retail sales increased by 0.7%, whereas similar digital sales fell by 3.4% from the same time last year. Due to lower freight costs and fewer markdowns, Target's gross margin percentage increased to 26.3%. With a focus on ordering more food and high-frequency items to match shifting consumer spending habits, inventory decreased by 16% YoY. Target shares rose over 2% after the announcement.

2 What happened: After falling for the previous two months, retail sales in the U.S. increased by 0.4% in April. Consumers raised their spending on cars, dining out, and online shopping while decreasing spending on gas and large-ticket items like furniture and appliances. Why it matters: The rise in retail sales shows that consumers remain resilient despite inflation and rising interest rates. Consumer spending is a significant contributor to economic prosperity, and this encouraging news suggests that this trend will continue. Spending habits have changed from commodities to services as people recuperate from the pandemic and crave social interaction. Where to see the impact: Businesses like Home Depot and Tapestry are noticing changes in sales, while grocers like Kroger are seeing a combination of price-sensitive and splurging customers, which benefits industries like autos, restaurants, and online shops. Pent-up demand, meanwhile, is causing a resurgence in purchases at auto dealerships.

A message from our sponsor, SPIFF. The future of commission management is here.  Maybe you’re dealing with a mountain of spreadsheets, trying to keep up with a growing sales team and struggling to maintain your sanity in the process. Or, maybe you purchased a tool that promised efficiency, but instead, you've found yourself battling a complicated system that's caused more headaches than solutions. Between the untenable tangle of spreadsheets and overly complicated legacy platforms, Spiff has found a middle ground that bridges the last major mental gaps preventing spreadsheet-centric users from adopting commission automation at scale.  Spiff Designer is the revolutionary new backend model builder that combines the familiarity of a spreadsheet with the power of automation for the ultimate commission management solution.  Say goodbye to the manual tedium and hello to the future of commission management with Spiff. Take a self-guided tour!

3 Due to asset writedowns and other variables, UBS' $35B profit from the acquisition of Credit Suisse is less than some forecasts. The depreciated goodwill will aid in offsetting losses and merger integration expenses. More: In addition to devaluing Credit Suisse's assets by $13B, UBS will set aside $4B for legal and regulatory concerns. Due to the complexity of the merger, it could take up to four years to complete. By scrapping a Credit Suisse staff bonus program tied to AT1 bonds, UBS saved almost $400M. UBS forecasts a $2B loss on capitalized software assets but a $1B gain on Credit Suisse's worldwide real estate portfolio.

4 The Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) and Amazon Prime have agreed to a multiyear streaming agreement for four live PPA Tour tournaments yearly, starting with the Atlanta Open and continuing through the 2023-2024 PPA Tour World Championship Series. Top-ranked players such as Ben Johns, Anna Leigh Walters, and Anna Bright will be featured. More: According to the PPA CEO, Connor Pardoe, the arrangement was deemed "monumental" for the league and a step up for professional players. The Association of Pickleball Professionals states that an estimated 36 million people played pickleball between August 2021 and August 2022 since the sport is expanding quickly. According to the Sports Fitness Industry Association Topline Participation Report, the sport has increased in popularity over the last three years by more than 158%. The PPA Tour's competitions are broadcast live on several channels, including ABC, Fox, CBS, YouTube, the Tennis Channel, FanDuel, and ESPN.

A message from our sponsor, SLACK. When you’re growing a business, everyday tasks can slow you and your team down Back-and-forth emails. Meetings on top of meetings. A never-ending to-do list. Enter Slack, a single space to connect with everything, share and search for information, and help your teams do more with less. And with Slack Pro, you can: Keep conversations in one place: Whether you’re working with your teammates or collaborating with partners outside your company, Slack Pro brings all the right people and information together in one organized space. Find what you need, share what you know: From files to photos to conversations, everyone can access any message that’s ever been shared, so they have all the information they need to make decisions and move work forward. Connect instantly with huddles Need to gather quickly to brainstorm or work through a complex problem? Start a huddle to talk instantly over audio or video. You can even share your screen and start a thread for notes. Right now, you can save 50% off your first 3 months of Slack Pro.  Learn More

5 Kraft Heinz is introducing the Heinz Remix, a customizable sauce dispenser with over 200 possible condiment combinations to give customers more options for spiciness and sweetness. The company plans to pilot the restaurant dispenser by the end of 2023. More: With its North American foodservice division reporting a more than 25% revenue increase in the first quarter, Kraft Heinz has been concentrating on its away-from-home segment to drive sales. Heinz Remix, similar in concept to the Coca-Cola Freestyle machine, was developed with Microsoft and IoT developers. Kraft Heinz will utilize information from the sauce dispenser to decide which new supermarket goods to introduce. The company has already produced sauces, including "mayochup," "kranch," and "buffaranch," which were created by combining its well-known flavors.

6 In Q1 2023, Tencent's revenues increased by 11% to $21B, while its net profit improved by 10% to $3.7B. The WeChat app's Channels video stream contributed to a 17% increase in Tencent's advertising sales. More: WeChat Pay transactions increased income for Tencent's fintech division by 14%. Despite a 96% fall in game time from minors due to limitations, domestic gaming business sales increased for the first time in a year, driven mainly by virtual armor and game upgrade deals. The Chinese multinational technology invests in generative AI to reduce costs in industries like video game creation. On March 31, the value of Tencent's holdings in publicly listed companies and unlisted investees totaled $115B.

7 Quick Hits: Shares of Boohoo, a British online fashion retailer, rose by 12% on Tuesday after the online retailer reassured investors of its growth potential despite recording an annual loss. Music label BMG, owned by Bertelsmann, has appointed a 33-year-old European media scion, Thomas Coesfeld, as its new leader. Netflix has held talks with U.K. telecoms providers to discuss account sharing ahead of a crackdown expected later this month. Google announced that it would delete accounts that remain inactive for two years to prevent security threats.

Upcoming Events MAY 17 Monthly Meditation guided by Nicholas Whitaker Virtual Register Here MAY 23 In-depth webinar on ML Monitoring at Scale with TruEra Virtual (Register Here) MAY 23 Advance your security program and win more deals by joining this Vanta webinar Virtual Register Here MAY 25 Inside.com Book Club - Zero To One by Peter Thiel Virtual Register Here * This is a sponsored event

Knowledge Hub Term of the Day Venture debt: Venture debt is a form of non-dilutive debt financing used by startups, especially early-stage, to supplement their equity fundraising. Read More Question of the Week How do you approach networking, and what advice can you give others looking to build their professional connections? Join the conversation

INSIDE BUSINESS LEADERBOARD (7 DAYS) 🥇 Lou Klein (16) 🥈 Muhammad Ahmed (10) 🥉 Ramachandran Venkatraman (9)

Shriram Jeevakumar Freelance Writer Shriram is pursuing Master’s in Business with Marketing at Warwick Business School. He worked as a Senior Consultant in Tech and Political Consultancies before his Masters. He is passionate about Tech, Marketing, Strategy, Anthropology and Politics. He is also the Postgraduate Ambassador for Warwick Business School. This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield

Discover more on inside.com/business Thanks for reading today's issue of Inside Business. Explore Explore

Spiff. A new class of software built for modern commission management.

Unlock your productivity potential with 50% off your first 3 months of Slack Pro.

Share Email Share on Twitter Open in Browser Open in Browser Open in Browser

Did someone forward this email to you? Get your free subscription here. Interested in sponsoring this newsletter? Connect with our sales team here. You received this email because you are subscribed to Inside Business. Manage your subscription or unsubscribe here. 767 Bryant St. #203, San Francisco, CA 94107 Copyright © 2023 Inside.com

                                                           

Watch The Boxer's Omen Full Movie Online Streaming

The Boxer's Omen Full Movie

The Boxer's Omen Movies, tell story about

An obsessively punctual comprehensive school headmaster sets out to give an important speech at the annual Headmasters' Conference.

Watch The Boxer's Omen Full Movie For Free, Please Click button bellow!

Similar with The Boxer's Omen Movies

Remote Control

A forged 500-franc note is passed from person to person until carelessness leads to tragedy.

Destroyer

A rookie cop goes undercover and infiltrates a car thief ring.

Sword of the Valiant

A fan club of die-hard James Dean fans meet on the 20th anniversary of his death and reconnect, opening old wounds and facing new ones.

The Masters of Time

In 1950s Cuba, a professional gambler falls for a woman heavily involved in the revolution movement.

Deal of the Century

A reporter and her cameraman connect a surviving Jonestown leader and a TV exec's missing son to a drug war where jungle installations are being massacred by an army of natives and a skilled white assassin.

Fresh Horses

A labor union organizer comes to an embattled mining community brutally and violently dominated and harassed by the mining company.