The Trial Balance is CFO.com’s weekly preview of stories, stats and events to help you prepare.
Part 1 — How retail CFOs are communicating and executing store closures
Retail’s latest wave of store closures is pushing finance teams to account for the balance sheet effects of expansion strategies built under different economic assumptions. As margins tighten and fixed costs weigh more heavily for a variety of reasons, CFOs leading consumer-facing retail businesses are reassessing physical footprints, reviewing the sustainability of long-term commitments and trying to plug the holes where capital is bleeding out.
At Macy’s, that reassessment continued in January with plans to close 14 additional stores across 12 states as part of a broader effort to shutter roughly 150 locations by the end of 2026. The move comes as the company works through a multi-year turnaround following a finance leadership change in June 2025, when Thomas J. Edwards, formerly CFO and COO of Capri Holdings, became Macy’s CFO and chief operating officer, replacing Adrian Mitchell.
The transition followed a previously disclosed accounting issue tied to erroneous accrual entries, which the company said had no material impact on historical financial results. As per the store closures, management has framed them as part of a reallocation of capital toward higher-return formats, including Bloomingdale’s, Bluemercury and digital investments.
For finance teams in the situation Macy’s finds themselves in, the impact is immediate. Store closures bring lease termination costs, impairment charges, severance obligations and inventory liquidation, all of which pressure earnings and cash flow before any longer-term benefits can materialize. Managing the timing and scale of those impacts has become central to liquidity planning and lender communications, and is a critical responsibility of finance during these transitions.
A similar footprint review is underway at GameStop, which continues to reduce its physical presence as digital distribution reshapes the gaming market. After closing nearly 600 stores in fiscal 2024, the company warned that additional closures would follow before its fiscal year ends in early 2026. Revenue has continued to decline, and management has emphasized liquidity and capital preservation as the business works through a prolonged transition.
Those operational pressures are now intersecting with governance and incentives. In recent filings, GameStop disclosed a new performance-based compensation structure for CEO Ryan Cohen that includes no base salary and ties payouts entirely to market capitalization and EBITDA targets. The structure links executive compensation directly to balance sheet and earnings outcomes at a time when store exits, cost control and capital discipline dominate financial planning.
Other large retailers, regardless of what they sell, are navigating similar trade-offs. Starbucks, 7-Eleven and Walgreens are just a few of those executing multi-year closure plans aimed at stabilizing margins and reducing exposure to rising labor, logistics and real estate costs. Other chains, including Rite Aid and JoAnn, have exited entirely following bankruptcy filings, underscoring the scale of the contraction.
Taken together, retail’s pullback in 2026 shows how store closures have become financial restructuring events. As those adjustments continue, finance leaders will face ongoing decisions about where physical retail still earns its place on the balance sheet and where capital is better preserved or redeployed as consumer demand, cost structures and financing conditions evolve.
Part 2 — This week
Here’s a list of important market events slated for the week ahead.
Monday, Jan. 12 — None scheduled.
Tuesday, Jan. 13
- NFIB optimism index, Dec.
- U.S. Consumer Price Index, Dec.
- Core CPI, Dec.
Wednesday, Jan. 14
- U.S. retail sales, Nov.
- PPI, Nov.
- Core PPI, Nov.
Thursday, Jan. 15
- Initial jobless claims
- U.S. import prices, Nov.
- Empire State Manufacturing Survey, Jan.
- Philadelphia Fed Index, Jan.
Friday, Jan. 16
- Industrial production, Dec.
- Capacity utilization, Dec.
Part 3 — Weekly listen: Gunnison Copper CFO talks unprecedented production breakthrough
For decades, most copper mined in the United States has been processed overseas as domestic smelting capacity declined and sulfide ores became more prevalent. That context framed a recent National Investor podcast featuring Gunnison Copper and its CFO Craig Hallworth.
In December, the company produced finished copper in Arizona for the first time using Rio Tinto’s Nuton technology, a process that bypasses traditional smelting and keeps copper production inside U.S. supply chains. The development matters because copper is the second-most conductive metal after silver, making it central to manufacturing, AI, defense and other technology-intensive industries.
Hallworth said the company produced its first copper using the process in December and sold it domestically in January. “This is the copper that’s finished,” Hallworth said. “Not copper concentrate shipped overseas. We made it right into the finished product, and it’s been sold here in the United States.” He said the technology allows Gunnison to process sulfide copper, “something that before now required smelting and refining overseas.”
Hallworth also highlighted the near-term financial impact. The Johnson Camp Mine is ramping toward full production of 25 million pounds of copper per year, which he expects to reach in the second half of the year. “At today’s prices, we’re talking about $125 [million] to $150 million per year in revenue,” he said, noting the scale relative to the company’s current valuation.
The finance chief also said the company has reduced secured debt from about $13.75 million to $3.25 million and plans to eliminate the remainder this quarter, a step he framed as critical to improving investor confidence during this time of research and development. He also pointed to an upcoming preliminary economic assessment and federal support as factors that could influence how the company funds and sequences its next phase of growth.
