Earnings calls, loved by some CFOs and dreaded by others, allow finance leaders and their fellow executives to verbalize their organization’s progress. Each month, CFO.com compiles interesting insights shared by CFOs during these calls for The CFO Earnings Dispatch series. These insights include statements about their company, analysis of financial data and answers to analysts’ questions.
For May, we highlight takes from the CFOs of Macy’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Borr Drilling, Ralph Lauren, Cava and LoanDepot.
1. Macy’s
Market cap: $3.15 billion
Date of call: May 28
In his final earnings call as CFO of Macy’s, Adrian Mitchell talked about how the company saw declines in sales due to store closures but saw growth in some areas like luxury attire. However, Mitchell’s comments on adjusting prices due to tariffs are worth noting, as he says the company is doing more than just raising prices in response.
“I think it’s important to understand that we are not just broadly increasing price. We’re being incredibly surgical about the situation with tariffs,” said Mitchell. “Given the tariffs that we see today and that are currently in place, we’ve reduced our exposure to China as [the CEO] referenced earlier in the call. We’ve renegotiated orders with vendors to make sure that we have the right brands and styles available for what customers are actually gonna buy.”
“We’ve even canceled certain orders and delayed other orders as we’re just navigating all of the choppiness and uncertainty that we’re dealing with,” said Mitchell. “And we’ve been able to gain some vendor discounts, which have been helpful to us. But we’re absorbing some of that price as well. So we’re making selective price increases in selective brands, selective categories.”
2. Dick’s Sporting Goods
Market cap: $14.13 billion
Date of call: May 28
Navdeep Gupta of Dick’s Sporting Goods emphasized the company’s focus on offering a full head-to-toe solution for athletes. It recently acquired Foot Locker for $2.4 billion. Gupta noted this differentiated approach not only enhances the customer experience but also strengthens relationships with brand partners. He added that initiatives like House of Sport — store concepts with activities such as climbing walls and golf simulators — and an engaged field team are helping drive strong financial results.
“We see the opportunity to provide the head-to-toe look for the athlete and to meet their team sports and accessory needs,” said Gupta. “That’s the differentiation we bring not only to our athletes, but also to our brand partners. This is what’s driving our differentiated allocation. The work we’re doing in House of Sport, along with what our field team is doing to serve athletes and bring excitement to the store, is a key differentiating capability. It’s what’s allowing us to deliver these really strong results.”
3. BJ’s Wholesale Club
Market cap: $14.84 billion
Date of call: May 22
In her most recent earnings call, BJ’s Wholesale Club CFO Laura Felice said her team is aware that the business is getting harder to predict, but they aren’t reacting drastically yet. Though she said she believes the company can drive growth and shareholder value regardless of economic conditions, consumer spending may drop in the back half of the year, which it is preparing for by being disciplined around costs and spending. The company is not changing its guidance for the year.
“On the top line, remember from our last call that we expect our first half [comparable store sales excluding gas] to be a little bit better than the back half,” said Felice. “We expect our first quarter comps ex gas to be the high watermark for the year. On the margin side, we will continue to exercise strong cost discipline while investing in our value proposition for the long term. This becomes especially important in a rising cost environment. We remain confident in the underlying strength of our company, and we believe we’re well-positioned to deliver sustainable growth to maximize shareholder value.”
4. Borr Drilling
Market cap: $418.79 million
Date of call: May 22
Magnus Vaaler, CFO of Borr Drilling, discussed the company’s liquidity outlook, highlighting solid contract coverage and progress on cash collections, particularly from the habitually late payer PEMEX. He noted it has received a substantial payment from Mexico this year and expects a return to regular payment cycles going forward. While company leaders don’t anticipate needing to use their revolving credit facility, Vaaler said they’re prepared if needed.
“We have received a $120 million payment from Mexico so far this year, which is about one year of receivables or earnings,” said Vaaler. “We do expect that PEMEX should go back to regular payments now throughout 2025. Invoicing seems to be progressing as planned. And the signals that we are seeing is that Mexico should come back to their regular payments that they have shown over the past few years up until mid last year, I would say. So all in all, I think the base case looks very, very solid. Do not foresee any reasons for drawing on the revolving credit facility. As long as collections come in with the forecast that we are currently seeing.”
5. Ralph Lauren
Market cap: $16.83 billion
Date of call: May 22
In Ralph Lauren’s latest earnings call, CFO Justin Picicci explained the company is taking a cautious approach to its North America outlook, particularly for the second half of the year. While current trends support positive growth in Q1, he said macroeconomic uncertainty and the impact of cost inflation on consumer sentiment prompted a more conservative full-year guide. Though, if conditions improve, Picicci said the company is prepared to chase higher demand.
“North America is where we took a bit more of a cautious approach to our preliminary guide given the macro environment and the impact of cost inflation on consumer spending, and notably for that second half of the year,” said Picicci. “Now we’re focusing on our current trends.”
Picicci continued: “So it’s really consumer sentiment, and the expectation that customers have to deal with significant pricing across the board as a result of cost inflation. It’s our best estimate at this time of those two. And if they improve for the second half and the risk doesn’t materialize, then we’ll start opportunities to chase into and capture that higher demand that we saw as super hollowing.”
6. Cava
Market cap: $9.27 billion
Date of call: May 15
Cava CFO Tricia Tolivar said restaurant margins have improved a lot thanks to higher sales per location, but the company isn’t just trying to squeeze out more profit. Instead, they’re focused on reinvesting in employees and keeping things affordable for guests. That includes competitive pay and holding back on price increases, even as inflation rises. Tolivar said the approach is helping build loyalty and keep traffic strong.
“Certainly, the significant improvement in [average unit volume] helps create a lot of that expansion in restaurant-level margins,” said Tolivar. “But we’re also very mindful of where we are in our growth and development and want to make sure that we’re continuing to reinvest in the business through team members and guests. And some examples of that is making sure that we’re appropriately compensating our team members both in wage and benefits. And so we review that every quarter and adjust as needed so that we’re a best-in-class employer in each and every market.”
Tolivar continued: “And then also being very thoughtful [about] menu price increases. So over the years, we’ve been very limited in those menu pricing increases from the end of 2019 to the end of 2024. We raised menu prices about 15%, and CPI went up 23%. So that’s 8 points less than that. And, as you know, fast food went up over 30%. So, it’s an example of an investment in our guests that we think is important and helps fuel that traffic momentum that we’ve been able to deliver.”
7. LoanDepot
Market cap: $414.04 million
Date of call: May 6
David Hayes, CFO of LoanDepot, said ongoing investments in loan officer recruitment and home equity products are starting to pay off. Despite poor housing market performance and persistently high mortgage rates, which continue to weigh on demand, the company is seeing gains in revenue and margin. While a large rate cut appears unlikely in the near term, the CFO said a gradual easing would still help the bottom line. With the CEO also set to depart, the finance team is focused on scaling profitably and maintaining momentum into 2025.
“The first quarter reflected the benefits of our investment in growth-generating initiatives,” said Hayes. “Our home equity-linked products and investment in recruiting productive loan officers in all of our channels supported strong margin and volume increases, which resulted in growing adjusted revenue. As I work even more closely with [the executive chairman] going forward, we remain laser-focused on our commitment to profitability and continue to work with discipline to grow revenue and manage costs while maintaining ample cash and a strong balance sheet.”
Hayes continued: “As evidenced by our ability to capture additional volume during the third quarter of 2024, when rates temporarily eased. We believe a more sustained decrease in rates will materially improve our bottom line, and our ongoing investments in growth-generating initiatives will provide the foundation for additional momentum during 2025 and beyond.”
