HUL Shares Down 3% as Q3 PAT Falls 30% YoY to Rs 2,118 Crore
Hindustan Unilever reported a 30% YoY drop in Q3 profit from continuing operations, falling to Rs 2,188 crore, while total net profit surged 121% to Rs 6,603 crore due to one‑off portfolio transformation gains. Revenue from continuing operations rose 5.6% YoY to Rs 16,441 crore and underlying sales grew 5%, supported by 4% volume growth. EBITDA increased modestly to Rs 3,788 crore, but the margin slipped 70 basis points to 23.3%. The stock fell about 3% after the results, as the company signaled a stronger FY27 outlook driven by channel and portfolio initiatives.
HUL Sees Demand Recovery as Rural, Urban Traction Improves; Q3 Volumes Rise 4%
Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) reported a 4% year‑on‑year sales‑volume increase in the December quarter, ending a period of flat growth. Operating margin slipped 70 basis points to 23.3% after labour‑code charges, yet stayed above the company’s 22‑23% guidance. Net profit...
SAIC Plans Partial Pivot Away From Enterprise IT
Science Applications International Corp (SAIC) is scaling back its pursuit of certain enterprise IT contracts, opting for a more selective approach that emphasizes higher‑margin, fixed‑price work on the civilian side. The CFO highlighted that defense agencies still prefer cost‑plus contracts,...
Scott Borchetta Exits HYBE AMERICA
Scott Borchetta is departing HYBE America after five years as CEO of Big Machine Label Group, which HYBE acquired in a $1.05 billion deal in 2021. Borchetta, the founder of Big Machine Records, will continue to use the brand for independent...
Air Tahiti Nui Appoints Lionel Guérin as CEO to Lead New Strategic Transformation
Air Tahiti Nui announced Lionel Guérin as its new chief executive officer, effective February 11, 2026. Guérin, a former deputy CEO of Air France and founder of Airlinair, brings extensive airline restructuring experience to the Pacific carrier. The airline, which...
Trinity: ‘Disciplined Lease Pricing’ and ‘Active Portfolio Management’ Delivers ‘Strong’ 4Q25, Full-Year Results
Trinity Industries posted Q4 2025 revenue of $611.2 million, a 2.97% decline year‑over‑year, driven by weaker external deliveries in its Rail Products Group. The Rail Products segment saw a 23.3% revenue drop to $426.7 million, while the Railcar Leasing and...
Portillo’s Hires Outback Steakhouse Vet as CEO
Portillo’s announced Brett Patterson as its new president and chief executive officer, effective Feb. 23, 2026, replacing interim CEO Michael Miles Jr. Patterson arrives from Miller’s Ale House Restaurants after more than a decade in restaurant management, including stints at Olive Garden, Ruby...
Former ALI Exec Named ICCP Chair/CEO
Augusto Bengzon, former chief finance officer of Ayala Land Inc., has been appointed chairman and chief executive officer of Investment and Capital Corp. of the Philippines (ICCP). Bengzon brings 18 years of financial‑services experience, including 16 years at Citibank across...
SoftBank’s PayPay Gets Closer to US IPO in Milestone for Japan
SoftBank Group’s digital payments arm PayPay Corp. has filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, signaling a U.S. initial public offering as early as March 2026. The company, Japan’s leading QR‑code payment platform, is targeting a...
Subba Rao Joins Vertex Group as Co-Founder & Chief Growth Officer
Subba Rao Bhairavabhatla joins Vertex Group as co‑founder and chief growth officer after four years at Teleperformance. He brings two decades of process excellence, quality, and digital transformation experience from Asian Paints, HSBC, Wipro, Capita, WNS and Teleperformance. At Vertex,...
Relx Reassures as AI Fears Hit Data Stocks
Relx posted FY2025 revenue of £9.59 bn, a 7% increase, with operating profit climbing to £3.03 bn and earnings per share rising to 112.6p. The company also raised its full‑year dividend to 67.5p and completed £1.5 bn of share buybacks. These results arrived...
Mora Group Sets Sights on International Expansion
Mora Group, launched in July 2024, now operates six hotels across Surabaya, Yogyakarta and Banjarbaru while developing six additional projects in Indonesia. The company will open new properties in Ciwidey (April) and Palu (November) and has pipeline projects in Jakarta,...
Why the Largest U.S. Auto Dealer Isn't Interested in Chinese Cars — for Now
Lithia Motors, the largest U.S. auto dealer, said it will not bring Chinese‑made vehicles to its domestic showrooms for now. CEO Bryan DeBoer cited the high cost of establishing new franchise infrastructure and uncertain return‑on‑investment, not politics or logistics, as...
Landers Exits As Alliance CEO, Sheets Takes Helm
Dr. Steve Landers stepped down as CEO of the National Alliance for Care at Home, ending his 17‑month tenure that began in September 2024. He will remain on the board to aid the transition, which takes effect on Feb. 9. Jennifer...
JM Smucker Overhauls Supply Chain Leadership
J.M. Smucker announced a sweeping overhaul of its supply‑chain leadership, eliminating the chief operating officer role and seeing the retirement of two senior vice presidents. The company created a new chief product supply officer position, promoting Rob Ferguson to oversee...
People News: GPA, Sound Transit, Reading & Northern
Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) announced Kevin Price will become President on July 1, 2026 and transition to President‑CEO by mid‑2027, bringing three decades of terminal operations experience. Sound Transit revealed three senior hires – Jessyn Farrell as Executive Director of...
Wabtec Acquires Dellner Couplers (UPDATED 2/11)
Wabtec announced a definitive agreement to acquire Dellner Couplers for $960 million in cash, funded by cash on hand and short‑term debt. The deal values Dellner at roughly 12.5 times its projected 2025 EBITDA and includes anticipated $22 million in cost synergies over...
3 Restaurant Brands Tap Tech Chiefs to Scale Operations
Three restaurant operators—Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, CEC Entertainment and Starbucks—have each added senior technology executives to accelerate digital transformation and scale operations. Freddy’s appointed its first CIO, Todd Paladini, to unify franchisee systems, while CEC promoted Nathan Hunstable to...
Why (and How) the Smartest Leaders Encourage Failure
Jeff Bezos argues that growing failures are essential for breakthrough innovation. While 92% of CEOs list innovation as a top priority, over 90% admit they perform poorly at it, largely due to fear of failure. The article outlines five actionable...
Starbird Appoints Greg Levin as CEO
Starbird announced former BJ's Restaurants chief Greg Levin as its new CEO and board member. Levin, who grew BJ's from 45 to over 200 locations and boosted revenue from $140 million to $1.4 billion, will lead the “super‑premium” chicken brand’s national rollout....
Aeroplay Entertainment Names André Valera CEO
Aeroplay Entertainment announced André Valera as its new chief executive officer. The inflight entertainment content service provider aims to evolve from traditional onboard content to a personalized, measurable, commerce‑ready travel media layer. Valera outlined plans for a modern platform that accelerates...
Ian Baglow Announced as Co-CEO at Bitmovin
Bitmovin announced that Ian Baglow will join co‑founder Stefan Lederer as co‑CEO. Baglow, who entered the company in 2021 as chief revenue officer and later became president, chief revenue and operations officer, will oversee day‑to‑day operations and deepen customer and partner...
The FT’s Jon Slade on Leveraging AI to Build New Lines of Business
Jon Slade, the Financial Times’ new CEO, says the paper will double down on original journalism while exploring AI‑driven revenue streams. He views large‑language‑model licensing to big tech as unsustainable and is shifting toward direct corporate licensing that offers greater...
2026 Market Outlook & Trends | Featured Speaker
Ariel C. Shaeps, a real‑estate and construction partner at Allen Matkins, was the featured speaker for the Los Angeles Business Journal’s 2026 Market Outlook & Trends event. He has advised on more than $18 billion in construction contracts, including high‑profile projects like the...
ARRA Elects Bernal As Board Chair
The Airport Restaurant & Retail Association (ARRA) has appointed Areas USA CEO Carlos Bernal as chair of its Board of Directors for 2026‑27, succeeding Bryan Loden. Bernal brings more than two decades of airport‑concession experience and recently oversaw Areas USA’s...
Takeaways From The Future Of Software Development Retreat: Just Because You Can Doesn’t Mean You’re Ready To
The episode recaps insights from a high‑level, invitation‑only retreat on the future of software development, where veteran engineers and AI pioneers debated the rise of autonomous code generation. Key takeaways include the existential anxiety sparked by AI‑driven app‑generation (“Welcome to...
ULI Appoints BlackRock’s Simon Durkin as Chief Executive Europe Executive Leadership
Simon Durkin, former BlackRock Global Head of Real Estate Research, has been appointed CEO Europe of the Urban Land Institute, starting in March 2026, succeeding Lisette van Doorn. Durkin brings over two decades of experience across real estate, capital markets and...
Workday CEO Carl Eschenbach Clocks Out Amid Job Cuts and Market Jitters
Carl Eschenbach has resigned as CEO of Workday, handing the reins back to co‑founder Aneel Bhusri. The transition follows a series of cost‑cutting moves, including an 8.5% staff reduction and a recent 2% layoff, as the firm grapples with AI‑driven market...
Audit, Taxation and Consulting: Adjust & Adapt
Mid‑size accounting firms are accelerating consolidation, with 26% merging and 27% acquiring peers over the past three years, often backed by private‑equity investors. A shrinking pipeline of CPA graduates is intensifying talent competition, while AI adoption is reshaping workflows and...
Homewatch CareGivers CEO On Engaging Clients Beyond Their Caregiver
Homewatch CareGivers, now operating 302 offices in 43 U.S. states and Latin America, plans to add roughly 40 new locations each year through 2028, targeting markets like Hawaii, Alaska and Maine. CEO Todd Houghton is centering the growth strategy on...
Why Corporate Divestitures And Carve-Outs Are Accelerating
Corporate leaders are increasingly turning to carve‑outs and divestitures to sharpen portfolio focus amid slowing growth and higher capital costs. The trend is driven by capital discipline, the need to eliminate conglomerate discounts, and the desire for strategic agility in...
Orsted Eyes Europe and APAC Revenue Growth
Ørsted is exploring partnerships and M&A in Europe and the APAC region to sustain revenue growth after completing its 8.1 GW offshore construction portfolio by 2027. CEO Rasmus Errboe emphasized a value‑over‑volume approach, targeting fixed‑bottom schemes in core markets and reviewing upcoming...
From Photo Film Maker To Biopharma Giant
Fujifilm Biotechnologies, a subsidiary of the historic photo‑film maker, opened a 150‑acre, commercial‑scale biopharma manufacturing campus in Holly Springs, North Carolina, investing over $3.2 billion. The first phase features eight 20,000‑liter mammalian cell‑culture bioreactors, with a second phase slated to double...
Christy Tanner Named C.E.O. of New York Public Radio
Christy Tanner has been appointed chief executive of New York Public Radio, taking the helm on February 4, 2026. Tanner arrives from a distinguished career at CBS News, the Associated Press, and as former head of TV Guide Digital, where...
Nexon CEO Daehyun Kang Takes Direct Control of MapleStory: Idle RPG After Probability Controversy
Nexon announced that co‑CEO Daehyun Kang will also lead the Maple Division, directly overseeing MapleStory: Idle RPG. The move follows a probability‑error scandal that saw a month‑long stat bug and undisclosed item odds, prompting the company to issue full refunds...
NCSOFT Promotes Sunggu Lee to Senior VP as AION 2 Drives Executive Shake-Up
NCSOFT announced a senior‑level reshuffle on Jan. 29, promoting Chief Business Officer Sunggu Lee and COO Koo Hyunbeom to Senior Vice President. The moves are tied to the strong commercial performance of AION 2, which has generated over KRW 100 billion since its...
Succession Risk Is No Longer A Footnote, It’s A Valuation Driver
Succession risk has shifted from a peripheral concern to a central valuation driver in M&A transactions. Buyers now discount companies lacking clear leadership continuity, leading to lower multiples, earn‑outs, and tighter deal terms. CEOs and CFOs who proactively build second‑in‑command...
Building A Billion-Dollar Fandom With David Lee, CFO And COO Of WEBTOON Entertainment
WEBTOON Entertainment, the world’s largest digital‑comics platform, went public on NASDAQ in June 2024 under the ticker WBTN. The company hosts 24 million creators who generate more than 120 000 new stories each day and reaches 160 million monthly active users, primarily 18‑to‑25‑year‑olds....
CFO Confidence Slips Amid Washington Uncertainty
The Q1 2026 CFO Leadership Confidence Index shows U.S. finance chiefs reacting sharply to Washington’s policy volatility. Before President Trump’s tariff warning, 130 CFOs rated current business conditions at 5.5, a 9% decline from Q4, but after a NATO deal...
A CFO’s Greatest Asset? Getting Comfortable With Complexity
Heather Luck, CFO of Five Star Bank, highlights the expanding complexity of the finance function in community banking. She balances board relations, SEC reporting, regulatory compliance, treasury, budgeting, and HR while driving geographic expansion into the San Francisco Bay Area and...
Interview: As Arc Raiders Surges, Nexon CEO Eyes the West (and Is Dreaming of Gaming's "Third Wave")
In this interview, Nexon CEO Junghun Lee discusses the unexpected runaway success of Arc Raiders, which has sold over 12.4 million copies and outperformed the company’s own forecasts. He explains how the game’s social dynamics—teamwork, betrayal, and interpersonal drama—have driven its...
‘Build For Scale From Day One’
Calero CFO Darian Hong argues that finance must be built for scale from day one, aligning the function with corporate strategy and investing in scalable infrastructure. He stresses delegating operational work to free CFOs for strategic oversight and fostering cross‑functional...