This Changes Things hosts Baker Machado and Hope King give a recap of the day's biggest earnings reports. Walmart dips in the e-commerce division as it fights to compete with Amazon. Plus, Home Depot thanks the booming housing market for its uptick in sales this past quarter.
Walmart says sales rose steadily over the holiday season, but online sales growth actually slowed last quarter. Its e-commerce sales in the U.S. grew 23% in the quarter, which is down from 50% in the third quarter of 2017. Walmart cited operational snags as the reason for the dip in their e-commerce business.
Plus. the housing market helps Home Depot hit a home run. The number one U.S. home improvement chain said sales at stores that have been open more than a year rose 7.5% last quarter.
Kraft Heinz is splitting into two companies a decade after they joined in a massive merger that created one of the biggest food companies on the planet. One of the companies will include brands such as Heinz, Philadelphia cream cheese and Kraft Mac & Cheese. The other will include brands like Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables. When the company formed in 2015 it wanted to capitalize on its massive scale, but shifting tastes complicated those plans, with households seeking to introduce healthier options at the table. Kraft Heinz's net revenue has fallen every year since 2020.
About 780,000 pressure washers sold at retailers like Home Depot are being recalled across the U.S. and Canada, due to a projectile hazard that has resulted in fractures and other injuries among some consumers.
President Donald Trump has fired one of two Democratic members of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to break a 2-2 tie ahead of the board considering the largest railroad merger ever proposed.
Ford is recalling more than 355,000 of its pickup trucks across the U.S. because of an instrument panel display failure that’s resulted in critical information, like warning lights and vehicle speed, not showing up on the dashboard.