UPS announced fourth-quarter 2022 consolidated revenues of $27.0 billion, a 2.7% decrease from the fourth quarter of 2021. Consolidated operating profit was $3.2 billion, down 17.9% compared to the fourth quarter of 2021, and down 3.3% on an adjusted basis. Diluted earnings per share were $3.96 for the quarter; adjusted diluted earnings per share of $3.62 were 0.8% above the same period in 2021. For the fourth quarter of 2022, GAAP results include a net benefit of $299 million, or $.34 per diluted share, comprised of a non-cash, after-tax mark-to-market (MTM) pension gain of $782 million, a one-time, non-cash, after-tax charge of $384 million resulting from accelerated vesting of restricted performance units in connection with a change in incentive compensation program design, a non-cash, after-tax charge of $58 million due to a reduction in the residual value of the company’s MD-11 aircraft and after-tax transformation and other charges of $41 million.

FY23 second quarter service performance scores covering Jan. 1 through Jan. 20 included: *First-Class Mail: 91.7% of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 0.7 percentage points performance from the fiscal first quarter. *Marketing Mail: 93.9% of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal first quarter. *Periodicals: 85.3% of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard an increase of 0.7 percentage points performance from the fiscal first quarter.

Dotdash Meredith is cutting 7% of its staff, 274 jobs in all, across all departments. The cuts, announced in an email by CEO Neil Vogel on Thursday morning, were to take place the same day. In the email, Vogel said that the leaders and HR staff would meet with affected employees. Parent IAC recently disclosed that Dotdash Meredith suffered a 28% decline in revenue YoY in December. Driving this was an 18% falloff in digital revenue and 39% in print.

News Corporation announced today that the Company’s Board of Directors received a letter from K. Rupert Murdoch withdrawing the proposal to explore a potential combination of News Corp and Fox Corporation (“FOX”). In withdrawing the proposal, Mr. Murdoch indicated that he and Lachlan K. Murdoch have determined that a combination is not optimal for shareholders of News Corp and FOX at this time. As a result of this action, the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of News Corp has been dissolved. The Board would like to express its appreciation for the Special Committee’s efforts on this matter.

Savvas Learning Company, a K-12 next-generation learning solutions leader, is proud to announce that its Savvas Realize learning management system (LMS) has received the 2022 Supes’ Choice Award from the Institute for Education Innovation, a national school superintendent think tank. Savvas Realize, the K-12 education industry's most innovative LMS, was honored as the “best of the best” in the Learning Management System category. The Supes’ Choice Awards, which recognize the trailblazers and visionaries in today’s rapidly growing edtech industry, are the only edtech industry awards judged exclusively by school district superintendents. Winners in the award program’s 14 categories are selected based on their commitment to student outcomes, innovation and ingenuity, client support, interactivity, and engagement.

Cost-cutting and outright closures continue to afflict print publishing. For instance, The Fort Wayne (Indiana) Journal Gazette is eliminating its Sunday edition and placing that content in a new weekend edition that will appear on Saturdays. Last Friday, the paper announced, “All of the features readers have come to expect on Sundays – exclusive enterprise reporting, stand-alone Sports, Metro, Perspective, Business, Living and Classified/Home sections – will move to the Saturday Weekend Edition, along with color comics, puzzles, advice columns and the weekly advertising insert package."

FY23 second quarter service performance scores covering Jan. 1 through Jan.13 included: *First-Class Mail: 90.8% of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal first quarter. *Marketing Mail: 93.9% of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal first quarter. *Periodicals: 84.7% of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal first quarter.

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) today released its StatShot report for November 2022 reflecting reported revenue for Trade (Consumer Books), Higher Education Course Materials, and Professional Publishing. The report does not include PreK-12 revenue due to delays in data collection. Total revenues across all categories, excluding PreK-12, for November 2022 were down 14.4% as compared to November 2021, coming in at $1.0 billion. Year-to-date revenues were down 6.0%, at $11.6 billion for the first eleven months of the year. Trade (Consumer Books) sales were down 13.7% in November, coming in at $863.4 million. In terms of physical paper format revenues during the month of November, in the Trade (Consumer Books) category, Hardback revenues were down 22.4%, coming in at $355.2 million; Paperbacks were down 5.4%, with $274.2 million in revenue; Mass Market was down 14.9% to $19.5 million; and Special Bindings was down 15.9%, with $20.0 million in revenue.

As one of the fastest-growing brands within our Gap Inc. franchise portfolio, Old Navy continues to build an international presence and attract new customers across the globe with fun, on-trend and fashionable products at a value for the family. Last year, the Old Navy franchise business was focused on expanding in Latin America through franchise partnerships, launching for the first time in Chile, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, and most recently, in Ecuador. These latest launches in the region underscore the brand’s commitment to Gap Inc.’s ‘Partner to Amplify’ strategy, which focuses on working with best-in-class companies who are experts in their markets to reach new and existing customers while supporting the business in a new and cost-effective way.

Costco Wholesale Corporation announced that its Board of Directors has reauthorized a common stock repurchase program of up to $4 billion. This program will expire in January 2027 and replaces the current $4 billion program (adopted in 2019 and scheduled to expire April 2023), under which approximately $1.4 billion had been purchased. The Board of Directors also declared a quarterly cash dividend on Costco common stock of 90 cents per share. The dividend is payable February 17, 2023, to shareholders of record at the close of business on February 3, 2023. Costco currently operates 847 warehouses, including 583 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 107 in Canada, 40 in Mexico, 31 in Japan, 29 in the United Kingdom, 18 in Korea, 14 in Taiwan, 14 in Australia, four in Spain, two each in France and China, and one each in Iceland, New Zealand and Sweden. Costco also operates e-commerce sites in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Australia.

The Book Manufacturers’ Institute (BMI) released the January results for its monthly survey on capacity and lead times for soft cover and hard cover books. This month showed both capacities and lead times continuing to decline. According to responses regarding hard cover books, the average manufacturer was running at 72% of their capacity, down from December’s 82%. The average lead time for completed hard cover books went down to 48 days from 50 days, continuing the trend. For soft cover books, capacity usage dropped to 75% compared to 82% last month. The average lead time dropped to 29 days from 33 days, continuing that trend as well.

Taking a groundbreaking approach to delivering government and civics curriculum, Savvas Learning Company today introduced two new, innovative social studies programs, Magruder’s American Government Interactive and Civics Interactive, that are developed to provide students with the most up-to-date content and current events. Magruder’s American Government Interactive © 2023, the new edition of its premier high school program, is the first social studies curriculum in the country with continuously updated digital resources, complementing a foundational textbook. Civics Interactive © 2024, the newest and first all-digital civics curriculum in the marketplace, is designed to actively promote civic engagement for young adults in grades 6-12.

S&P Global announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell its Engineering Solutions business to investment funds managed by KKR, a leading global investment firm and a longstanding customer of S&P Global, for $975 million in cash, subject to customary purchase price adjustments. S&P Global currently anticipates the divestiture to result in after-tax proceeds of approximately $750 million, which proceeds are expected to be used to fund share repurchases. The agreement follows S&P Global's announced intent in November 2022 to divest the business.

Between Nov. 26 and Dec. 30, the Postal Service accepted 11.7 billion mailpieces and packages into the network with an average delivery time of just 2.5 days.* The Postal Service also released FY23 second quarter service performance scores covering Jan. 1 through Jan. 6. Data for the reporting period shows the average time to deliver a mailpiece or package across the postal network was just 2.6 days. Quarterly data included: *First-Class Mail: 89.4% of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1.6 percentage points from the fiscal first quarter. *Marketing Mail: 93.6% of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal first quarter. *Periodicals: 84.5% of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal first quarter.

InTech magazine, the flagship publication of the International Society of Automation (ISA) will soon be all tech: it is ending its print edition and will now be published only in PDF format six times a year. It seems appropriate—if a little belated—that the ISA publication would go all-digital. The magazine found in a reader survey that 67% read InTech's digital edition, which is delivered via email. And 38% visit visit www.ISA.org/InTech to read there. But 46% never pick up a paper issue.

Savvas Learning Company, a K-12 next-generation learning solutions leader, is pleased to announce that it has been named to the 2023 GSV 150, a list of the world’s most transformative private companies in education. Savvas was chosen from more than 4,000 private companies revolutionizing the world of education technology, from Pre-K-12 to workforce learning. GSV Ventures evaluated these companies on five criteria — revenue scale, revenue growth, active learner reach, international reach, and margin profile — to determine the global GSV 150 list.

Learning technology company HMH and NWEA, a not-for-profit, research and educational services organization serving K-12 students, announced today they have signed an agreement for HMH to acquire NWEA. Upon closing, NWEA will operate as a division of HMH, with its current offerings, including its flagship assessment—MAP Growth—remaining under the NWEA brand. NWEA assessment solutions will be integrated with HMH curriculum on HMH’s platform to create a combined offering that links interim assessment to instruction. HMH is a portfolio company of Veritas Capital, a private investment firm that focuses on companies that provide technology and technology-enabled solutions to government and commercial customers worldwide. By combining NWEA’s assessments with HMH’s curriculum, HMH is expected to deliver a holistic solution for educators that helps them understand how students are growing academically and what areas need the most focus to maximize that growth. Most importantly, this solution will turn insights from assessments into content recommendations that help teachers address student-specific skill gaps and advance student learning.

Gannett is closing ThisWeek Westerville News & Public Opinion both in print and online, effective Jan. 26, according to the Gannett paper The Columbus Dispatch. According to the Dispatch, the decision is part of a broader digital transformation that will allow the company to concentrate its reporting strength on the Dispatch and Dispatch.com. “This decision helps ensure the success of the core Columbus Dispatch product,” said Edwina Blackwell Clark, executive editor of The Dispatch.

The book printing market is experiencing high levels of demand and a continued resurgence among consumers for physical books. While a good problem to have, it could be a problem nonetheless as we move into 2023. Kevin Spall, senior VP at Scholastic, offers a perspective on this from the publishing side, explaining: “Publishers are full, having overbought because demand was high and capacity was low. We bought inventory to be prepared. And now, as demand softens, we still have inventory. The need to reprint is less certainly than it was a year ago when the demand was just starting to spike, and those are not issues that are going to go away quickly.” Demand has soared in 2022, according to the Book Manufacturers Institute’s (BMI) "State of the Book Industry 2022” report. The printed book market remains on an upward trajectory, continuing to build on the momentum of 2020, when COVID-19 kept people at home and interest in reading surged.

To kick off the new year, Kohl’s is donating more than $500,000 to more than 20 nonprofits serving families in Milwaukee and Waukesha Counties through the Kohl’s Hometown Giving Program. The Kohl’s Hometown Giving Program, now in its fifth year, is an important part of the retailer’s local community support and provides another funding opportunity for nonprofits looking to expand and develop their programming to further enhance the health and wellness of families. “Kohl’s is such a big part of the greater Milwaukee area, so it’s especially important that we give back here through our philanthropic work in a significant way,” said Tara Geiter, Kohl’s director of community relations. “We’re proud to provide funding through Kohl’s Hometown Giving Program, among many other local initiatives, to help support our communities through the incredible, impactful work these nonprofits are doing year-round to enhance and improve family health and wellness.” Grants range from $5,000 to $25,000 and are made possible through the Kohl’s Cares® merchandise program, which sells children’s books and plush toys and donates 100 percent of the net profit to health and wellness organizations nationwide.

Total Company net sales for the two months ended December 31, 2022 increased 2.3% compared to the two months ended December 31, 2021. Total Retail segment net sales increased 1%, with comparable Retail segment net sales increasing 2%, partially offset by a 1% negative impact of foreign currency translation. The increase in Retail segment comparable net sales was driven by low single-digit positive growth in digital channel sales and low single-digit positive growth in retail store sales. By brand, comparable Retail segment net sales increased 15% at the Free People Group and 7% at the Anthropologie Group and decreased 10% at Urban Outfitters. Wholesale segment net sales decreased 22% driven by a decrease in Free People wholesale sales primarily due to a decrease in sales to department stores. Nuuly segment sales increased 150% due to a 153% increase in our subscribers during the two months ended December 31, 2022, as compared to the prior year period. For the eleven months ended December 31, 2022, total Company net sales increased 5.1% compared to the eleven months ended December 31, 2021. Comparable Retail segment net sales increased 4%, driven by high single-digit positive growth in retail store sales due to increased store traffic and low single-digit positive growth in digital channel sales. Wholesale segment net sales decreased 3%, primarily driven by a decrease in Free People Group wholesale sales primarily due to a decrease in sales to department stores, partially offset by an increase in sales to specialty accounts. Nuuly segment sales increased 176% due to a 187% increase in our subscribers during the eleven months ended December 31, 2022, as compared to the prior year period.

FY23 preliminary first quarter service performance scores covering Oct. 1 through Dec. 30 included: *First-Class Mail: 90.1% of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 2.1 percentage points from the fiscal fourth quarter. The current data reflects a year over year increase of 1 percentage point compared to the same period in the FY22 peak holiday season. *Marketing Mail: 94.0% of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a slight decrease of 0.8 percentage points from the fiscal fourth quarter. The current data reflects a year over year increase of 1.8 percentage points compared to the same period in the FY22 peak holiday season. *Periodicals: 84.7% of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 2.1 percentage points from the fiscal fourth quarter. The current data reflects a year over year increase of 3.8 percentage points compared to the same period in the FY22 peak holiday season.

Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net sales of $23.80 billion for the retail month of December, the five weeks ended January 1, 2023, an increase of 7.0 percent from $22.24 billion last year. For the 18 weeks ended January 1, 2023, the Company reported net sales of $82.16 billion, an increase of 7.6 percent from $76.34 billion last year.

Publishers had a reasonably good year in 2022, but 2023 could be rocky, judging by new research by the Alliance for Audited Media (AAM). In 2022, 67% saw an increase in digital subscriptions, and 40% reported increased web traffic. But 80% experienced rising production costs, and 53% were hit with distribution challenges. The survey was limited to 30 executives at AAM-audited publishers. This is not projectible, but it does provide a snapshot. Of those respondents, 82% said advertising would continue to be a main source of revenue, while 57% expect digital subscriptions would be a primary source, and 54% said the same about print subscriptions.

The Postal Regulatory Commission voted unanimously to designate Commissioner Mark Acton as vice chairman of the Commission effective January 1, 2023, succeeding Commissioner Ann Fisher. Agency regulations provide that the commissioners elect a member to serve as vice chairman for a term of one year. Commissioner Mark Acton was reappointed to the Commission by President Barack H. Obama on December 12, 2016, for a third term of continued public service extending until October 14, 2022, and was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 10, 2016. President George W. Bush first nominated Mr. Acton as a postal rate commissioner on November 7, 2005, and he was confirmed by the Senate on August 3, 2006. Prior to his appointments, Mr. Acton served as special assistant to the chairman of the Postal Rate Commission and assisted in managing all aspects of agency operations.

WBA first quarter sales decreased 1.5 percent from the year-ago quarter to $33.4 billion, an increase of 1.1 percent on a constant currency basis. Operating loss was $6.2 billion in the first quarter compared to operating income of $1.3 billion in the year-ago quarter. Operating loss in the quarter reflects a $6.5 billion pre-tax charge for opioid-related claims and litigation. Net loss in the first quarter was $3.7 billion compared to net income of $3.6 billion in the year-ago quarter.

The Postal Regulatory Commission unveiled its 2023-2028 Strategic Plan. The Plan is robust and resilient, allowing the Commission to anticipate changes to the postal system and to adapt as necessary to ensure transparency and accountability of the United States Postal Service. The four Strategic Goals identified encompass the Commission’s priorities and strategic focus throughout 2023-2028: Strategic Goal 1: Anticipate and adapt to an evolving postal system through a responsive and trusted regulatory framework. Strategic Goal 2: Enhance and expand communication of accurate and relevant regulatory information to postal stakeholders, policymakers, and the general public. Strategic Goal 3: Develop an internal infrastructure to support and strengthen our regulatory capabilities through adaptive policies, efficient processes, and scalable platforms. Strategic Goal 4: Build an organization that will attract, develop, and retain a diverse workforce of experts.

FY23 first quarter service performance scores covering Oct. 1 through Dec. 23 included: *First-Class Mail: 91.6% of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1.6 percentage points from the fiscal fourth quarter. The current data reflects a year over year increase of 1.8 percentage points compared to the same period in the FY22 peak holiday season. *Marketing Mail: 94.0% of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a slight decrease of .7 percentage points from the fiscal fourth quarter. The current data reflects a year over year increase of 2.3 percentage points compared to the same period in the FY22 peak holiday season. *Periodicals: 85.1% of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1.7 percentage points from the fiscal fourth quarter. The current data reflects a year over year increase of 3.9 percentage points compared to the same period in the FY22 peak holiday season.