Costco Wholesale Corporation Reports December Sales Results

Digital ad revenue in the U.S. rose 35% to $189 billion last year as marketers spent more to reach consumers, according to a report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) released Tuesday. David Cohen, CEO at IAB, believes that an increase in consumer use of online services and growth of small and mid-sized businesses during the pandemic fueled the increase in digital spending — specifically in digital audio and video. “We expect this digital migration to drive the continued growth of a healthy and competitive digital marketplace driven by innovation and entrepreneurship,” he stated.

Gannett Co., Inc. announced that it entered into an agreement to acquire WordStream, Inc., a provider of cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions for local and regional businesses and agencies to optimize their digital marketing services campaigns. The purchase price is $130 million in cash, net of cash acquired, plus up to an aggregate $20 million earnout payable in 2019 and 2020 based on achieving certain revenue targets. The transaction builds upon Gannett’s existing data-driven digital marketing services, ReachLocal and SweetIQ. “This acquisition marks another critical milestone in Gannett’s digital transformation, enhancing our ability to support businesses and agencies in our local markets with the intelligent, data-driven marketing solutions they need to drive growth,” said Robert Dickey, president and chief executive officer of Gannett. “WordStream’s technology, extensive data and analytics capabilities together with an experienced executive team will bring tremendous value to Gannett’s expanding digital marketing services business.” Click Read More below for additional information.

Urban Outfitters, Inc. announced net income of $45 million and $107 million for the three and nine months ended October 31, 2017, respectively. Earnings per diluted share were $0.41 and $0.94 for the three and nine months ended October 31, 2017, respectively. Total Company net sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2018 increased 3.5% over the same quarter last year to a record $893 million. Comparable Retail segment net sales, which include the comparable direct-to-consumer channel, increased 1%. Excluding the estimated impact of the North American hurricanes in the quarter, comparable Retail segment net sales increased 2%, and by brand, comparable Retail segment net sales increased 5% at Free People, 2% at the Anthropologie Group and 1% at Urban Outfitters. Comparable Retail segment sales were driven by strong, double-digit growth in the direct-to-consumer channel, partially offset by negative retail store sales. Wholesale segment net sales increased 8.7%. Click Read More below for additional information.