General Mills’ North America Retail segment is a key portion of its business that made up 66% of sales and 78% of operating profit in 2016. The segment has struggled over the last several years, acting as a significant drag on overall company sales.
In late 2015, Under Armour’s senior management established long-term targets of 25% sales CAGR and 23% operating income CAGR through 2018. This translated into $7.5 billion in sales and $800 million in operating income by 2018.
Late last year, on the company’s fiscal 4Q16 earnings conference call, Estee Lauder management noted that they expected cash from operations to grow at a faster rate than earnings growth over the next three years. Much of this was to be driven by an additional $400 million in working capital changes, which in turn was to be generated from closer management of accounts payable, accounts receivable, and inventory.
While General Motors beat analyst earnings estimates for Q3 2016, CFO Chuck Stevens threw some caution to the wind during his conference call on October 25. Stevens forecasted a plateaued demand environment in North America, and a continued downward trend in sales due to Brexit in Europe. Will Ford (NYSE:F) remain immune to these worries? We will find out when they report before market open on October 27.
