Costco Wholesale Corporation Reports May Sales Results

Grainger reported results for the second quarter 2021 with sales of $3.2 billion, up 13.1% and up 15.0% on an organic, daily, constant currency basis compared to the second quarter 2020. Both the High-Touch Solutions N.A. and Endless Assortment segments produced strong top-line growth. Gross margin for the second quarter of 2021 was 35.0%, a 75 basis point decline over the prior year quarter driven by pandemic-related inventory adjustments recorded in the High-Touch Solutions N.A. segment. Reported operating earnings for the second quarter of 2021 of $334 million were up 62% versus the second quarter of 2020, primarily due to losses taken in the second quarter of 2020 related to the divested Fabory business.

Hearst achieved record profits for the seventh straight year, as our efforts to build and acquire great companies in the business data and software sector helped overcome a tough year for many of our consumer media franchises. Our biggest majority-owned business, Fitch Group, led the way with an outstanding performance across the world, particularly in its core bond ratings business. 2017 was another great year to be a consumer of media products but less so to be a provider of that content. While platform companies like Google, Facebook, Amazon and Netflix thrived through their dominance of advertising and ecommerce channels, many individual media brands struggled to get their share of the advertising pie and consumers bought fewer television bundles or magazine subscriptions. In magazines, led by President David Carey and Publishing Director Michael Clinton, our world class digital operation made significant gains in 2017, and some of the newer magazines we have launched over the past 10 years, namely Food Network Magazine and HGTV Magazine, are among our best editorial products and most profitable titles. Still, the magazine business needs more change. With respect to many of our titles, we need the readers to pay more for the product. And we need to find a way to make digital subscription products work for magazines in the way that they are starting to work for newspapers. Near the end of 2017 we agreed to acquire Rodale’s magazine business, with such well-established titles as Men’s Health, Women’s Health and Prevention. The addition of these titles will give our magazine business a shot in the arm and some new talent to help in our efforts to keep innovating and experimenting as we reset the business model for the future. Click Read More below for additional information.

Thomas Rabe, Chief Executive Officer of RTL Group, says: “RTL Group once again demonstrated resilience in 2024. Despite challenging market conditions in the second half of the year, our results were in line with the guidance we provided at the beginning of 2024. More importantly, we reached turning points in our streaming services and content production business. As a result, we expect to significantly increase our operating profits in the coming years. Our streaming services continued to grow dynamically and significantly reduced their start-up losses in 2024. We are firmly on track to reach profitability by 2026. We have continued to strengthen our global content business, Fremantle. Thanks to a significant reduction of overheads and the contribution from Asacha Media Group – acquired in 2024 – Fremantle reached a record result and significantly improved its Adjusted EBITA margin. We plan to increase Fremantle’s margin to 9 per cent by 2026. Our strong results and cash flows enable us to pay an attractive dividend of €2.50 per share to our shareholders.” In 2024, RTL Deutschland’s combined audience share in the main commercial target group of viewers aged 14 to 59 decreased to 26.3 per cent (2023: 27.4 per cent). However, RTL Deutschland extended the lead over its main commercial competitor ProSiebenSat1 to 6.3 percentage points – the biggest lead in over 10 years (2023: lead of 5.8 percentage points). The flagship channel RTL was the only major commercial channel in Germany to gain audience share, with 9.6 per cent in the target group of viewers aged 14 to 59 (2023: 9.4 per cent).