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NEW YORK (AP) — Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa scored 27 points as Columbia beat Fairfield 85-72 on Saturday night. De La Rosa shot 8 of 15 from the field, including 5 for 11 from 3-point range, and went 6 for 6 from the line for the Lions (11-1). Avery Brown shot 5 of 8 from the field and 5 of 5 from the free-throw line to add 16 points. Kenny Noland went 5 of 12 from the field (3 for 7 from 3-point range) to finish with 15 points. The Stags (5-8, 1-1 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) were led by Louis Bleechmore, who recorded 12 points. Fairfield also got 12 points and seven assists from Jamie Bergens. Deon Perry had 12 points and five assists. Columbia's next game is Monday against Rutgers on the road, and Fairfield visits Merrimack on Friday. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .

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Following arguably the most dominant year of golf since Tiger Woods was in his prime, Scottie Scheffler received the PGA Tour Player of the Year award on Tuesday night. It's the third straight year Scheffler has won the honor, and the World No. 1 joins Woods as the only players to win the Jack Nicklaus Award three years in a row. The award is determined by a vote of PGA Tour members. According to a news release, Scheffler received 91 percent of the vote, with Xander Schauffele and Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy the only other nominees. Scheffler, 28, was the first player to win seven official PGA Tour events in a calendar year since Tiger Woods in 2007. Those victories were at some of the most prestigious events on the schedule, against some of the most elite fields. He became the first player to go back-to-back at The Players Championship, won his second career major title at the Masters and earned his other five wins at signature events: the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the RBC Heritage, the Memorial Tournament, the Travelers Championship and the season-ending Tour Championship. Though not a tour event, Scheffler captured the Olympic gold medal for men's golf at the Paris Games. He also helped the United States defeat the International team at the Presidents Cup in Montreal. "Scottie took on challenges from the best players in the world on the biggest stages all season, and being honored as PGA Tour Player of the Year is the ultimate sign of respect from his peers," PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said in a statement. --Field Level MediaWASHINGTON – President-elect Donald Trump has promised to end birthright citizenship as soon as he gets into office to make good on campaign promises aiming to restrict immigration and redefining what it means to be American. But any efforts to halt the policy would face steep legal hurdles. Recommended Videos Birthright citizenship means anyone born in the United States automatically becomes an American citizen. It's been in place for decades and applies to children born to someone in the country illegally or in the U.S. on a tourist or student visa who plans to return to their home country. It's not the practice of every country, and Trump and his supporters have argued that the system is being abused and that there should be tougher standards for becoming an American citizen. But others say this is a right enshrined in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, it would be extremely difficult to overturn and even if it's possible, it's a bad idea. Here's a look at birthright citizenship, what Trump has said about it and the prospects for ending it: What Trump has said about birthright citizenship During an interview Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Trump said he “absolutely” planned to halt birthright citizenship once in office. “We’re going to end that because it’s ridiculous,” he said. Trump and other opponents of birthright citizenship have argued that it creates an incentive for people to come to the U.S. illegally or take part in “birth tourism,” in which pregnant women enter the U.S. specifically to give birth so their children can have citizenship before returning to their home countries. “Simply crossing the border and having a child should not entitle anyone to citizenship,” said Eric Ruark, director of research for NumbersUSA, which argues for reducing immigration. The organization supports changes that would require at least one parent to be a permanent legal resident or a U.S. citizen for their children to automatically get citizenship. Others have argued that ending birthright citizenship would profoundly damage the country. “One of our big benefits is that people born here are citizens, are not an illegal underclass. There’s better assimilation and integration of immigrants and their children because of birthright citizenship,” said Alex Nowrasteh, vice president for economic and social policy studies at the pro-immigration Cato Institute. In 2019, the Migration Policy Institute estimated that 5.5 million children under age 18 lived with at least one parent in the country illegally in 2019, representing 7% of the U.S. child population. The vast majority of those children were U.S. citizens. The nonpartisan think tank said during Trump’s campaign for president in 2015 that the number of people in the country illegally would “balloon” if birthright citizenship were repealed, creating “a self-perpetuating class that would be excluded from social membership for generations.” What does the law say? In the aftermath of the Civil War, Congress ratified the 14th Amendment in July 1868. That amendment assured citizenship for all, including Black people. “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside,” the 14th Amendment says. “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.” But the 14th Amendment didn't always translate to everyone being afforded birthright citizenship. For example, it wasn't until 1924 that Congress finally granted citizenship to all Native Americans born in the U.S. A key case in the history of birthright citizenship came in 1898, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Wong Kim Ark, born in San Francisco to Chinese immigrants, was a U.S. citizen because he was born in the states. The federal government had tried to deny him reentry into the county after a trip abroad on grounds he wasn’t a citizen under the Chinese Exclusion Act. But some have argued that the 1898 case clearly applied to children born of parents who are both legal immigrants to America but that it's less clear whether it applies to children born to parents without legal status or, for example, who come for a short-term like a tourist visa. “That is the leading case on this. In fact, it’s the only case on this,” said Andrew Arthur, a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, which supports immigration restrictions. “It’s a lot more of an open legal question than most people think.” Some proponents of immigration restrictions have argued the words “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” in the 14th Amendment allows the U.S. to deny citizenship to babies born to those in the country illegally. Trump himself used that language in his 2023 announcement that he would aim to end birthright citizenship if reelected. So what could Trump do and would it be successful? Trump wasn't clear in his Sunday interview how he aims to end birthright citizenship. Asked how he could get around the 14th Amendment with an executive action, Trump said: “Well, we’re going to have to get it changed. We’ll maybe have to go back to the people. But we have to end it.” Pressed further on whether he'd use an executive order, Trump said “if we can, through executive action." He gave a lot more details in a 2023 post on his campaign website . In it, he said he would issue an executive order the first day of his presidency, making it clear that federal agencies “require that at least one parent be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident for their future children to become automatic U.S. citizens.” Trump wrote that the executive order would make clear that children of people in the U.S. illegally “should not be issued passports, Social Security numbers, or be eligible for certain taxpayer funded welfare benefits.” This would almost certainly end up in litigation. Nowrasteh from the Cato Institute said the law is clear that birthright citizenship can’t be ended by executive order but that Trump may be inclined to take a shot anyway through the courts. “I don’t take his statements very seriously. He has been saying things like this for almost a decade," Nowrasteh said. "He didn’t do anything to further this agenda when he was president before. The law and judges are near uniformly opposed to his legal theory that the children of illegal immigrants born in the United States are not citizens." Trump could steer Congress to pass a law to end birthright citizenship but would still face a legal challenge that it violates the Constitution. __ Associated Press reporter Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report.REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 9, 2024-- Zuora, Inc. (NYSE: ZUO), a leading monetization suite for modern business, today announced financial results for its fiscal third quarter ended October 31, 2024. Third Quarter Fiscal 2025 Financial Results: Descriptions of our non-GAAP financial measures are contained in the section titled "Explanation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below and reconciliations of GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures are contained in the tables below. Proposed Acquisition; Conference Call and Guidance On October 17, 2024, we announced that Zuora entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Silver Lake, the global leader in technology investing, in partnership with an affiliate of GIC Pte. Ltd. (“GIC”). The transaction is valued at $1.7 billion, with Silver Lake and GIC to acquire all outstanding shares of Zuora common stock for $10.00 per share in cash. The acquisition is expected to close in the first calendar quarter of 2024, subject to customary closing conditions and approvals, including the receipt of the required regulatory approvals. Upon completion of the transaction, Zuora will become a privately held company. Given the proposed acquisition of Zuora, we will not be holding a conference call or live webcast to discuss Zuora's third quarter of fiscal 2025 financial results, we will not be providing any forward looking guidance, and we are withdrawing all previously provided goals, outlook, and guidance. Key Operational and Financial Metrics: Explanation of Key Operational and Financial Metrics: Annual Contract Value (ACV) . We define ACV as the subscription revenue we would contractually expect to recognize from a customer over the next twelve months, assuming no increases or reductions in their subscriptions. We define the number of customers at the end of any particular period as the number of parties or organizations that have entered into a distinct subscription contract with us and for which the term has not ended. Each party with whom we have entered into a distinct subscription contract is considered a unique customer, and in some cases, there may be more than one customer within a single organization. Dollar-based Retention Rate (DBRR) . We calculate DBRR as of a period end by starting with the sum of the ACV from all customers as of twelve months prior to such period end, or prior period ACV. We then calculate the sum of the ACV from these same customers as of the current period end, or current period ACV. Current period ACV includes any upsells and also reflects contraction or attrition over the trailing twelve months but excludes revenue from new customers added in the current period. We then divide the current period ACV by the prior period ACV to arrive at our dollar-based retention rate. Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR). ARR represents the annualized recurring value at the time of initial booking or contract modification for all active subscription contracts at the end of a reporting period. ARR excludes the value of non-recurring revenue such as professional services revenue as well as contracts with new customers with a term of less than one year. ARR should be viewed independently of revenue and deferred revenue, and is not intended to be a substitute for, or combined with, any of these items. ARR growth is calculated by dividing the ARR as of a period end by the ARR for the corresponding period end of the prior fiscal year. Explanation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures: In addition to financial measures prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), this press release and the accompanying tables contain non-GAAP financial measures including: non-GAAP cost of subscription revenue; non-GAAP subscription gross margin; non-GAAP cost of professional services revenue; non-GAAP professional services gross margin; non-GAAP gross profit; non-GAAP gross margin; non-GAAP income from operations; non-GAAP operating margin; non-GAAP net income; non-GAAP net income per share; and adjusted free cash flow. The presentation of these financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. We use non-GAAP financial measures in conjunction with GAAP measures as part of our overall assessment of our performance, including the preparation of our annual operating budget and quarterly forecasts, to evaluate the effectiveness of our business strategies and to communicate with our Board of Directors concerning our financial performance. We believe these non-GAAP measures provide investors consistency and comparability with our past financial performance and facilitate period-to-period comparisons of our operating results. We also believe these non-GAAP measures are useful in evaluating our operating performance compared to that of other companies in our industry, as they generally eliminate the effects of certain items that may vary for different companies for reasons unrelated to overall operating performance. We exclude the following items from one or more of our non-GAAP financial measures: Additionally, we disclose "adjusted free cash flow", which is a non-GAAP measure that includes adjustments to operating cash flows for cash impacts related to Shareholder matters and Acquisition-related expenses described above, and net purchases of property and equipment. We include the impact of net purchases of property and equipment in our adjusted free cash flow calculation because we consider these capital expenditures to be a necessary component of our ongoing operations. We believe this measure is meaningful to investors because management reviews cash flows generated from operations excluding such expenditures that are not related to our ongoing operations. Investors are cautioned that there are material limitations associated with the use of non-GAAP financial measures as an analytical tool. The non-GAAP measures we use may be different from non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies, limiting their usefulness for comparison purposes. We compensate for these limitations by providing specific information regarding the GAAP items excluded from these non-GAAP financial measures. Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Words such as “believes,” “may,” “will,” “determine,” “estimates,” “potential,” “continues,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “expects,” “could,” “would,” “projects,” “plans,” “targets,” “strategy,” “likely,” and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this release include statements regarding the proposed acquisition of Zuora, including the expected timing of the closing of the acquisition, and expectations for Zuora following the completion of the acquisition. Forward-looking statements are based on management's expectations as of the date of this filing and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, many of which involve factors or circumstances that are beyond our control. Our actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including but not limited to, risks detailed in our Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 29, 2024 as well as other documents that may be filed by us from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended October 31, 2024. In particular, the following factors, among others, could cause results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements: the possibility that the closing conditions to the proposed acquisition are not satisfied (or waived), including the risk that required approvals from Zuora’s stockholders for the proposed acquisition or required regulatory approvals to consummate the acquisition are not obtained in a timely manner (or at all); the outcome of the current complaint and any potential litigation relating to the proposed acquisition; uncertainties as to the timing of the consummation of the proposed acquisition; the ability of each party to consummate the proposed acquisition; our ability to attract new customers and retain and expand sales to existing customers; our ability to manage our future revenue and profitability plans effectively; adoption of monetization platform software and related solutions, as well as consumer adoption of products and services that are provided through such solutions; our ability to develop and release new products and services, or successful enhancements, new features and modifications; challenges related to growing our relationships with strategic partners; loss of key employees; our ability to compete in our markets; adverse impacts on our business and financial condition due to macroeconomic or market conditions; the impact of actions to improve operational efficiencies and operating costs; our history of net losses and ability to achieve or sustain profitability; market acceptance of our products; the success of our product development efforts; risks associated with currency exchange rate fluctuations; risks associated with our debt obligations; successful deployment of our solutions by customers after entering into a subscription agreement with us; the success of our sales and product initiatives; our security measures; our ability to adequately protect our intellectual property; interruptions or performance problems; litigation and other shareholder related costs; the anticipated benefits of acquisitions and ability to integrate operations and technology of any acquired company; geopolitical conflicts or destabilizing events; other business effects, including those related to industry, market, economic, political, regulatory and global health conditions and other risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent our views as of the date of this press release. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause our views to change. We undertake no intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Important Information and Where to Find It In connection with the proposed acquisition, Zuora has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) a proxy statement in preliminary form on November 25, 2024, a definitive version of which will be mailed or otherwise provided to its stockholders. The Company and affiliates of the Company have jointly filed a transaction statement on Schedule 13E-3 (the Schedule 13E-3). Zuora may also file other documents with the SEC regarding the potential transaction. BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING DECISION, ZUORA’S STOCKHOLDERS ARE URGED TO CAREFULLY READ THE PROXY STATEMENT AND THE SCHEDULE 13E-3 IN THEIR ENTIRETY AND ANY OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS THERETO IN CONNECTION WITH THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION OR INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE THEREIN BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION AND THE PARTIES TO THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION AND RELATED MATTERS. Investors and security holders may obtain free copies of the proxy statement, the Schedule 13E-3 and other documents that Zuora files with the SEC from the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and Zuora’s website at investor.zuora.com . In addition, the proxy statement, the Schedule 13E-3 and other documents filed by Zuora with the SEC (when available) may be obtained from Zuora free of charge by directing a request to Zuora’s Investor Relations at investorrelations@zuora.com . Participants in the Solicitation Zuora and certain of its directors, executive officers and employees may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from Zuora’s stockholders in connection with the proposed transaction. Information regarding the persons who may, under the rules of the SEC, be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of the stockholders of Zuora in connection with the proposed transaction, including a description of their respective direct or indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise will be set forth in the proxy statement and Schedule 13E-3 and other materials to be filed with the SEC. You may also find additional information about Zuora’s directors and executive officers in Zuora’s proxy statement for its 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which was filed with the SEC on May 16, 2024 (the “Annual Meeting Proxy Statement”). To the extent holdings of securities by potential participants (or the identity of such participants) have changed since the information printed in the Annual Meeting Proxy Statement, such information has been or will be reflected in Zuora’s Statements of Change in Ownership on Forms 3 and 4 filed with the SEC. You can obtain free copies of these documents from Zuora using the contact information above. About Zuora, Inc. Zuora provides a leading monetization suite to build, run and grow a modern business through a dynamic mix of usage-based models, subscription bundles and everything in between. From pricing and packaging, to billing, payments and revenue accounting, Zuora’s flexible, modular software platform is designed to help companies evolve monetization strategies with customer demand. More than 1,000 customers around the world, including BMC Software, Box, Caterpillar, General Motors, The New York Times, Schneider Electric and Zoom use Zuora’s leading combination of technology and expertise to turn recurring relationships and recurring revenue into recurring growth. Zuora is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices in the Americas, EMEA and APAC. To learn more, please visit zuora.com . © 2024 Zuora, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Zuora, Subscribed, Subscription Economy, Powering the Subscription Economy, Subscription Economy Index, Zephr, and Subscription Experience Platform are trademarks or registered trademarks of Zuora, Inc. Third party trademarks mentioned above are owned by their respective companies. Nothing in this press release should be construed to the contrary, or as an approval, endorsement or sponsorship by any third parties of Zuora, Inc. or any aspect of this press release. SOURCE: ZUORA, INC. ZUORA, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS (in thousands, except per share data) (unaudited) Three Months Ended October 31, Nine Months Ended October 31, 2024 2023 2024 2023 Revenue: Subscription $ 105,253 $ 98,048 $ 308,263 $ 283,232 Professional services 11,676 11,801 33,831 37,760 Total revenue 116,929 109,849 342,094 320,992 Cost of revenue: Subscription 1 23,954 20,378 67,207 62,304 Professional services 1 14,383 14,650 43,483 47,851 Total cost of revenue 38,337 35,028 110,690 110,155 Gross profit 78,592 74,821 231,404 210,837 Operating expenses: Research and development 1 26,833 27,504 76,853 79,428 Sales and marketing 1 36,597 40,245 108,579 124,488 General and administrative 1 26,880 15,893 71,351 54,160 Total operating expenses 90,310 83,642 256,783 258,076 Loss from operations (11,718 ) (8,821 ) (25,379 ) (47,239 ) Change in fair value of debt derivative and warrant liabilities (20,174 ) 6,997 (29,115 ) 2,241 Interest expense (7,045 ) (5,610 ) (20,781 ) (14,604 ) Interest and other income (expense), net 6,505 2,272 19,988 13,639 Loss before income taxes (32,432 ) (5,162 ) (55,287 ) (45,963 ) Income tax (benefit) provision (226 ) 340 (2,152 ) 1,396 Net loss (32,206 ) (5,502 ) (53,135 ) (47,359 ) Comprehensive loss: Foreign currency translation adjustment 462 (696 ) 386 (1,383 ) Unrealized gain (loss) on available-for-sale securities 248 (18 ) 63 494 Comprehensive loss $ (31,496 ) $ (6,216 ) $ (52,686 ) $ (48,248 ) Net loss per share, basic and diluted $ (0.21 ) $ (0.04 ) $ (0.36 ) $ (0.34 ) Weighted-average shares outstanding used in calculating net loss per share, basic and diluted 152,263 141,488 149,457 138,789 (1) Stock-based compensation expense was recorded in the following cost and expense categories: Three Months Ended October 31, Nine Months Ended October 31, 2024 2023 2024 2023 Cost of subscription revenue $ 2,331 $ 2,350 $ 6,291 $ 6,889 Cost of professional services revenue 2,598 2,747 7,359 8,997 Research and development 7,697 7,165 21,680 20,661 Sales and marketing 7,613 8,191 20,609 24,857 General and administrative 4,694 5,648 13,163 16,569 Total stock-based compensation expense $ 24,933 $ 26,101 $ 69,102 $ 77,973 ZUORA, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (in thousands) (unaudited) October 31, 2024 January 31, 2024 Assets Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 277,615 $ 256,065 Short-term investments 280,909 258,120 Accounts receivable, net 82,414 124,602 Deferred commissions, current portion 15,995 15,870 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 25,183 23,261 Total current assets 682,116 677,918 Property and equipment, net 27,403 25,961 Operating lease right-of-use assets 20,591 22,462 Purchased intangibles, net 23,146 10,082 Deferred commissions, net of current portion 24,941 27,250 Goodwill 73,903 56,657 Other assets 4,972 3,506 Total assets $ 857,072 $ 823,836 Liabilities and stockholders’ equity Current liabilities: Accounts payable $ 761 $ 3,161 Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 45,167 32,157 Accrued employee liabilities 29,860 37,722 Deferred revenue, current portion 177,436 199,615 Operating lease liabilities, current portion 7,030 6,760 Total current liabilities 260,254 279,415 Long-term debt 368,348 359,525 Deferred revenue, net of current portion 860 2,802 Operating lease liabilities, net of current portion 32,573 37,100 Deferred tax liabilities 4,066 3,725 Other long-term liabilities 6,781 7,582 Total liabilities 672,882 690,149 Stockholders’ equity: Class A common stock 15 14 Class B common stock 1 1 Additional paid-in capital 1,067,329 964,141 Accumulated other comprehensive loss (410 ) (859 ) Accumulated deficit (882,745 ) (829,610 ) Total stockholders’ equity 184,190 133,687 Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $ 857,072 $ 823,836 ZUORA, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (in thousands) (unaudited) Nine Months Ended October 31, 2024 2023 Cash flows from operating activities: Net loss $ (53,135 ) $ (47,359 ) Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities: Depreciation, amortization and accretion 14,715 13,684 Stock-based compensation 69,102 77,973 Provision for credit losses 2,117 457 Amortization of deferred commissions 13,946 14,415 Reduction in carrying amount of right-of-use assets 3,470 4,876 Change in fair value of debt derivative and warrant liabilities 29,115 (2,241 ) Other (2,418 ) 2,630 Changes in operating assets and liabilities: Accounts receivable 40,149 12,476 Prepaid expenses and other assets (2,657 ) 878 Deferred commissions (12,107 ) (12,013 ) Accounts payable (2,529 ) (634 ) Accrued expenses and other liabilities 6,843 (82,904 ) Accrued employee liabilities (7,986 ) 509 Deferred revenue (24,439 ) (7,461 ) Operating lease liabilities (7,476 ) (10,962 ) Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities 66,710 (35,676 ) Cash flows from investing activities: Purchases of property and equipment (9,252 ) (6,913 ) Purchases of short-term investments (240,093 ) (66,665 ) Maturities of short-term investments 222,279 175,128 Cash paid for acquisition, net of cash acquired (24,786 ) (4,524 ) Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities (51,852 ) 97,026 Cash flows from financing activities: Proceeds from issuance of common stock upon exercise of stock options 3,372 1,000 Proceeds from issuance of common stock under employee stock purchase plan 4,481 4,765 Payment for taxes related to net share settlement of stock options (1,547 ) — Proceeds from issuance of convertible senior notes, net of issuance costs — 145,861 Net cash provided by financing activities 6,306 151,626 Effect of exchange rates on cash and cash equivalents 386 (1,383 ) Net increase in cash and cash equivalents 21,550 211,593 Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period 256,065 203,239 Cash and cash equivalents, end of period $ 277,615 $ 414,832 ZUORA, INC. RECONCILIATION OF SELECTED GAAP MEASURES TO NON-GAAP MEASURES (in thousands, except percentages) (unaudited) Subscription Gross Margin Three Months Ended October 31, Nine Months Ended October 31, 2024 2023 2024 2023 Reconciliation of cost of subscription revenue: GAAP cost of subscription revenue $ 23,954 $ 20,378 $ 67,207 $ 62,304 Less: Stock-based compensation (2,331 ) (2,350 ) (6,291 ) (6,889 ) Amortization of acquired intangibles (1,164 ) (607 ) (2,706 ) (2,083 ) Workforce reductions (228 ) — (796 ) (38 ) Acquisition-related expenses (12 ) — (103 ) — Asset impairment — (439 ) — (439 ) Shareholder matters — — (20 ) — Non-GAAP cost of subscription revenue $ 20,219 $ 16,982 $ 57,291 $ 52,855 GAAP subscription gross margin 77 % 79 % 78 % 78 % Non-GAAP subscription gross margin 81 % 83 % 81 % 81 % Professional Services Gross Margin Three Months Ended October 31, Nine Months Ended October 31, 2024 2023 2024 2023 Reconciliation of cost of professional services revenue: GAAP cost of professional services revenue $ 14,383 $ 14,650 $ 43,483 $ 47,851 Less: Stock-based compensation (2,598 ) (2,747 ) (7,359 ) (8,997 ) Acquisition-related expenses (22 ) — (22 ) — Shareholder matters — — (28 ) — Workforce reductions — — (5 ) (46 ) Non-GAAP cost of professional services revenue $ 11,763 $ 11,903 $ 36,069 $ 38,808 GAAP professional services gross margin (23 )% (24 )% (29 )% (27 )% Non-GAAP professional services gross margin (1 )% (1 )% (7 )% (3 )% ZUORA, INC. RECONCILIATION OF SELECTED GAAP MEASURES TO NON-GAAP MEASURES (CONTINUED) (in thousands, except percentages) (unaudited) Total Gross Margin Three Months Ended October 31, Nine Months Ended October 31, 2024 2023 2024 2023 Reconciliation of gross profit: GAAP gross profit $ 78,592 $ 74,821 $ 231,404 $ 210,837 Add: Stock-based compensation 4,929 5,097 13,650 15,886 Amortization of acquired intangibles 1,164 607 2,706 2,083 Workforce reductions 228 — 801 84 Acquisition-related expenses 34 — 125 — Asset impairment — 439 — 439 Shareholder matters — — 48 — Non-GAAP gross profit $ 84,947 $ 80,964 $ 248,734 $ 229,329 GAAP gross margin 67 % 68 % 68 % 66 % Non-GAAP gross margin 73 % 74 % 73 % 71 % Operating (Loss) Income and Operating Margin Three Months Ended October 31, Nine Months Ended October 31, 2024 2023 2024 2023 Reconciliation of (loss) income from operations: GAAP loss from operations $ (11,718 ) $ (8,821 ) $ (25,379 ) $ (47,239 ) Add: Stock-based compensation 24,933 26,101 69,102 77,973 Acquisition-related expenses 10,299 19 17,100 211 Amortization of acquired intangibles 1,164 607 2,706 2,083 Workforce reductions 241 — 1,518 265 Shareholder matters 181 (3,508 ) 4,240 (3,265 ) Asset impairment — 1,592 — 1,592 Non-GAAP income from operations $ 25,100 $ 15,990 $ 69,287 $ 31,620 GAAP operating margin (10 )% (8 )% (7 )% (15 )% Non-GAAP operating margin 21 % 15 % 20 % 10 % ZUORA, INC. RECONCILIATION OF SELECTED GAAP MEASURES TO NON-GAAP MEASURES (CONTINUED) (in thousands, except per share data) (unaudited) Net (Loss) Income and Net (Loss) Income Per Share Three Months Ended October 31, Nine Months Ended October 31, 2024 2023 2024 2023 Reconciliation of net (loss) income: GAAP net loss $ (32,206 ) $ (5,502 ) $ (53,135 ) $ (47,359 ) Add: Stock-based compensation 24,933 26,101 69,102 77,973 Change in fair value of debt derivative and warrant liabilities 20,174 (6,997 ) 29,115 (2,241 ) Acquisition-related expenses 10,299 19 17,100 211 Amortization of acquired intangibles 1,164 607 2,706 2,083 Workforce reductions 241 — 1,518 265 Shareholder matters 181 (3,508 ) 4,240 (3,265 ) Asset impairment — 1,592 — 1,592 Non-GAAP net income $ 24,786 $ 12,312 $ 70,646 $ 29,259 GAAP net loss per share, basic and diluted 1 $ (0.21 ) $ (0.04 ) $ (0.36 ) $ (0.34 ) Non-GAAP net income per share, basic and diluted 1 $ 0.16 $ 0.09 $ 0.47 $ 0.21 (1) For the three months ended October 31, 2024 and 2023, GAAP and Non-GAAP net (loss) income per share are calculated based upon 152.3 million and 141.5 million basic and diluted weighted-average shares of common stock, respectively. For the nine months ended October 31, 2024 and 2023, GAAP and Non-GAAP net (loss) income per share are calculated based upon 149.5 million and 138.8 million basic and diluted weighted-average shares of common stock, respectively. Adjusted Free Cash Flow Three Months Ended October 31, Nine Months Ended October 31, 2024 2023 2024 2023 Reconciliation of adjusted free cash flow: Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities (GAAP) $ 22,408 $ (55,657 ) $ 66,710 $ (35,676 ) Add: Acquisition-related expenses 5,587 28 7,300 135 Shareholder matters 824 71,377 4,379 72,130 Less: Purchases of property and equipment (3,330 ) (3,075 ) (9,252 ) (6,913 ) Adjusted free cash flow (non-GAAP) $ 25,489 $ 12,673 $ 69,137 $ 29,676 Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities (GAAP) $ 18,999 $ 2,005 $ (51,852 ) $ 97,026 Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities (GAAP) $ (1,295 ) $ 145,899 $ 6,306 $ 151,626 View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241209614914/en/ CONTACT: Investor Relations Contact: Luana Wolk investorrelations@zuora.com 650-419-1377Media Relations Contact: Margaret Juhnke press@zuora.com 619-609-3919 KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: SOFTWARE PAYMENTS ACCOUNTING PROFESSIONAL SERVICES TECHNOLOGY ELECTRONIC COMMERCE FINTECH OTHER TECHNOLOGY SOURCE: Zuora, Inc. Copyright Business Wire 2024. PUB: 12/09/2024 04:10 PM/DISC: 12/09/2024 04:08 PM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241209614914/en Copyright Business Wire 2024.

Congress readies nearly $900 billion in defense spendingDaniel Penny doesn't testify as his defense rests in subway chokehold trialBy Elizabeth Ayoola, NerdWallet The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet, Inc. does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments. Kids are often pretty good at being consumers. If you’re a parent with a small business, you have the opportunity to show your kids firsthand what it means to be a producer. Small Business Saturday, which takes place on Nov. 30 this year, may be a great time to do just that. Small Business Saturday was established by American Express in 2010 and encourages consumers to patronize their local stores as a way to keep dollars circulating within their community. Here are three reasons you should consider getting your kids involved in Small Business Saturday, according to two mompreneurs. Ronne Brown is the owner of HERLISTIC, a plant-derived beauty and feminine care brand in Washington, D.C. She’s been participating in Small Business Saturday since she established her business in 2020. The entrepreneur gets her kids (ages 24, 18 and 12), plus her bonus daughter, 10, to help out on Small Business Saturday and beyond. Brown’s kids help with customer service, shipping and fulfillment tasks. That could include counting inventory, quality control or packaging boxes. Other times, help looks like Brown’s 12-year-old daughter keeping her up-to-date with TikTok trends and influencers in the beauty field. “I just want them to understand the price and the value of a dollar and what it actually costs to make it,” Brown says. The mompreneur also hopes her kids learn the benefits of commitment and hard work. “What I want to show them is that you have to work hard every day. And there are gonna be moments where you’re gonna be tired, you’re gonna be exhausted, and you’re not gonna want to do things, and you’re going to have to push through,” she says. Hiring your kids to do legitimate work during Small Business Saturday provides a chance for them to learn pillars needed for a strong financial foundation: earning money , saving money and investing. That said, before hiring kids, it’s critical to understand the child labor laws for your state in addition to the IRS’ rules around hiring kids. Brown says she pays all of her children, including her 24-year-old son who is on payroll. Additionally, she teaches them about investing in the stock market. “I want them to understand the importance of making money, but also investing the money that they’re making,” she says. “Because when I pay them, I always ask them, ‘so what are you gonna do to double this money?’” If you hire your minor kids, they could get a headstart on investing by putting some of their income into a custodial Roth IRA , which requires earned income to open. You could also open them a custodial brokerage account. Another perk of your kids earning income by working for you is that they may be exempt from paying federal income taxes if they earn less than the standard deduction . In 2024, that threshold is $14,600. Having your kids add helping hands, whether it be doing administrative tasks or helping customers, can ensure you keep up with a potential increase in sales. A 2024 NerdWallet holiday spending report found that 16% of 2024 holiday shoppers plan to shop on Small Business Saturday this year. Lisset Tresvant, owner of Glow Esthetics Spa in Hollywood, Florida, has been participating in Small Business Saturday since the genesis of her business in 2019. “I do tend to sell more because people are usually more inclined to purchase because of the sales, and it gives them a reason to support us,” she says. To help with the demand, Tresvant’s daughter, 12, and son, 9, fill her skincare products, add labels and help prep items for shipping. Tresvant says she decided to let her kids get involved in her business so they have a better understanding of what she does. Looking beyond Small Business Saturday, hiring your child can also help with succession planning , which is about planning for your departure from your business. Tresvant hopes to pass hers down to her kids one day. “They understand that I’m building this legacy just for not myself, but for them as well,” says Tresvant. More From NerdWallet Elizabeth Ayoola writes for NerdWallet. Email: eayoola@nerdwallet.com. The article 3 Reasons to Involve Your Kids in Small Business Saturday originally appeared on NerdWallet .The Biden administration has imposed sanctions on the founder of Georgia’s ruling political party, which has steered the country away from a pro-Western stance and towards Russia, US officials said. The US State and Treasury departments said they hit Georgian Dream party founder and honorary chairman Bidzina Ivanishvili with penalties “for undermining the democratic and Euro-Atlantic future of Georgia for the benefit of the Russian Federation”, according to a statement. The designation of Mr Ivanishvili is the latest in a series of sanctions the US has placed on Georgian politicians and others this year. Those sanctions include freezes on assets and properties those targeted may have in US jurisdictions or that might enter US jurisdictions as well as travel bans on the targets and members of their families. “We strongly condemn Georgian Dream’s actions under Ivanishvili’s leadership, including its ongoing and violent repression of Georgian citizens, protesters, members of the media, human rights activists, and opposition figures,” the State Department said in a statement. “The United States is committed to promoting accountability for those undermining democracy and human rights in Georgia.” Mr Ivanishvili is a billionaire who made his fortune in Russia and served briefly as Georgia’s prime minister. In 2012, he founded Georgian Dream, Georgia’s longtime ruling party. Critics have accused Georgian Dream of becoming increasingly authoritarian and tilted towards Moscow. The party recently pushed through laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on freedom of speech and LGBT+ rights, prompting the European Union to suspend Georgia’s membership application process indefinitely. In October, Georgian Dream won another term in a divisive parliamentary election that has led to more mass protests. Last month, the country’s prime minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, announced a four-year suspension of talks on Georgia’s bid to join the European Union, fuelling further public outrage.

NoneOLEAN, N.Y. (AP) — Noel Brown had 22 points in Saint Bonaventure's 85-70 win against Bryant on Sunday. Saint Bonaventure (6-0) is off to its best start since it won nine consecutive games to open the 1969-70 season. Brown added seven rebounds for the Bonnies. Melvin Council Jr. scored 18 points and added five rebounds. Lajae Jones shot 3 for 7 (2 for 3 from 3-point range) and 5 of 6 from the free-throw line to finish with 13 points. It was the sixth victory in a row for the Bonnies. The Bulldogs (3-3) were led by Earl Timberlake, who posted 17 points and seven rebounds. Barry Evans added 14 points and six rebounds for Bryant. Connor Withers also had 14 points, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Saint Bonaventure took the lead with 15:50 remaining in the first half and never looked back. The score was 46-40 at halftime, with Council racking up 14 points. Saint Bonaventure extended its lead to 64-44 during the second half, fueled by a 13-2 scoring run. Jones scored a team-high 10 points in the second half as their team closed out the win. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .

Nebraska's Dylan Raiola talks key late hit on day he sets school freshman season passing markNovember 24 - Andrej Stojakovic made 11 free throws to help craft a team-high 20 points, freshman Jeremiah Wilkinson had his second consecutive big game off the bench and Cal ran its winning streak to three with an 83-77 nonconference victory over Sacramento State on Sunday afternoon in Berkeley, Calif. Wilkinson finished with 16 points and Rytis Petraitis 13 for the Golden Bears (5-1), whose only loss this season was at Vanderbilt. Jacob Holt went for a season-high 25 points for the Hornets (1-4), who dropped their fourth straight after a season-opening win over Cal State Maritime. Seeking a fourth straight home win, Cal led by as many as 12 points in the first half and 40-33 at halftime before Sacramento State rallied. The Hornets used a 14-5 burst out of the gate following the intermission to grab a 47-45 lead. Julian Vaughns had a 3-pointer and three-point play in the run. But Cal dominated pretty much the rest of the game, taking the lead for good on a Petraitis 3-pointer with 14:50 remaining. Stojakovic, a transfer from rival Stanford, went 11-for-15 at the foul line en route to his third 20-point game of the young season. Cal outscored Sacramento State 26-17 on free throws to more than account for the margin of victory. Coming off a 23-point explosion in his first extended action of the season, Wilkinson hit five of his 10 shots Sunday. The Golden Bears outshot the Hornets 47.2 percent to 43.1 percent. Joshua Ola-Joseph contributed 10 points and six rebounds, Mady Sissoko also had 10 points and Petraitis found time for a team-high five assists. Holt complemented his 25 points with a game-high eight rebounds. He made four 3-pointers, as did Vaughns en route to 18 points, helping Sacramento State outscore Cal 30-21 from beyond the arc. EJ Neal added 16 points for the Hornets, while Emil Skytta tied for game-high assist honors with five to go with seven points. --Field Level Media Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. , Dec. 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) today announced that its Board of Directors declared a $2.38 per share dividend for the first quarter of 2025. The dividend will be paid on March 7, 2025 , to all stockholders of record as of the close of business on February 14, 2025 . About Amgen Amgen discovers, develops, manufactures and delivers innovative medicines to help millions of patients in their fight against some of the world's toughest diseases. More than 40 years ago, Amgen helped to establish the biotechnology industry and remains on the cutting-edge of innovation, using technology and human genetic data to push beyond what's known today. Amgen is advancing a broad and deep pipeline that builds on its existing portfolio of medicines to treat cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, inflammatory diseases and rare diseases. In 2024, Amgen was named one of the "World's Most Innovative Companies" by Fast Company and one of "America's Best Large Employers" by Forbes, among other external recognitions . Amgen is one of the 30 companies that comprise the Dow Jones Industrial Average ® , and it is also part of the Nasdaq-100 Index ® , which includes the largest and most innovative non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market based on market capitalization. For more information, visit Amgen.com and follow Amgen on X , LinkedIn , Instagram , TikTok , YouTube and Threads . Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on the current expectations and beliefs of Amgen. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including any statements on the outcome, benefits and synergies of collaborations, or potential collaborations, with any other company (including BeiGene, Ltd. or Kyowa Kirin Co., Ltd.), the performance of Otezla® (apremilast) (including anticipated Otezla sales growth and the timing of non-GAAP EPS accretion), our acquisitions of Teneobio, Inc., ChemoCentryx, Inc., or Horizon Therapeutics plc (including the prospective performance and outlook of Horizon's business, performance and opportunities, any potential strategic benefits, synergies or opportunities expected as a result of such acquisition, and any projected impacts from the Horizon acquisition on our acquisition-related expenses going forward), as well as estimates of revenues, operating margins, capital expenditures, cash, other financial metrics, expected legal, arbitration, political, regulatory or clinical results or practices, customer and prescriber patterns or practices, reimbursement activities and outcomes, effects of pandemics or other widespread health problems on our business, outcomes, progress, and other such estimates and results. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, including those discussed below and more fully described in the Securities and Exchange Commission reports filed by Amgen, including our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent periodic reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. Unless otherwise noted, Amgen is providing this information as of the date of this news release and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this document as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual results may differ materially from those we project. Our results may be affected by our ability to successfully market both new and existing products domestically and internationally, clinical and regulatory developments involving current and future products, sales growth of recently launched products, competition from other products including biosimilars, difficulties or delays in manufacturing our products and global economic conditions. In addition, sales of our products are affected by pricing pressure, political and public scrutiny and reimbursement policies imposed by third-party payers, including governments, private insurance plans and managed care providers and may be affected by regulatory, clinical and guideline developments and domestic and international trends toward managed care and healthcare cost containment. Furthermore, our research, testing, pricing, marketing and other operations are subject to extensive regulation by domestic and foreign government regulatory authorities. We or others could identify safety, side effects or manufacturing problems with our products, including our devices, after they are on the market. Our business may be impacted by government investigations, litigation and product liability claims. In addition, our business may be impacted by the adoption of new tax legislation or exposure to additional tax liabilities. If we fail to meet the compliance obligations in the corporate integrity agreement between us and the U.S. government, we could become subject to significant sanctions. Further, while we routinely obtain patents for our products and technology, the protection offered by our patents and patent applications may be challenged, invalidated or circumvented by our competitors, or we may fail to prevail in present and future intellectual property litigation. We perform a substantial amount of our commercial manufacturing activities at a few key facilities, including in Puerto Rico , and also depend on third parties for a portion of our manufacturing activities, and limits on supply may constrain sales of certain of our current products and product candidate development. An outbreak of disease or similar public health threat, such as COVID-19, and the public and governmental effort to mitigate against the spread of such disease, could have a significant adverse effect on the supply of materials for our manufacturing activities, the distribution of our products, the commercialization of our product candidates, and our clinical trial operations, and any such events may have a material adverse effect on our product development, product sales, business and results of operations. We rely on collaborations with third parties for the development of some of our product candidates and for the commercialization and sales of some of our commercial products. In addition, we compete with other companies with respect to many of our marketed products as well as for the discovery and development of new products. Discovery or identification of new product candidates or development of new indications for existing products cannot be guaranteed and movement from concept to product is uncertain; consequently, there can be no guarantee that any particular product candidate or development of a new indication for an existing product will be successful and become a commercial product. Further, some raw materials, medical devices and component parts for our products are supplied by sole third-party suppliers. Certain of our distributors, customers and payers have substantial purchasing leverage in their dealings with us. The discovery of significant problems with a product similar to one of our products that implicate an entire class of products could have a material adverse effect on sales of the affected products and on our business and results of operations. Our efforts to collaborate with or acquire other companies, products or technology, and to integrate the operations of companies or to support the products or technology we have acquired, may not be successful. There can be no guarantee that we will be able to realize any of the strategic benefits, synergies or opportunities arising from the Horizon acquisition, and such benefits, synergies or opportunities may take longer to realize than expected. We may not be able to successfully integrate Horizon, and such integration may take longer, be more difficult or cost more than expected. A breakdown, cyberattack or information security breach of our information technology systems could compromise the confidentiality, integrity and availability of our systems and our data. Our stock price is volatile and may be affected by a number of events. Our business and operations may be negatively affected by the failure, or perceived failure, of achieving our environmental, social and governance objectives. The effects of global climate change and related natural disasters could negatively affect our business and operations. Global economic conditions may magnify certain risks that affect our business. Our business performance could affect or limit the ability of our Board of Directors to declare a dividend or our ability to pay a dividend or repurchase our common stock. We may not be able to access the capital and credit markets on terms that are favorable to us, or at all. CONTACT: Amgen, Thousand Oaks Elissa Snook , 609-251-1407 (media) Justin Claeys , 805-313-9775 (investors) View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/amgen-announces-2025-first-quarter-dividend-302328180.html SOURCE AmgenRockland Trust acquires Enterprise Bank

Amazon has struck a deal to rent a big office building in Mountain View in a hopeful sign of an office market rebound.US sanctions founder of Georgia’s ruling political party

Trump is making an 11th-hour bid to toss his hush-money case before Inauguration Day. Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg has now filed an 82-page motion opposing Trump's dismissal efforts. Trump's "history of malicious conduct" is too serious to toss the case, Bragg wrote. In an 82-page court filing made public Tuesday, Manhattan prosecutors say Donald Trump's "history of malicious conduct" is too serious for his hush-money case to be dismissed . Advertisement The filing, signed by DA Alvin Bragg, also fights Trump's claim that he enjoys something called presidential-elect immunity — above and beyond the presidential immunity bestowed on him by the US Supreme Court in June. "There are no grounds for such relief now, prior to inauguration," Bragg wrote in opposing Trump's 11th-hour motion to dismiss, "because President-elect immunity does not exist ." Advertisement With just six weeks left before his January 20 inauguration — and six months after a Manhattan jury convicted him — Trump is again demanding that New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan immediately dismiss his hush-money case. It's his third time trying to void his indictment or his conviction. If successful, Trump would escape altogether his already thrice-delayed sentencing . The president elect faces as little as no jail time and a potential maximum of four years prison for falsifying 34 business records throughout his first year of office to retroactively hide a hush-money payment to adult actress Stormy Daniels. (Legal experts have said that it's unlikely Trump would be sentenced to jail time as a 78-year-old first-time offender convicted of low-level felonies, and any jail sentence would be stayed as he appeals.) Trump paid for Daniels' silence just eleven days before 2016 election, and jurors unanimously found that he thereby conspired to promote his own election by unlawful means, Bragg wrote. Advertisement The evidence presented against Trump was "overwhelming," reads the filing, which is also signed by a lead prosecutor on the case, Christopher Conroy. "The crimes that the jury convicted defendant of committing are serious offenses that caused extensive harm to the sanctity of the electoral process and to the integrity of New York's financial marketplace," which relies on honest record-keeping, Bragg wrote. Trump's conduct during his hush-money prosecution also weighs heavily against dismissal, as does his "long history of threatening, abusing, and attacking participants in other legal proceedings in which he is involved," Bragg wrote. Advertisement Trump's "contemptuous" conduct began even before his hush-money indictment was voted, the prosecutor wrote. "He threatened 'death and destruction' if he was indicted and posted a photo of himself wielding a baseball bat at the back of the District Attorney's head," Bragg wrote of Trump's actions while the grand jury was still hearing evidence in early 2023. Later, Trump launched online attacks on Merchan and members of his family . Advertisement Trump was found guilty of criminal contempt ten times for his "extrajudicial speech" — including social media attacks on witnesses — during his trial this spring, Bragg wrote. Trump also repeatedly attacked the law clerk and was accused of lying under oath by the judge during last year's civil fraud trial, in which he's been ordered to pay a $454 million judgment. That judgment remains on hold pending appeal . Advertisement Trump's history of abusing the legal process extends to his other cases, Bragg wrote, including his continued defamations of writer E. Jean Carroll , who last year won more than $80 million in damages after the president-elect repeatedly mocked her and called her a liar. Bragg's filling asked Merchan to either sentence Trump before the inauguration, or put the case on hold until after he serves out his second term.Supreme Court Dismisses Meta's Appeal to Block Multibillion-Dollar SuitCameron Huefner scores 20 and Sam Houston beats Dallas 111-65

Special Olympics Athletes Celebrated at White HouseIn this podcast, Motley Fool analyst Jim Gillies and host Ricky Mulvey discuss: Why luxury department stores are struggling. Disney spending $645 million to make two seasons of Star Wars: Andor . What investors should consider before using options to generate income. To catch full episodes of all The Motley Fool's free podcasts, check out our podcast center . To get started investing, check out our beginner's guide to investing in stocks . A full transcript follows the video. This video was recorded on Dec. 23, 2024. Ricky Mulvey: The sale at Nordstrom is over. You're listening to Motley Fool Money. Jim, this is our second recording of the day. We are now on minute 40 of seeing each other. Do I still do the like, hey, it's good to see you thing? Or do we let the listeners know what's going on behind the scenes? Jim Gillies: Feel free. Let's pretend. Ricky Mulvey: It's so good to see you. How's your morning going? Jim Gillies: It would have been better if we got on the first take, but other than that, it's great. Ricky Mulvey: Let's do this Nordstrom story again. First time for the listeners, though, the theme of this, Jim, is that being a public company is difficult. El Puerto de Liverpool, SAB is acquiring all outstanding shares of Nordstrom for a little bit more than 24 bucks in cash. It's a tiny premium for what it goes for today. The Nordstrom family will hold onto a majority of the company as it goes private. But why do you think this storied brand is leaving the public markets here? Jim Gillies: Because they haven't been rewarded for being public. Also too, small premium, this has been in the works for a year. I think it was a year ago with December 14 in 2023 when El Puerto de Liverpool filed a public NDA, essentially saying, Yeah, we're looking at this and we're happy to do it the way you guys want to do it, you guys being Nordstrom family. In September 2024, there was a preliminary filing offering $23 a share here, so the fact they've settled at 24-25, this was coming for a while and you can see it in the stock price chart this year, as well. Like, Nordstrom this year has been a market beater in 2024, which is funny, It's up about 31% this year. But trust me, the 10-year chart tells you a very different thing. They really haven't gotten any advantage for being public they don't need to raise capital, so they're not using for capital markets here. They've got some debt. They'll be able to roll that just fine as a private company. I think they probably said them, as well as Liverpool. We're probably just sitting here going like, look, this is a cash cow. We can run it as a cash cow. There's no there's no growth coming here. The stock being taken out today, it's about 17 times enterprise value to free cash flow, which is fine. It's unlikely to go much higher in the public market. This has not been a terribly great capital allocation story. It's been a little a scattershot, the way I probably would put it. They've made some questionable repurchases a little bit. They've had some dividends and they've cut them back during COVID and then only brought them back at about half the prior level. Being a public company is expensive. These guys can just go away and milk it for cash, and call it a day. Ricky Mulvey: This is a big bet for Liverpool, which is about a $7 billion USD company and Nordstrom is about $3 billion. There is one brand in there that I'm particularly curious about, which is Nordstrom Rack. I like the Nordstrom Rack. I know our colleague, my co-host Mary, who's listening right now, is a big fan of the Nordstrom Rack. Also, public markets love TJ Max. So I guess when you're looking at this, why couldn't Nordstrom Rack be more of a growth story as we're talking about Nordstrom going private right now? People love a treasure hunt, Jim. Jim Gillies: Well, you know what? People love more than a treasure hunt because big lot says hi. People love everyday low prices. People love buying in bulk to save a few bucks on a per-unit basis. The luxury department stores have large and this is the same problem at Macy's , the same problem at Kohl's . A couple Canadian names I could mentioned that have long gone now Eaton's and Simpsons. We, of course, saw Sears go away. Not so much luxury, but department stores and the one store fits all it's gone away in favor of the or at least they've suffered. In favor of the discounters? Could it have been the next TJ Maxx? I don't know, maybe, but I think that people are just more interested in low cost and buying in bulk. That may or may not be some commentary on the high cost of living today, but it's just some of these things, their time has passed rightly or wrongly. I don't think it's really that much more complicated. Then the fact that you have the family ownership and the dominance there, it's like they're still going to make their millions every year and it'll be fine and there's no tag days for them. But I think, like, what's the incentive to stay public? You're going to get a load of mid-teens multiple on cash flow. Your cash flow is not growing. In my view, at least anyway, there's not a lot of booming upside here. Take it private, get rid of all the public filing costs. Maybe you can streamline the business a little bit more and then just run it as a cash cow for both Liverpool and the Nordstrom family. Ricky Mulvey: You get access to capital markets, you get more liquidity if you want to sell some shares. There's some advantages to being a public company, even if you're getting a lower multiple Jim. Jim Gillies: Yeah, I don't think they're going to have any trouble raising capital on the debt side. They get about 2.6 billion in debt. They will have no trouble rolling that. I don't see the potential upside in the value creation here. So it's like public, not public. I don't think it's going to really impact anyone's life unless your last name is Nordstrom. Ricky Mulvey: Bloomberg reported that in 2018, the board rejected the family's bid to take Nordstrom Private at 50 bucks a share. Now it's going for less than half of that. We've seen a similar story at Paramount, which is this family business that refuses to sell when an offer is high and the growth prospects are subdued. You have outside buyers coming in and saying, hey, we can cool this melting ice cube if you want to hand it to us in the private markets. Are there any companies you're looking at today where if the board invited you in Jim, you would say, you know what? Now might be a good time to leave the public markets. Take the silver. Get out of here. Jim Gillies: Well, the first thing I say, I hope the board, the members of the board from 2018, who rejected that $50 bid, I hope they're writing checks to return all of the compensation they've got over the past seven years to take now a buyout at half. Good job, guys. I don't really follow companies, to see them taken out in this negative situation, which is what I think this is. I think it goes down to, I've got lots of companies, I think are going to be acquired or I would like to see a takeout. I had one personally on my Canadian service here is being taken out today. It's got a surprise bid. That's a tiny little company, so it won't go too far there. I'm generally looking because I play in the small-cap space a lot, I'm generally looking in probably about half of my companies over time get taken out. I'm thinking back to I was the co-advisor for a little Foolish service called Pay Dirt back in the mid 2000s. I've kept the names from that service a little spreadsheet I check in occasionally. More than half are gone now. They're long gone because small companies get acquired. That's what I'm looking at. I don't really look at these companies where, oh, we don't want to taken out, we don't get taken, fine, now we'll take a buyout when you've eroded shareholder value for half a decade. That's not my jam. I will say, though, that there are some companies I think would probably benefit from being out of the public eye. The one that I think should probably be folded into a larger connected fitness player at some point, although we won't say Apple , but maybe Google and their fitness app, because they did buy Fitbit, is Peloton . I think Peloton, they finally got the right people in charge or at least better people in charge. They finally decided to stop bleeding cash. They finally decided to fix their balance sheet as best they could, given they were over a barrel. I think as there's still a really nice subscription business hidden in there, even though their hardware is not selling as well as it was during the pandemic for what I think are obvious reasons, I think the value of and especially as they've got the app, so you don't even actually have to own hardware from Peloton anymore to play here. You can own the app and pay the subscription there and use your own material and your own hardware. I think at some point, they'd be my candidate to go away, unless you want to I think people Hope Spring's eternal, and I think companies always think they can be the ones to turn around. New managers think they can always be the ones to turn it around. Heck, investors buying I like to call it the cult of the value investor of which I am a card-carrying member. We always think a turnaround is going to come around and some of them do. But some of them don't. Nordstrom, public, private, I don't think we're going to be missing out by them going away. I think Peloton if it gets taken out next couple of years 20, $25, it wouldn't shock me. Ricky Mulvey: We're going to move on to a story that is significantly more personal to you as the listener can't see this. I'm looking behind Jim's shoulder and I see a stormtrooper bobblehead, certified Star Wars fan. This caught my attention. Forbes reports that Disney will spend more than $600 million on making two seasons of Andor. The second season coming in at $345 million. We'll go from the fan perspective and the investing perspective. This is a lower-level Star Wars fan than you. I like the first season. I thought it was pretty good. Practical effects are expensive. I didn't know they were that expensive. But I'm looking at this, in my back at the napkin math is that these episodes are going to be about two times more expensive than the final season of Game of Thrones. As a Star Wars fan, are you happy to see this investment in a gritty adult Star Wars series? Jim Gillies: Heck, yes, it's not my money. Spend away. Go ahead. It's the same thing I have when I see Juan Soto or Shohei Ohtani sign for whatever they signed for. It's like, it's not my money, go get paid, guys. Yeah, so I'm fine with this. I will also say that this is supposed to be the final season of Andor. It's only going to run two seasons. I will humbly suggest without seeing it that the final season of Andor will be better than the final season of Game of Thrones. That might be more of a comment on Game of Thrones. But anyway, I'm happy to see it because I will hold that there are two distinct eras of Star Wars. There's before Disney and after Disney. Before Disney has its issues the prequel trilogy is a step down from the original Trilogy. I hold Andor is the best thing they've done since they acquired. I'm going to loop Rogue one in there as well, because Andor is technically a prequel to the movie Rogue One. But Disney has not had any real clue how to hold and monetize Star Wars. Now, I think they're going to lose their shirts on this, given the cost of this because it is the least watched Disney plus show at least until the Acolyte aired. If you tried watching the Acolyte you'll know why that one failed. I did, and I do. But why was Andor the least-watched Disney Star Wars Show? The answer is, in my opinion, because the stuff they had before was scattershot, the tent pole movies so the episodes 7, 8 and 9, they didn't have a coherent plan, and they didn't have a coherent story. The Episode 8 seem to be trying to monkey with what they set up in Episode 7. Episode 9, was trying to fix Episode 8. Poor character writing. Finn's a big hero in the first one. Oh, now he's a joke in the second one. Ray is perfect the way she is, so who cares? Captain Fasma was a waste. Snoke the big bad or he's not. It was completely incoherent. The lesser, the non trilogy movies, Rogue 1 is excellent, but it's excellent because it was a more adult and they took some risks. Solo is fine. But then what TV shows have they done? Well, the Mandalorian and the first couple seasons are fine. The third season was terrible. Obi-Wan Kenobi was a joke. The Acolytes joke. Season 7 Clone Wars was fine, but Bad Batch was mundane. They've been very scattershot and they don't know what they have. Another thing too, is what I've said here. We went to the Star Wars and at Disney and yeah, you can see a bunch of stuff behind me, and what you can't see is all the stuff on that wall and you can't see the stuff downstairs. There is a lot of Star Wars stuff in this house and we'll leave it at that, including some very nice artwork. You don't realize the Star Wars stuff till you look closely. We went to Galaxy's Edge and Disney a couple years ago, and we were quite excited. I took money because I have money and I am willing to spend it. Disney take my money. I didn't buy anything. I walked out because everything they are trying to sell you at the Disney Park is not Han Luke Lea R2 3PO. It's not Darth Vader Stormtroopers. It's not the classic stuff that people who have money are willing to buy. It wasn't that. It was all stuff from the sequel trilogy. I'm don't want a Kylo Ren plushy. I don't care. The character didn't resonate. The character was uneven anyway. But when they've had good writing and Rogue 1 is good writing. Andor is excellent writing. I would say that the Luthan speech, anyone who's seen Andor, the four people who've seen it will know what I'm talking about when Luthan talks about what he sacrifices. It's gritty. It's adult. It's actually showing what life is like under this totalitarian government and that it's oppressive and that it's hard and people are going to die. This is a mature story being told by a really good storyteller. You go look at a lot of stuff it's played for laughs. It's like Star Wars can be funny. But that's not the primary motivation, like Han Solo funny guy. Princess Leia had some pretty good lines in the original Star Wars. But it's not humor isn't the Andor. Also too and this is just a personal thing, and this is more Star Wars than anyone when I ever wants to hear from me. The totalitarian fascist government in charge, which is what the empire is. Under Disney, they're clueless rubes that can't do anything right, it's a joke. If you don't give consequences to your characters, people aren't going to take your character seriously. Ricky Mulvey: Well, IP Management, including Star Wars and Beyond Star Wars, is something that Disney seems to be struggling with. They had a. Jim Gillies: Yes. Ricky Mulvey: Movie open this weekend that is underperforming with Mufasa. These are fond memories people have as children and they're struggling to get people back to the movies to go see them. I think of the Daisy Ridley's character in Star Wars. Jim Gillies: It's Ray. Ricky Mulvey: Yeah. Ray, excuse me, Ray. In one of the new movies, they have her essentially speed-running through Jedi training. Jim Gillies: She's perfect. Ricky Mulvey: When you think of the original trilogy, Luke Skywalker has to go through some stuff with Yoda in order to be a Jedi. I think there's just some fundamental misunderstandings about storytelling under this new regime for Star Wars that I don't understand why they don't understand it. Jim Gillies: You're exactly right. Again, I think Daisy Ridley did fine with what she had, what she had to do, but the character was written where she gets everything almost instantly. There's the classic hero's journey, the hero has to suffer in order to overcome. You don't see that. But you're exactly right. Lucas film, Disney's having problems. But even at Lucas film, the Indiana Jones movie. Dial of Destiny or whatever it was. People want to see Indiana Jones. The first 20 minutes of that movie where they've de-aged Harrison Ford and I understand that's expensive,and that felt like Indiana Jones. I'm hearing good things about there's a game out called The Great Circle right now. I'm hearing really good things about that game. But when it came to the rest of the movie, the movie was awkward and bad because they showed old broken down they deconstructed the hero. That's what they've done with Star Wars, as well. We're going to deconstruct Han solo. Forget the love story of Han solo and Princess Leia. Now they're divorced and he's an absentee father because reasons. It's just like, well, we don't want our heroes deconstructed. We don't want to be told that, hey, the heroes you loved, yeah, they're flawed and terrible. Here's some new heroes and we're going to take these guys apart, it doesn't sell. Ricky Mulvey: We can talk about what Disney doesn't know how to sell the fact of the matter, though. Biggest two movies this year are Inside Out 2 and Deadpool and Wolverine. Jim Gillies: Both of which are good movies, by the way. Ricky Mulvey: Both of which are pretty good movies. Inside Out 2 was good because it had something new to say in a sequel. In the original Inside out, the main character young kid experiencing these emotions. Now we have her in puberty and understanding things like anxiety. There's something new to say from a director that has children and also, like, is able to bring real life into it. Deadpool actually was a real risk. It was an R rated movie coming from Disney about Superheroes, which is something that granted, it's a sequel, but people still like going to the movies to see superheroes and the X men. Jim Gillies: Yeah, I liked both of them. I really did. I agree with what you said about Inside Out 2. Deadpool and Wolverine, the amount of character work. I know it's an R-rated movie coming out of Disney, but it's not the first time. They used to what was it Miramax or whatever they had a deal with. They would release their R-rated stuff through they can do that and the audience is there. But the audience has been built up in the prior to Deadpool movies. It's been built up in however many X-Men movies there are, which even when they changed the main cast, they never recast Logan. They never recast Wolverine. It was always Hugh Jackman. The issue I see is that you can't make your money now and selling the DVD and the Blue Rays after, which was the way it was for about 20 years there. It's even if you didn't make it back in your box office, you would make it back in DVD and Blu-ray sales later. We're not really doing that anymore. Because, well, because we don't. No one buys physical media. We all want to subscribe to 17 streaming services, apparently, instead. A lot of these things, they're losing their shirts on them, and they haven't really found out a way to monetize them and so what are they doing? They are really relying on existing IP. We're going to do sequels as much as possible because at least we've got that built in audience to maybe entice you in or we have to get smaller. These are the two that hit, but I already mentioned how much I'm not a big fan of the Disney Star Wars with a couple of exceptions. I mentioned the Indiana Jones, guys, at some point. Even in the Marvel universe, which of course, Disney owns as well, they peaked with endgame. End games five years ago now. It was 2019. All of the Marvel since then, all the Phase 4 and Phase 5, whatever we're doing, the TV shows, the movies, it's just been a steady degradation. It's nice what happened with Deadpool Wolverine and it's good. But I don't have a lot of hope for a lot of the other stuff that's been coming out because I mean does anyone remember what the plot of the Marvels or the Eternals was like? Ricky Mulvey: Two final points, and then I'm going to move to a question for the hardcore investors listening. If you made it through that conversation on Disney and Star Wars, I want to make sure we leave you with a little treat, something to take home with you. My two final points are, one, the International box office is less reliable for big 10 pole movies. Then the second is that Deadpool and Wolverine was the only Big Marvel movie this year. I think both of those facts are important. I had to say that. Now, we're going to go to a mailbag question that at the end of the year, I want to get to an advanced investing concept because in the beginning of the year, we're going to get more general stuff as we have newer investors welcomed to the show. Here's the question from Calfool that I thought would be good for you, Jim. I'm thinking about using more options to generate income on the stocks that I own. This is selling a covered call. What should I know before doing this? Is there an advantage to doing this instead of just owning dividend-paying stocks and doing a little less work? Jim Gillies: Well, the advantage is you can increase the income on the underlying stock by selling calls against it. The disadvantage and I can go in a number of different directions here. Well, number one, first off, to companies that pay dividends, so if you're going to sell a covered call on a dividend-paying stock, dividends take down the price of the calls. When you're selling it, you're arguably getting paid less than you should be. That's I have to get you a finance paper to show you how that works. But yeah, let's just say selling covered calls on big dividend payers is going to pay you less. The problem that Calfool may be stepping in here is because they specifically say, generate income on stocks I own. Well, what is your cost basis in those stocks that you own? What account are those stocks held in? If they're held in a tax-sheltered account, this is probably not that big of a deal. If they are held in a non-tax sheltered account, let's say, I'm going to pick on Starbucks just because it's the one that comes to mind for I think it's about 85 or $90 a share. If your cost basis is $10 a share and you say get paid two or $3 to sell a three-month call option against your shares, that money is yours to keep. You'd sell one call option for every hundred shares you own. But if the stock runs up. If a stock goes from 85 where it is today, 87, where is it today. Let's say it runs to $120 by the end of the three months Brian Niccol is perceived to be turning the company around. If you sold, say, the $90 call option to generate income today, you are going to be scrambling to either buy those calls back and they're going to be a lot more expensive and it's going to largely eliminate any profitability you could have had or you're going to say goodbye to your shares that maybe you don't want to say goodbye to and you'll have a big tax bill. Always think about, am I doing this in a taxable account? If not, it's probably fine. You might end up selling something you don't want to sell too quickly, but at least there's no major tax implication. If it's in a taxable account, you might want to rethink this. This is why when I was running Motley Fool Options, my good friend Jim Mueller is running Motley Fool Options today, he will say the same thing. It's we've always preferred what's called the buy right. If you want covered calls and you're aiming for 1% a month, which is reasonably you can do it, maybe a little bit better, actually. What you would do is you would buy shares in lots of 100 and then you would sell one call contract against the shares you bought. That way, you're deliberately targeting income. Don't do it in an account where you already own shares. We could lose those taxes again. But just be careful and think about what you're doing. Think about the tax implications. Then, as well, be sure you're OK waving goodbye to those shares, because at some point you will see a stock run-up, you will see a call exercised against you. Then the final potential indignity is always be aware if you are going to sell covered calls on a dividend-paying company, be aware once the stock price goes above the strike price on the call, and if we're heading toward the next dividend date, you might lose your shares early and there's some formulas you need to worry about, but we go there. You might lose your shares early because the counterparty your option might try to steal your dividend from you. Just be aware and think through the implications of what you're doing here. It can be fine. I do cover calls all the time. Just be aware. Ricky Mulvey: Good place to end it. Gets to run long today. No B segment. Jim Gillies, appreciate you being here. Have a good holiday week, and I think I'll see you in the New Year. Jim Gillies: Thanks, Ricky. You too. Ricky Mulvey: As always, people on the program may have interests in the stocks they talk about and the Motley Fool may have formal recommendations for or against, so don't buy or sell stocks based solely on what you hear. While personal finance content follows Motley Fool editorial standards and are not approved by advertisers, Motley Fool only picks products that it would personally recommend to friends like you. I'm Ricky Mulvey, thanks for listening. We'll be back tomorrow.

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