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    FDA approves Madrigal Pharmaceuticals drug as first treatment for common NASH liver disease

    The Food and Drug Administration approved Rezdiffra as the first-ever treatment for a common and potentially deadly liver disease that affects millions worldwide.
    The FDA’s decision means Madrigal Pharmaceuticals has succeeded in a disease area that several larger companies have failed — or are still trying to break into.
    Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are testing their respective blockbuster weight loss injections as treatments for the same kind of liver disease, called nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH.

    In this photo illustration, the Madrigal Pharmaceuticals logo is displayed on a smartphone screen. 
    Rafael Henrique | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

    The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved the first-ever treatment for a common and potentially deadly form of liver disease that affects millions worldwide.
    The FDA’s decision means Madrigal Pharmaceuticals has succeeded in a disease area that several larger companies have failed — or are still trying to break into. Madrigal shares jumped more than 20% in extended trading Thursday following the approval.

    Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are testing their respective blockbuster weight loss injections as treatments for the same kind of liver disease, called nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH.
    Madrigal’s drug, which will be marketed as Rezdiffra, is specifically approved to treat patients with NASH who also have moderate-to-advanced liver scarring. The treatment must be used with diet and exercise, according to the FDA.
    NASH is a serious form of liver disease characterized by excess fat buildup and inflammation in the liver and can lead to liver scarring, also known as fibrosis, along with liver failure and liver cancer. The condition is often associated with other health problems, such as high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes and obesity.
    Roughly 6 million to 8 million people in the U.S. have NASH with moderate-to-advanced liver scarring, according to an estimate cited by the FDA.
    Madrigal said in a statement that the drug will be available in April. The company also said it has set up an assistance program to help people who don’t have insurance access Rezdiffra. Madrigal has not disclosed how much the treatment will cost.

    “Previously, patients with NASH who also have notable liver scarring did not have a medication that could directly address their liver damage,” said Dr. Nikolay Nikolov, acting director of the FDA’s Office of Immunology and Inflammation.
    Madrigal’s drug specifically received an “accelerated approval” from the FDA. That designation clears drugs faster if they fill an unmet medical need for serious conditions, and requires the drugmaker to further study the treatment and verify its clinical benefits.
    Madrigal’s medication works by activating a thyroid hormone receptor in the liver to help reduce fat accumulation. Patients take it by mouth each day.
    In a late-stage study published last month, Rezdiffra helped resolve symptoms of NASH and improve liver scarring without making the condition worse. Notably, the rate of serious adverse events was comparable between the patient group that took the drug and another group that received a placebo.
    The most common side effects related to treatment were diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. 
    Some specialists have started calling NASH metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, or MASH, to avoid potentially stigmatizing language. More

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    Morgan Stanley names a head of artificial intelligence as Wall Street leans into AI

    Morgan Stanley promoted a tech executive in its wealth management division to become the bank’s first head of firm-wide Artificial Intelligence, CNBC has learned.
    The bank is elevating Jeff McMillan, a veteran of the New York-based bank, to help guide its implementation of AI across the firm, according to a memo sent Thursday.
    Morgan Stanley became the first major Wall Street firm to create a solution for employees based on OpenAI’s GPT-4, a project overseen by McMillan.

    The Morgan Stanley digital sign is seen at the company’s Times Square headquarters in New York, U.S., on Friday, Jan. 12, 2016.
    John Taggart | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    Morgan Stanley promoted a tech executive in its wealth management division to become the bank’s first head of firm-wide artificial intelligence, CNBC has learned.
    The bank is elevating Jeff McMillan, a veteran of the New York-based bank, to help guide its implementation of AI across the firm, according to a memo sent Thursday from co-presidents Andy Saperstein and Dan Simkowitz.

    Last year, Morgan Stanley became the first major Wall Street firm to create a solution for employees based on OpenAI’s GPT-4, a project overseen by McMillan.
    The move shows the rising importance of artificial intelligence in financial services, sparked by the meteoric rise of generative AI tools that create human-like responses to queries.
    While Wall Street firms broadly pared back jobs last year, they competed to fill thousands of AI positions, poaching employees from one another.
    In June, JPMorgan named Teresa Heitsenrether its chief data and analytics officer in charge of AI adoption. At Goldman Sachs, Chief Information Officer Marco Argenti is seen as the lead AI advocate.
    Read the full Morgan Stanley memo announcing McMillan’s new role:

    We are pleased to announce that Jeff McMillan has assumed a new position as Head of Firmwide Artificial Intelligence, co-reporting to us.
    Jeff previously led Wealth Management’s Analytics, Data and Innovation organization where he played a key role in driving Wealth Management’s technological evolution, from our Modern Wealth Management platform to most recently our groundbreaking work with our exclusive partner, OpenAI.
    In his new role, Jeff will coordinate across the Firm to ensure we have the appropriate AI strategy and governance in place. In doing so, he will partner with the business units and infrastructure areas to identify and prioritize AI opportunities; help position the Firm within the flow of AI development across the industry and ensure that Morgan Stanley continues to be a well-respected innovator in AI.
    To execute on our AI strategy, Jeff will work closely Mike Pizzi, Head of U.S. Banks and Technology, Sid Visentini, Head of Firm Strategy and Katy Huberty, Head of Global Research. Katy and Jeff will co-chair the Firmwide AI Steering Group, comprised of business unit and infrastructure representatives.
    Please join us in congratulating Jeff on his new role. More

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    Wall Street isn’t pleased that Kevin Plank is returning as Under Armour’s CEO, shares plunge 12%

    Shares of Under Armour plunged about 12% after the retailer announced that CEO Stephanie Linnartz would be stepping down after barely a year on the job.
    Following the announcement, both Williams Trading and Evercore ISI downgraded Under Armour and lowered their price targets.
    Some analysts say Under Armour’s problems are unique but the company is also contending with larger pressures the whole retail industry is facing.

    The interior of an Under Armour store is seen on November 03, 2021 in Houston, Texas.
    Brandon Bell | Getty Images

    Wall Street is not pleased that Under Armour founder Kevin Plank is returning as its CEO. 
    Shares of the athletic apparel company plunged about 12% on Thursday after the retailer announced late Wednesday that CEO Stephanie Linnartz would be stepping down after barely a year on the job and Plank would replace her on April 1. 

    Following the announcement, both Williams Trading and Evercore ISI downgraded Under Armour and lowered their price targets. Williams Trading rated it a hold from buy and lowered its price target from $11 to $8, while Evercore downgraded the company to underperform from in line and lowered its price target from $8 to $7. 
    Linnartz, a former Marriott International executive who took the helm last February, is the second CEO the company has cycled through in less than two years. 
    Former Aldo Group CEO Patrik Frisk replaced Plank as Under Armour’s chief executive in January 2020 only to suddenly announce plans to resign a little over two years later, in May 2022. 
    That December, Under Armour announced plans to hire Linnartz on a bet that her experience building out Marriott’s renowned Bonvoy loyalty program and driving digital revenue for the hotel giant would offset her lack of experience in the retail industry. 
    Since she started at Under Armour, Linnartz had been focused on rehauling the company’s C-suite, building out its loyalty program, UA Rewards, and pivoting the brand’s assortment to a more athleisure-focused offering that had more stylish options for women. 

    In its downgrade, Evercore ISI said Plank’s return to the company was a “clear signal” that the strategy wasn’t working and its key performance indicators were continuing to deteriorate in the current quarter. 
    “We think the most likely scenario Mr. Plank will pursue will include efforts to accelerate a return to N. America revenue growth … which we think will add significant risk to the brand longer-term,” analyst Michael Binetti wrote. 
    Sales at Under Armour slowed during the holiday quarter as the company grappled with soft demand in North America and sluggish wholesale orders. However, these dynamics also have affected rivals and are emblematic of larger forces that are pressuring the retail industry. 
    In the face of persistent inflation, high interest rates and dwindling savings accounts, consumers in North America have been more choosy with their discretionary dollars and have been pulling back on buying new clothes and shoes in favor of spending on dining out and traveling.
    On the other hand, wholesalers have kept tight order books as of late after they were crushed with high inventories that they accumulated during pandemic-era supply chain snarls. Now that inventory levels have largely normalized throughout the industry, wholesalers have been careful with their orders as they look to maintain those levels while contending with an uncertain demand picture. 
    Analysts from William Blair agreed that Plank will be focused on driving revenue growth at Under Armour, which challenges the firm’s thesis that fiscal 2025 will be a year of cost efficiencies. 
    “Moreover, with about two-thirds of leadership new to Under Armour in the past year, the departure of Linnartz poses some risk that Under Armour could undergo more changes in key roles, which could push out our hope for rebounding domestic revenue growth in fiscal 2026 given inherent product lead times if key leadership changes,” the note read. “That said, Plank has been heavily involved over the past year as brand chief and executive chair, which bolsters our optimism somewhat that key hires will remain in place.” 
    Retail analyst and GlobalData managing director Neil Saunders said Linnartz’s imminent departure is “emblematic of a brand that can’t quite decide which direction it wants to go in.” 
    “Under Armour has already been through several rounds of change as it tries to address declining sales and issues with the brand but, as the latest set of poor quarterly results show, it has not yet found a successful path to rebuilding the business,” Saunders said in an emailed note. 
    “All of the twists and turns have created a brand that has become increasingly confusing to consumers and to wholesale partners,” Saunders continued. “This in turn, has made Under Armour easier to overlook. Remedying these problems are not simple, no matter who occupies the CEO seat.”  More

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    ‘Dollars up, donors down’: More charity money is coming from the ultra-wealthy

    Charitable donations are becoming hyper-concentrated among a small group of ultra-wealthy mega-donors.
    About 400,000 people account for more than one-third of the world’s charity, according to a new report from Altrata.
    That means wealth advisors and nonprofits have to adapt to a highly top-heavy landscape for philanthropy, with fewer donors but bigger contributions on the line.

    Bill and Melinda Gates brace the rain as they visit the township of Khayelitsha on October 25, 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa.
    Brenton Geach | Gallo Images | Getty Images

    A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.
    While donations to charity have been rising, the pool of donors is shrinking, as philanthropy becomes hyper-concentrated among a small group of ultra-wealthy mega-donors, according to a new study.

    A new report from Altrata finds that ultra-high-net-worth individuals (those worth $30 million or more) now account for 38% of all individual giving in the world. Put another way, 400,000 people account for more than one-third of the world’s charity.
    It’s even more extreme when you look at billionaires. The world’s 3,200 billionaires (or 0.00004% of the global population) account for 8% of individual philanthropy.

    The giving by those at the top is, of course, a positive. While it’s worthy to debate whether the wealthy are giving enough (see the recent annual letter from Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman on how the wealthy need to step it up), giving on the whole continues to grow.
    The overall level of giving from ultra-high-net-worth individuals in 2022 was 25% higher than it was in 2018, even though it was a down year for financial markets, according to Altrata. North Americans remain the most philanthropic on the planet, accounting for nearly half of global giving from that upper echelon.
    The challenge for wealth advisors and nonprofits is adapting to a new, highly top-heavy landscape for philanthropy. Nonprofits, which for years benefited from a broad range of donors, now have to depend on a smaller collection of super-donors, who are already barraged with requests. Charitable causes will rise and fall depending on the interests and goals of a small group of mega-funders. And overall giving will become more volatile, since the benevolence of billionaires and the ultra-wealthy is driven in large part by stock prices.

    Amir Pasic, dean of the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, says the so-called “dollars up, donors down” phenomenon has caused nonprofits to rethink their fundraising and strategies.
    “A lot of nonprofits are pivoting to focus more on those major gifts and trying to figure out how to access wealthy donors and foundations,” he said.
    At the same time, he said, some nonprofits are trying to turn the tide of wealth and use technology and more creative outreach programs to tap a larger community of smaller, younger donors.
    “It’s a Catch-22,” he said. “Everybody is rushing to the top of the pyramid, but it’s becoming so concentrated they may be neglecting the importance of reaching out to tomorrow’s donors.”
    According to Altrata, today’s ultra-wealthy mega-donors are largely male, with a majority over the age of 70 and with a higher share of liquid wealth (i.e., cash) than the broader ultra-high-net worth population. Women, however, are a rising force. While women make up11% of the ultra-high-net-worth population, they account for 22% of the larger givers, according to the study.
    Today’s ultra-wealthy donors also prefer to give through private foundations and donor-advised funds — which give them more control — rather than simply writing checks to the Red Cross or United Way. The assets held in private foundations have more than doubled since 2005, to more than $1.2 trillion, according to Federal Reserve data.
    Almost 1 in 5 of all ultra-high-net-worth individuals has a private foundation, and 30% of those worth $100 million or more have a foundation, according to Altrata.
    The giving priorities of the wealthy are also different from those of the broader public, which could lead to more money flowing to causes that are particular to the wealthy or even a subset of a few individuals. The top charitable cause for ultra-wealthy donors was education (at 54%), according to Altrata. That was followed by arts and culture (32%), health care and medical research (28%), social services (23%) and the environment/conservation/animals (14%).
    While religion is far and away the top charitable cause for Americans, Altrata said religion didn’t rank in the top seven causes for the ultra-wealthy, though Altrata noted that because giving to religion is often “anonymous and disparate in nature,” the real number may actually be higher.
    “There is some evidence that the ultra-high-net-worth population has different skews from the broader population,” Pasic said. “And that can also be skewed by a small number of very large gifts to one cause.”
    Sign up to receive future editions of CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank. More

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    HSBC is ‘very positive’ about the future of China’s economy, CFO says

    Growth in China has been weighed down over the past year by a slump in the country’s traditional economic pillars of real estate, infrastructure and exports.
    In response, Beijing has ramped up its efforts to bolster manufacturing and domestic tech in a bid to modernize its economy and remain globally competitive.

    The Hong Kong observation wheel and the HSBC building in Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong.
    Ucg | Universal Images Group | Getty Images

    HSBC is “very positive” about the mid- to long-term outlook for the Chinese economy despite current headwinds, the British bank’s chief financial officer told CNBC.
    Growth in China has been weighed down over the past year by a slump in the country’s traditional economic pillars of real estate, infrastructure and exports. This prompted Beijing to ramp up its efforts to bolster manufacturing and domestic tech in a bid to modernize its economy and remain globally competitive.

    Speaking to CNBC’s Karen Tso on Wednesday, HSBC CFO Georges Elhedery said the lender — which is headquartered in London but does a lot of its business in Hong Kong and across the Asia-Pacific — was confident that the world’s second-largest economy would overcome its short-term headwinds.
    “We’re looking at major economic transition, which is taking place, which gives us very strong grounds to be very positive about the medium- and long-term outlook,” Elhedery said.
    He suggested that China’s economic maturity has reached such a stage that now is the “right time to transition into what more mature economies are.”
    Elhedery characterized this maturity as being more heavily reliant on consumers, the services industry and high-value and sustainability-driven products, such as electric vehicles and batteries, aspirations he said were evidenced by the Chinese government’s recent massive push toward these sectors.

    “That transition will mean that China will avoid falling in this middle income trap and be able to continue the growth pattern,” he added.

    “Some of the Western economies have gone through those transitions in the past, [and] China is going through a transition today. That gives us a lot of positive outlook for the medium- to long-term for China.”
    The more immediate economic challenges may last “a few quarters to a couple of years,” Elhedery said, but expressed confidence that China will be in a better position for the long run, as the country puts itself on a “materially better forward-looking track.”
    HSBC missed its full-year 2023 pretax profit forecasts on the back of a $3 billion write-down on its 19% stake in China’s Bank of Communications, while the lender cut its overall exposure to Chinese commercial real estate by $4.6 billion year on year.
    Yet, Elhedery on Thursday insisted that most of the challenges related to the ailing Chinese property market were “behind us,” even as he said the sector is not “out of the woods” so far.
    “We think the trough of that sector is behind us. We think in our case, our exposure and our ECL (expected credit losses) covers the bulk of the charges behind us, but that still means there will be lingering effects as the sector continues to adjust, and we may continue to see some impact but not to the tune that we’ve seen last year on our credit charges,” he said. More

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    ‘Take the emotion out of investing’ during a presidential election year, strategist says. What to do instead

    Women and Wealth Events
    Your Money

    President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are set for a rematch in the 2024 general election.
    Politics have become “increasingly more emotional,” said Moira McLachlan, senior investment strategist with AllianceBernstein’s wealth strategies group.
    It’s important to stay invested during the 2024 election year and avoid making knee-jerk reactions, strategists said.

    Video of former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden is played during a hearing by the Select Committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., on June 13, 2022.
    Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images News | Getty Images

    WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Investors’ emotions may run high in 2024, especially in the realm of politics as President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are poised for a rematch in this year’s election.
    “Politics have become increasingly more emotional,” Moira McLachlan, senior investment strategist with AllianceBernstein’s wealth strategies group, said Wednesday at Financial Advisor Magazine’s Invest in Women conference in West Palm Beach, Florida.

    However, investors should avoid knee-jerk reactions by setting and sticking to an investment plan, strategists said.
    “It’s so important to stay invested, and you have to try to take the emotion out of investing” to keep from doing something “detrimental” to your goals, said Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist at Invesco.

    More from Women and Wealth:

    Here’s a look at more coverage in CNBC’s Women & Wealth special report, where we explore ways women can increase income, save and make the most of opportunities.

    Trying to time the stock market and predict its movements are largely a loser’s game. For example, over the past 30 years, the S&P 500 stock index had an 8% average annual return, according to a recent Wells Fargo Investment Institute analysis. Missing the 30 best days would have reduced average gains to 1.83%, for example, it found.
    There are “a lot of geopolitical issues, a lot of things, that can spook us,” Hooper said.
    Over the past four years, the world has witnessed a global pandemic and two wars, for example, said Jenny Johnson, president and CEO of Franklin Templeton.

    It has taught investors they can’t predict what’s going to happen, she said.  
    “So, diversify that portfolio,” Johnson added.
    Whichever party wins the presidential contest, Republican or Democrat, history shows that the winner has hardly had a bearing on stock market returns, said McLachlan.
    “We tend to think politics drives everything, but that’s certainly not the case,” she said. More

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    Watch as SpaceX launches third Starship test flight

    SpaceX is set to attempt a third test flight of its Starship rocket on Thursday.
    Elon Musk’s company has a nearly two-hour window, from 8 a.m. ET to 9:50 a.m. ET, in which to launch Starship from its Starbase facility near Boca Chica, Texas.
    The company said in an update Thursday morning the weather was “70% favorable” for launch. It was most recently targeting 9:25 a.m. ET for liftoff.

    [A livestream from SpaceX of commentary and the launch is slated to start at 8:52 a.m. ET. Please refresh the page if you do not see the video player above.]
    SpaceX is set to attempt a third test flight of its Starship rocket on Thursday, as the company looks to push development of the mammoth vehicle past new milestones.

    Elon Musk’s company has a nearly two-hour window, from 8 a.m. ET to 9:50 a.m. ET, in which to launch Starship from its Starbase facility near Boca Chica, Texas. If SpaceX is unable to launch within that window for weather or technical reasons, the company will postpone the attempt to a later date.
    The company said in an update Thursday morning the weather was “70% favorable” for launch. It was most recently targeting 9:25 a.m. ET for liftoff.
    SpaceX has flown the full Starship rocket system on two tests in the past year, with launches in April and November. Both previous launches had progressive but explosive results: While each of the rockets flew for a few minutes, with the most recent reaching space, both vehicles were ultimately destroyed due to problems.

    Sign up here to receive weekly editions of CNBC’s Investing in Space newsletter.

    The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday cleared SpaceX for a third launch attempt.
    Assuming the launch goes according to plan, Starship would reach space and then travel halfway around the Earth before reentering the atmosphere and splashing down in the Indian Ocean.

    The Starship system is designed to be fully reusable and aims to become a new method of flying cargo and people beyond Earth. The rocket is also critical to NASA’s plan to return astronauts to the moon. SpaceX won a multibillion-dollar contract from the agency to use Starship as a crewed lunar lander as part of NASA’s Artemis moon program.
    SpaceX heavily emphasizes an approach of building “on what we’ve learned from previous flights” in its approach to develop Starship. The company says its strategy focuses on “recursive improvement” to the rocket, where even test flights with fiery outcomes represent progress toward its goal of a fully reusable rocket that can deliver people to the moon and Mars.
    Musk last year said he expected the company to spend about $2 billion on Starship development in 2023.

    Starship’s staggering size

    SpaceX’s next-generation Starship spacecraft atop its powerful Super Heavy rocket is launched from the company’s Boca Chica launchpad on an uncrewed test flight, near Brownsville, Texas, on Nov. 18, 2023.
    Joe Skipper | Reuters

    Starship is both the tallest and most powerful rocket ever launched. Fully stacked on the Super Heavy booster, Starship stands 397 feet tall and is about 30 feet in diameter.
    The Super Heavy booster, which stands 232 feet tall, is what begins the rocket’s journey to space. At its base are 33 Raptor engines, which together produce 16.7 million pounds of thrust – about double the 8.8 million pounds of thrust of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket, which launched for the first time late last year.
    Starship itself, at 165 feet tall, has six Raptor engines – three for use while in the Earth’s atmosphere and three for operating in the vacuum of space.

    The rocket is powered by liquid oxygen and liquid methane. The full system requires more than 10 million pounds of propellant for launch.

    Goals for third flight

    There will be no people on board this attempt to reach space with Starship. The company’s leadership has previously emphasized that SpaceX expects to fly hundreds of Starship missions before the rocket launches with any crew.
    SpaceX will be looking to surpass the nearly eight-minute flight of the second launch and complete further milestones. SpaceX and the FAA conducted an investigation into the November launch’s problems, and the company as a result made changes to the monster rocket before the third attempt.
    The company outlined several new capabilities that it aims to demonstrate on this flight. Those include opening and closing the door of the spacecraft once in space – which would be how the rocket deploys payloads such as a satellites on future missions – and transferring fuel during the flight in a NASA demonstration, as well as relighting Starship’s engines while in space. More

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    Dick’s Sporting Goods soars past holiday quarter estimates, raises dividend 10%

    Holiday sales and earnings at Dick’s Sporting Goods came in well ahead of Wall Street’s expectations.
    The athletic goods retailer, known for its wide array of premium sports products, raised its quarterly dividend by 10%.
    Dick’s said its fiscal fourth quarter was the largest sales quarter in its history.

    Dick’s Sporting Goods logo is seen on the shop in Williston, United States on June 19, 2023. 
    Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty Images

    Dick’s Sporting Goods raised its dividend by 10% on Thursday as the company posted its largest sales quarter in its history and projected another year of growth.
    Many retailers benefited from a 53rd week in fiscal 2023, but Dick’s said it still broke records during its fiscal fourth quarter even without those extra days.

    Here’s how the athletic apparel retailer did compared with what Wall Street was anticipating, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv:

    Earnings per share: $3.85 adjusted vs. $3.35 expected
    Revenue: $3.88 billion vs. $3.80 billion expected

    The company’s reported net income for the three-month period that ended Feb. 3 was $296 million, or $3.57 per share, compared with $236 million, or $2.60 a share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items related to impairment charges and inventory write-offs, Dick’s reported earnings per share of $3.85. 
    Sales rose to $3.88 billion, up about 8% from $3.60 billion a year earlier.
     “With our industry-leading assortment and strong execution, we capped off the year with an incredibly strong fourth quarter and holiday season,” CEO Lauren Hobart said in a statement. 
    “We are guiding to another strong year in 2024. We plan to grow both our sales and earnings through positive comps, higher merchandise margin and productivity gains,” she added.

    During the quarter, same-store sales rose 2.8%, well ahead of the 0.8% lift that analysts had expected, according to StreetAccount. “Growth in transactions” and market share gains drove the increase, said Executive Chairman Ed Stack. 
    For fiscal 2024, Dick’s is expecting earnings per share to be between $12.85 and $13.25, compared with estimates of $12.90, according to LSEG. It’s forecasting revenue between $13 billion and $13.13 billion, roughly in line with estimates of $13.13 billion, according to LSEG. 
    The company expects same store sales to rise by 1% to 2%. 
    Following the strong quarter, Dick’s raised its quarterly dividend 10% to $1.10 per share. 
    Headed into the holiday season, Dick’s raised its sales and earnings outlook for the full year but struck a cautious tone about the crucial holiday shopping period, saying repeatedly it was optimistic for the things “within our control.” 
    “We are being conservative on the low end of our guidance,” Hobart said on a call with analysts after Dick’s third-quarter results were announced. “We compete with everyone in the world during the fourth quarter, and also the consumer is going through an awful lot, and we’re just trying to be cautious.”
    Read the full earnings release here.

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