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GE Healthcare launches new wi-fi hand-held ultrasound as CEO eyes rising market

GE Healthcare launches new wireless hand-held ultrasound as CEO eyes growing market

A handheld ultrasound (Vscan Air) that leads beyond highly specialized areas of medicine such as obstetrics and cardiology to general practitioners.

Source: GE

General Electric announced the launch of its new Vscan Air wireless portable ultrasound machine on Tuesday to take a leadership position in the growing market.

It is the company’s most recent entry into the emerging point-of-care ultrasound market, building on GE Healthcare’s first generation device, the Vscan, released in 2010. Since then, the market has grown rapidly, said Kieran Murphy, CEO of GE Healthcare in an interview with CNBC, the device maker launched the revamped, highly portable Vscan Air to strengthen its position in the market. It will be available in the US and Europe starting Tuesday. It is planned to introduce it in other countries and regions pending official approval.

GE Healthcare estimates that the handheld ultrasound machine market will grow by as much as $ 1 billion over the next decade, and the company plans to capture 30% of that with the Vscan Air by 2025.

The device is about the size of an iPhone, is completely wireless, and costs less than $ 5,000, although the price varies by region. It connects to a smartphone app to read the ultrasound, and GE says the images are safe to share with patients. The device can be used by trained health care providers to quickly assess blood flow, gallbladder disease, and assess and monitor Covid-19 through a lung exam.

Outpatient, ER used

Murphy explained that portable ultrasound devices like the Vscan Air should be used in time sensitive situations and when console-based ultrasound is not available. According to Murphy, the devices could be ubiquitous in emergency rooms, general practitioners’ offices, and all types of outpatient departments such as emergency centers for quick and inexpensive diagnosis. It can also be used in a home setting, as well as in road and air ambulances, as approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Murphy also noted that the pivotal point towards telemedicine with the pandemic and increased use of ambulances could increase the demand for portable tools like the Vscan Air. He said GE will have to do “quite a bit” to increase market awareness through public relations, including on social media and various distribution channels.

“We have seen tremendous growth in the use of telemedicine, teleradiology and remote monitoring over the past year. For people who do not have access to specialized counselors, the fact that they can have access to a doctor armed with one of these resources is going to make a huge difference, “Murphy said of Vscan Air.” I think that’s going to show up everywhere. “

GE isn’t the only one operating in space. Competitors in the point-of-care ultrasound market include digital health company Butterfly Network, valued at $ 3.5 billion, and Koninklijke Philips, of the Netherlands. Murphy said GE plans to leverage its name recognition, ultrasound device track record, and medical device installation base connected through GE’s Edison artificial intelligence health platform to differentiate itself.

Doctor’s perspective

Dr. Yale Tung-Chen, head of the Department of Ultrasound in Internal Medicine at the Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro in Majadahonda in Madrid, is one of the doctors who had early access to the Vscan Air as a clinical reviewer.

He currently works at the Spanish Isabel Zendal Emergency Hospital Covid-19 and swears by portable ultrasound devices, especially for use in emergency rooms, where time is precious and rapid diagnosis can have serious consequences.

“How can I get 30 full exams in a short time? It’s impossible,” said Tung-Chen of examining patients in a busy emergency room. “I have to pull something out of my pocket and look at it for no more than a minute or two and then make the decision.”

Dr. Yale Tung-Chen, Head of the Department of Ultrasound in Internal Medicine at Universitario Puerta de Hierro Hospital in Majadahonda in Madrid, Spain, was a clinical reviewer for Vscan Air. He is currently working at the Spanish Covid-19 specialist Isabel Zendal Emergency Hospi

Source: Dr. Yale Tung-Chen

Tung-Chen has used many handheld ultrasound machines, including those from GE’s competitors, but said in an interview that he was impressed with the high quality imaging the Vscan Air was able to capture. The two-sided probe design allows technicians to switch between shallow and deep exams by simply flipping the device, he said. Normally the doctor would have to change the probes for this, which costs valuable time.

This feature is especially important in cardiac exams that Tung-Chen used to look for signs of infection that could be due to Covid-19 and to monitor the progression of the disease to see if the patient is getting seriously ill . He said the ultrasound machine can help doctors find early signs of life-threatening diseases such as Covid-19, but added that the device does not fully replace traditional diagnostic tools such as stethoscopes.

“Ultrasound makes bad doctors good and good doctors make good doctors,” he said.

2021 outlook

Murphy said he still sees strong growth in 2021. On GE Investor Day last week, the health unit reported free cash flow of $ 2.6 billion for 2020, up from $ 1.2 billion in 2019. Murphy said this was partly due to the delivery of 50,000 ventilators. which have been widely used in the past year to help seriously ill Covid-19 patients.

“We had a successful year. We handled an incredible number of headwinds well,” said Murphy, adding that the company’s role in the pandemic helped improve employee morale.

The company makes most of its money selling and servicing equipment for electoral processes that have been delayed in much of the world as hospitals focus on treating Covid-19 patients. As patients attempt to return to the hospital for x-rays, MRIs, procedures requiring anesthesia, and more, Murphy said it will all benefit business.

The health unit forecasts flat to slightly increasing free cash flow for 2021, based on slight sales growth and an expansion in profit margins.

“Everyone says well, Covid gave you a fantastic year, but Covid suppressed some of the things that come back this year,” he said. “We made a great start and I am very confident that we will have a good year.”

Correction: On GE Investor Day last week, the health unit reported free cash flow of $ 2.6 billion for 2020 compared to $ 1.2 billion in 2019. In an earlier version of this article, free cash flow was misrepresented .

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Volkswagen CEO says he needs to ‘get shut after which overtake’ Tesla

Volkswagen CEO says he wants to 'get close and then overtake' Tesla

The underbody of an ID.3 electric vehicle will be assembled on January 29, 2021 at a Volkswagen plant in Dresden.

Matthias Rietschel | Image Alliance | Getty Images

The Volkswagen Group’s CEO has rejected the idea that his company could partner with Tesla, telling CNBC that the German automotive giant wants to go its own way.

In an interview with Squawk Box Europe on Tuesday, Herbert Diess was asked whether he would rule out a future contract with Elon Musk’s electric car manufacturer, in which VW could manufacture its cars, or whether the Tesla and VW brands would ever merge.

“No, we haven’t thought about it, we’re going our own way,” he replied. “We want to get closer and then overtake.”

“We believe we can – we need our own software stack, our own technology,” he added. “And I also think that Tesla or Elon think a lot about their way forward. So no, there are no discussions between Elon Musk and me about joining forces.”

The shift in focus to electric vehicles comes at a time when authorities around the world are trying to increase the number of low-emission and zero-emission vehicles on their roads in an attempt to tackle air pollution and move away from the internal combustion engine.

For example, the UK has announced plans to stop selling new diesel and gasoline vehicles and vans from 2030. The European Commission’s “Strategy for Sustainable and Intelligent Mobility” now aims to have at least 30 million zero-emission cars on the road by 2030.

With this in mind, VW and many other major automakers want to compete with Elon Musk’s Tesla and eventually challenge him.

On Monday, VW announced plans to build six “Gigafactory” in Europe by the end of the decade and to expand the charging infrastructure in Europe, North America and China.

In the battery sector, the company, headquartered in Wolfsburg, will also concentrate on the development of a “new uniform cell”, which will be introduced in 2023 and used in up to 80% of the group’s electric vehicles by 2030.

In his interview with CNBC, Diess said that in the next 15 years electric cars would take the lead and software would become the main driver of the automotive industry. He also predicted that cars would become autonomous within the same timeframe.

“Managing this change is probably the most important task we face,” he said. “And we think we’re on the way, we’re making good progress.”

Diess was also optimistic about the gap between what Tesla and European automakers are doing and whether it can be bridged.

“I think so because you know the race is open – this is not the industry you can hit in a few years, this is not technology,” he said.

“So you need life cycles, you need products, you need plant capacity, you need market, you need to win customers’ trust,” he added.

“So that’s a long run and yes, there are some startups that we’re watching closely and Tesla is sure … at the top in some ways. But we’re not that far behind and we’re gaining momentum.”

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Sanofi CEO on navigating Covid one yr later. Now what?

Sanofi CEO on navigating Covid one year later. Now what?

A laboratory technician, who works on vaccine formulation and wears personal protective equipment, prepares stainless steel tanks for the manufacture of vaccine preparations before the syringe filling phase in the global distribution center of a French pharmaceutical company Sanofi in Val-de-Reuil.

Joel Saget | AFP via Getty Images

Paul Hudson is the CEO of Sanofi. The French pharmaceutical company has two Covid-19 vaccines in development – one with GlaxoSmithKline and one with Translate Bio for an mRNA vaccine. It also makes vaccine doses for competitors Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer.

As the one-year anniversary of the first lockdowns around the world begins, it is clear that the Covid-19 pandemic is still going on and staying here.

To date, the virus has killed over 2.5 million people and infected millions more worldwide. While vaccines give us hope, we face new challenges as different varieties spread around the world that challenge the effectiveness of currently approved vaccines. As the virus mutates, there is a realization that Covid-19 could move from a pandemic to an endemic one and this is becoming a ubiquitous disease that will stay with us for the foreseeable future. However, now we know how to deal with it.

We need to adjust our thinking from the time the virus disappears to learning how to deal with it so that it becomes less threatening. How do we successfully navigate the road instead of looking for the light at the end of the tunnel? It won’t be easy, but we can do it through variant preparation, continued genome monitoring, data mining and analysis, and purpose-driven collaboration.

Willingness to vary

First, we should assume that Covid-19 will not go away. Although this thought can be unsettling, it is a reminder that we need to be prepared for ongoing boosters in order to receive new variants such as Great Britain (B.1.1.7), South Africa (B.1.351), Brazil (P.1) or prevent a completely new variant from being circulated and taking more life.

First Covid-19 vaccines have already proven successful in limiting the spread of disease. However, there are concerns that if we don’t vaccinate quickly enough, we will not be able to keep up with the pace of virus mutations and variants could gain a foothold in the community and cause new outbreaks. Research is still being conducted into how current vaccines protect against variants and whether annual vaccination might be required, similar to the one for the influenza virus.

Our first priority is to get everyone vaccinated around the world. We need to develop boosters at the same time to address mutations as needed. Several manufacturers with vaccines in the market are already evaluating annual booster vaccinations to maintain immunity and treat variants after the first two doses are given.

As with the influenza virus, we need to consider the potential need for vaccines with multiple variants. Covid-19 has been mutating all along, and although we have identified several key strains, there are hypotheses that viral mutations that offer an advantage in transmission may evade the protection of naturally acquired or vaccine-induced immunity. However, this also underscores the importance of multiple vaccine manufacturers as those still in clinical development can customize their vaccines to ensure that their candidates can protect against important new mutations.

Genomic surveillance

To better track variants, governments and healthcare companies need to invest in genome monitoring infrastructure by working with technology companies to identify mutations in the virus. Variations are inevitable, but we need this infrastructure in place to quickly identify mutations and spread this data globally to quickly control the spread.

The UK is the world leader in virus sequencing, collecting nearly 4 million virus samples. Thanks to the country’s regular testing and genome sequencing capabilities, they were able to detect the B.1.1.7 variant of the virus, which otherwise might have gone unnoticed. To ensure this data is widely available, the UK is placing its genomes in the global library initiative to share all influenza data. As of January 29, the country has submitted 44% of the genomes in the library.

Data mining and analysis

While genomic testing infrastructure is required to identify new mutations, that effort is minimal if we do not use data and analysis for our health and vaccine systems. In this way, we can improve our logistics for both the distribution and administration of vaccines, and we can quickly track and overcome hot spots.

Analytics companies and startups are using health data mining to anticipate the next Covid-19 hotspots so that health systems not only prepare for vaccines, but potentially make decisions about giving advice to risk groups and reintroducing non-pharmaceuticals Products can expect interventions, ensuring adequate supplies of PPE, medication and health equipment.

Mayo Clinic researchers used data to analyze keywords from Google Trends, including “face mask”, “Lysol” and “test center”. They found that these searches can identify a new hot spot or outbreak up to 16 days before the first report of a spike in cases. With this information, governments can monitor Google Search to better track the spread digitally, and then use it to strategically distribute PPE supplies or redirect funds to areas that need it most – before cases even start to rise .

Purposeful actions

Cooperation during the Covid-19 pandemic has taken place at an unprecedented level. Corporations, governments and regulators have moved at an incredible pace to approve the necessary therapies and vaccines for patients. Former competitors are now working together to bring the needs of patients and the world’s population to the fore. However, in order to bring about a meaningful change, these measures must be purpose-oriented.

We’re working with traditional competitors to make their vaccines so we can get more doses into patients’ arms faster. We didn’t hesitate to help, and other companies should step in and help too. We must act purposefully and put aside “competition” in order to do what is best for humanity.

If we don’t swear to overhaul our old systems, we risk reverting to these outdated methods. Other large companies outside the pharmaceutical industry can also help. Take, for example, companies like Walmart, Starbucks, Microsoft, and Amazon that are working with local governments and healthcare providers in the United States to increase vaccine distribution. Some companies like CVS, Walgreens, and others have experience serving hundreds of thousands of customers on a given day and have the expertise needed to enable vaccines to vaccinate patients quickly and efficiently.

The pandemic is constantly changing the way we work. If we learn to live with Covid-19, we need to accelerate our pace and find new ways to work together. Most of all, we need to move forward in a focused manner and work with traditional competitors and non-traditional partners to do the right thing.

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Invitae CEO Sean George on way forward for genetic testing, well being care

Invitae CEO Sean George on future of genetic testing, health care

Invitae’s shares rose over 25% this week, a sharp rise after Ark Invest’s Cathie Wood called the company one of their most underrated stocks in a CNBC interview on Monday.

Invitae was the eleventh largest holding in Wood’s flagship fund, the Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK), as of Thursday, giving it a heavier weight than better-known companies like DocuSign and PayPal.

The closely watched investor and company are known for their strategy of investing in “disruptive innovation” and a strong performance over the past year has resulted in billions of new dollars pouring into Ark’s family of funds.

In a CNBC interview on Friday, Invitae’s CEO outlined the genetic testing company’s mission and long-term goals, and provided some insight into why Wood is optimistic about its prospects.

“Genetic information is fundamental to improving people’s health outcomes and reducing costs. We tirelessly pursue the idea of ​​integrating this information into general medical care and daily use,” said Sean George on Closing Bell. He co-founded the San Francisco-based company in 2010, which went public in 2015.

Invitae achieved total annual sales of USD 279.6 million in 2020, compared to USD 216.8 million in the previous year. Net loss increased $ 608.9 million last year compared to $ 242 million in 2019.

While genetic information can be an effective tool in combating a variety of diseases, George says high costs have historically limited availability, and therefore potential impact. However, recent innovations in gene sequencing would have laid the foundation for better accessibility. He compared it to semiconductor improvements that helped boost the computer and networking industries in the 1970s and early 1980s.

“That has … enabled application providers like us to change what was considered a rationed good in healthcare in the past – genetic information, a kind of niche, test by test, sample by sample building of the laboratory industry – to something that looks a lot more like an information industry, “said George.

George, who holds a Ph.D. In molecular genetics, Invitae hopes to take its tests to the point that patients and doctors can proactively use them in large numbers. That way, even if the cost of each test is cheaper, Invitae can generate enough resources to be successful as a company, he said.

“The enormous importance and central importance of genetic information in health care will – I am sure in the next five to ten years – be in the foreground in order to receive the right therapy earlier for people who can benefit from it.” , identify people at risk and put in place surveillance and prevention modalities to safely delay, if not prevent, disease outbreaks and, in general, provide a basic understanding of the risk that exists in families, “he added.

Ark Invest has positions in a number of companies working on medical innovation beyond Invitae. Wood’s company has dedicated an ETF, the Genomic Revolution ETF (ARKG). As of Thursday, these will include Teladoc, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics. Invitae is also represented in this fund, currently the 16th largest participation.

Invitae’s shares closed Friday’s session down 0.5% at $ 42.70. Despite the stock’s big gains this week, it remains below its all-time high of $ 61.59 on December 14. It has grown by almost 260% in the past 12 months.

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Ulta shares tumble on weaker-than-expected outlook, retailer faucets Dave Kimbell as CEO

Ulta shares tumble on weaker-than-expected outlook, retailer taps Dave Kimbell as CEO

Ulta Beauty said Thursday that fourth quarter sales and earnings were down year-over-year, hurt by weaker cosmetics sales during the pandemic.

Although the decline was less than expected, stocks fell as the beauty retailer issued a disappointing outlook for the coming year. Ulta shares fell more than 8% after the bell.

The company also announced that its CEO, Mary Dillon, is stepping down in June and will be replaced by President Dave Kimbell.

Dillon will also move to the company’s board of directors, where she plans to stay for a year.

Kecia Steelman, Ulta’s chief store operations officer, has been promoted to chief operating officer.

The company reported for the fourth quarter, versus Wall Street analysts’ expectations based on a survey by Refinitiv:

  • Earnings per share: $ 3.41, adjusted versus $ 2.35 expected
  • Revenue: $ 2.2 billion versus $ 2.08 billion expected

“The Ulta Beauty team delivered better than expected results in the fourth quarter. The strong company-wide execution of our plans coupled with improving trends in consumer demand resulted in solid results across multiple metrics including sales, transactions and profitability.” Dillon in a press release.

Ulta reported net income of $ 171.5 million, or $ 3.03 per share, for the fourth quarter, compared to $ 222.7 million or $ 3.89 per share last year.

Excluding items, Ulta earned $ 3.41 per share, beating analysts polled by Refinitiv, which was expected to $ 2.35 per share.

Net sales fell to $ 2.2 billion from $ 2.31 billion last year, beating expectations of $ 2.08 billion.

Sales in stores that have been open for at least 14 months decreased 4.8% over the last period, negatively impacted by fewer transactions. The company said transactions were down 12.2%, but the average purchase per ticket increased 8.3%.

For fiscal 2021, Ulta expects earnings between $ 8.85 and $ 9.30 per share on revenue of $ 7.2 to $ 7.3 billion. The earnings forecast includes the impact of share buybacks of approximately $ 850 million.

According to Refinitiv, analysts had expected Ulta to make $ 10.61 per share on sales of $ 7.32 billion.

Revenue in the same store is expected to be between 15% and 17%, the company said.

Ulta plans to open 40 new Netto stores and remodel around 21 stores in the coming year.

With the ongoing pandemic and slow adoption of vaccines, Ulta executives do not expect a strong rebound this year.

“While we are encouraged by the recent sales momentum, the visibility of when demand will recover remains limited. We anticipate that masking requirements and social distancing will continue to negatively impact much of 2021,” said Scott Settersten, chief financial officer from Ulta, on a conference call.

Although the beauty retailer saw makeup sales decline as more people stayed home, the company remains optimistic about the category’s long-term prospects.

“We’re seeing a renewal [and] How our guests engage with makeup behaviors, fashion, looks and style will continue to evolve, “said Kimbell.

In November, Ulta announced plans to open small cosmetics stores in hundreds of Target stores across the country to increase sales and expand reach.

The cosmetics retailer was injured due to temporary store closings during the pandemic. After reopening stores in July, the company saw a return in demand with a strong comeback for its mobile app and e-commerce website.

Read the full results publication here.

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Demand for composite decking is rising due to a DIY boon, Trex CEO says

Demand for composite decking is rising thanks to a DIY boon, Trex CEO says

Bryan Fairbanks, CEO of Trex, told CNBC on Friday that sales for the company’s alternative wood products rose during the Covid-19 pandemic as consumers embark on more home improvement projects.

In addition to increasing demand for composite decks from homeowners, the manufacturer has increased capacity and lowered prices to make its products more affordable, Fairbanks said in a “Mad Money” appearance.

“People are really starting to understand what the long-term cost of owning a wooden deck will be,” he told CNBC’s Jim Cramer. “Another thing that we see significant traction in is people who want to make the green choice.”

The housewares and remodeling markets benefited from increased interest in home improvement and outdoor living projects during the pandemic as residents found new ways to stay busy amid lockdowns and travel restrictions over the past year.

In the final quarter of 2020 – which is typically slower for the company due to a decline in construction – Trex’s residential product sales grew 40% year over year.

Fairbanks found that many customers find their way to Trex when looking for more sustainable materials to use on their DIY projects. He added that the company’s decks are 95% made from recycled material, as opposed to the environmental impact of pressure treated wood, which is high in chemicals.

While Trex competes with Azek on alternative wood surfaces, the company is focused on disrupting wood, which accounts for around 78% of the total market, he added. North America has an installation base of 40 million wooden decks, he said.

“There is absolutely a lot of space in the market,” Fairbanks said when asked about composites competition. “As we continue to grow as an organization, we are aiming for the largest segment of the market that is under pressure [wood]is very important to us and we look forward to this opportunity. “

Trex’s total revenue rose 18% to $ 881 million in 2020, the company said in late February. This is double the revenue growth rate that Trex saw in 2019. The company expects further double-digit sales growth in 2021, but did not give a forecast for the full year.

The shares of the $ 10 billion company rose 3.6% to $ 88.24 on Friday, breaking a three-day streak of bad luck.

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Okta CEO defends $6.5 billion deal for rival Auth0 after shares fall

Okta CEO defends $6.5 billion deal for rival Auth0 after shares fall

Todd McKinnon, Okta CEO, on Friday defended his company’s move to acquire Auth0, citing the competitor as a complementary asset to its identity and access management business.

Okta stock is down 10% since it announced the $ 6.5 billion all-stock deal after it closed on Wednesday. The sales figure is more than a fifth of Okta’s market capitalization and a $ 1.92 billion valuation premium that Auth0 received after a round of funding last summer.

“This is a company that is about to go public and, as you know, public markets value public companies in some ways,” McKinnon told CNBC’s Jim Cramer.

He appeared on “Mad Money” alongside Eugenio Pace, the managing director of Auth0.

“If you look at how we rate it, the growth is positive for us,” added McKinnon. “We have actually paid many times more income that is slightly below ours but is in the same stadium.”

Auth0 is an identity management platform for app developers based in Bellevue, Washington. It competes with Okta, a $ 28 billion cybersecurity company based in San Francisco. Okta offers security tools to authenticate users, e. B. Password permissions and access to online networks.

Auth0 will act as an independent branch within Okta when the transaction closes in late July.

When asked about the need to acquire a different identity provider if Okta already has its own offerings, McKinnon said the merger would provide his company with a better way to tackle customer identity and access management.

He stated that the $ 30 billion personal identity market accounts for 75% of Okta’s sales, while the $ 25 billion customer identity market accounts for 25% of sales. Okta is more focused on out-of-the-box, pre-built solutions, while Auth0 is more focused on purpose-built app developers, he added.

Auth0 is “a product that is much more flexible, extensible, and does exactly what the developer has to do, and that’s why the two solutions together are so compelling,” said McKinnon. “They give customers great choice, flexibility, and value for money, and they really solidify that $ 25 billion [total addressable market]. “

Okta’s shares fell 4.54% to $ 215.96 on Friday. The company reported fourth quarter revenue of $ 234.7 million on Wednesday, up 40% year over year. A net loss of $ 75.8 million was reported, compared to a loss of $ 50.5 million in the year-ago quarter.

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Boeing awards CEO $21 million in complete compensation for 2020

Boeing awards CEO $21 million in total compensation for 2020

Dave Calhoun, Boeing Chairman

Adam Jeffery | CNBC

Dave Calhoun, Boeing CEO, received $ 21 million in total compensation for his work last year but gave up $ 3.6 million in salaries and bonuses in the aftermath of the pandemic, devastating the industry.

He received just $ 269,231 of his $ 1.4 million salary for the year.

Most of Calhoun’s salary package, announced when he became CEO in January 2020, consists of equity that vests over time and is based on the company’s performance goals and other metrics.

Calhoun was named CEO after Boeing’s board of directors ousted former chief executive Dennis Muilenburg for handling two fatal crashes involving the company’s best-selling Boeing 737 Max. Calhoun’s appointment came just before the Covid-19 pandemic, which rocked the global economy and hit the aviation industry particularly hard.

Boeing posted a record annual loss of nearly $ 12 billion last year as cancellations outpaced new jetliner sales and cut thousands of jobs.

Calhoun’s total compensation includes awards announced when he took office last January, including approximately $ 7 million worth of stock if the company hits milestones, including getting the 737 Max back online, the long-belated start-up 777X and other targets. However, these shares are not vested.

Additionally, there is $ 10 million in stock to quit his job at Blackstone Group and take the top job at the aircraft manufacturer last year, plus another $ 3.5 million in non-vested long-term incentives.

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Wendy’s to hit 10% digital gross sales aim properly forward of schedule, CEO says

Wendy's to hit 10% digital sales goal well ahead of schedule, CEO says

The coronavirus pandemic caused American companies to use the internet to reach consumers, and the same goes for Wendy’s.

According to CEO Todd Penegor, who appeared on CNBC on Wednesday, the digital arm of the fast food chain is well on its way to getting a bigger share of the company’s total sales with the help of its loyalty program.

The company now expects digital to account for 10% of sales in 2021.

“We didn’t think we’d hit 10% by 2024 before the pandemic,” Penegor Jim Cramer said in a Mad Money interview. “We’re bringing a lot of active users to our app and people are getting involved with the app. We’re seeing a lot more mobile orders and that’s really because there is an advantage.”

Wendy’s also found success in the breakfast menu it launched last year. While fewer Americans commuted to the office during the pandemic, which cut their chances of getting a morning breakfast sandwich or coffee at a restaurant, breakfast sales accounted for about 7% of total revenue last year, the company said.

Penegor remained optimistic about competing with other restaurants in the morning rush. He expects the breakfast menu to account for 10% of sales by the end of 2022.

“The breakfast business is doing quite well in the face of the pandemic,” he said. “For us it is remarkable and very encouraging to be able to achieve a sales mix of 7% on our breakfast day. … What we see is a strong repetition.”

On the previous Wednesday, Wendy reported fourth quarter results that missed Wall Street’s estimates of both profit and profit. The company posted total revenue of $ 474.3 million for the quarter, up 11% from $ 427.2 last year, and net income of $ 38.7 million, up 46% from $ 26.5 million. USD. According to FactSet, analysts were looking for revenue of approximately $ 476.6 million and net income of $ 39.9 million.

For the full year, Wendy’s posted revenue of $ 1.73 million, an increase of 1.5% and a decrease of $ 117.8 million, a decrease of 14% from 2019.

US restaurant revenue increased 5.5% for the quarter and 2% for the full year.

Wendy’s shares fell more than 5% on Wednesday to a closing price of $ 20.12.

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Etsy CEO Josh Silverman on the corporate’s post-Covid development

Etsy CEO Josh Silverman on the company's post-Covid growth

Josh Silverman, Etsy CEO, told CNBC on Friday that no one knows what will happen to the coronavirus pandemic this year, but he hopes the company will “outperform e-commerce as a whole”.

“Neither of us have a crystal ball,” Silverman said on Squawk Box, the day after the online market posted much better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and sales.

Etsy was a big beneficiary of the stay-at-home economy during Covid.

“If I look at 2020, e-commerce has grown at a crazy rate. E-commerce has grown over 40% year-over-year, and yet Etsy has grown 2.5 times the e-commerce rate” , he said.

“I don’t know what ecommerce will do in 2021,” he admitted, but added, “I hope and believe that Etsy can continue to outperform ecommerce overall.”

Etsy revenue for full year 2020 was $ 1.73 billion, up 111% year over year, while net income increased 264% to $ 349 million. Gross merchandise sales in the company’s marketplace – known for its independent artisans who sell a range of products – rose to $ 10.28 billion last year. That’s an increase of $ 4.97 billion in 2019.

The company declined to issue full-year projections due to the pandemic and instead offered them quarterly. For the current first quarter, Etsy expects sales between 513 and 536 million US dollars, which is significantly better than the 383 million US dollars expected by Wall Street.

In a conference call following the profit on Thursday, Silverman told analysts that Etsy had met its 2023 business goals three years ahead of schedule after the pandemic accelerated online shopping adoption and demand for essentially new product categories in its market like Face masks.

Silverman told CNBC that when looking at Etsy’s position after Covid, he saw two competing forces. On the positive side, millions of people who typically shopped in brick and mortar stores prior to the pandemic have started buying goods online. On the flip side, he said retail will make up a smaller portion of consumer spending as a full economic reopening occurs and more people eat and travel in restaurants again.

“What I don’t know – and what I don’t know that any of us know – is what will happen to overall consumer spending as restrictions wear off,” said Silverman. “What I do know is that if you look long-term, if you look to 2022 and 2023 and beyond, e-commerce just keeps getting bigger and I think we’re getting bigger and bigger.”

Etsy stocks rose 9% just after Friday open. The company’s shares are up nearly 300% in the past 12 months.