Latest news with #GenerallyAcceptedAccountingPrinciples
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The Big Beautiful Bill may have just quietly boosted Big Tech earnings
Part of Trump's tax bill could give Big Tech a boost to earnings. The bill allows upfront expensing of R&D costs, enhancing cash flow for software firms. Microsoft, Oracle, and Salesforce are some of the biggest beneficiaries, Morgan Stanley said. President Donald Trump's new tax bill hands businesses major tax perks, but it's especially generous to Big Tech — and it could deliver an earnings boost that's not yet been priced in by the market. Specifically, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act's research and development (R&D) expensing guidelines will create a "cash flow tailwind" for software companies, Morgan Stanley said this week. Previously, the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act required companies to spread out domestic R&D costs over the course of five years starting in 2022. But now, the new tax bill allows companies to expense those R&D costs upfront, restoring a more favorable tax treatment that lowers companies' taxable income. And to make the deal even sweeter, the new tax bill allows for retroactive deductions of previously deferred R&D costs, allowing companies to claim tax savings from previous years all at once. There's an additional accounting wrinkle: According to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), the rulebook that companies follow when reporting earnings to Wall Street, R&D expense must be expensed immediately even if the costs are being paid over the period of five years, as was the case under the previous legislation. This discrepancy means companies actually paid more in taxes up front than their GAAP incomes would suggest, creating a deferred tax asset that allowed companies to take a tax deduction in later years. Now, with the One Big Beautiful Bill, companies can take advantage of those deferred tax assets earlier and deduct R&D costs immediately going forward. "The option to expense over two years, or to remain on the five-year amortization schedule, is more attractive for companies where full accelerated expensing in the first year would put them in a net loss position for tax purposes," Keith Weiss, technology equity analyst at Morgan Stanley, wrote on Tuesday. Software companies in particular stand to be big beneficiaries of the provision in the bill, as they spend heavily on R&D to develop new products. Microsoft has spent an average of $27 billion a year on R&D over the last three years. Others, like Oracle, Salesforce, and Adobe, have spent between $3.5 to $8 billion annually. They also have significant deferred tax assets that they can leverage to boost their free cash flow next year. According to Morgan Stanley, Microsoft could see a 4% boost to its free cash flow margin. Oracle and Salesforce are projected to benefit by around 6%. The biggest software winner on an incremental basis is Okta, which Morgan Stanley expects to receive a margin boost of nearly 12%. Read the original article on Business Insider Sign in to access your portfolio
Business Wire
9 hours ago
- Business
- Business Wire
Humana Inc. to Release Second Quarter 2025
LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Humana will release its 2Q25 financial results, as well as prepared management remarks (in PDF format), at 6:00 a.m. Eastern time on July 30, 2025. The company will host a live question-and-answer session at 8:00 a.m. Eastern time that morning to discuss its financial results for the quarter and earnings guidance for 2025. A webcast of the 2Q25 earnings call may be accessed via Humana's Investor Relations page at If you anticipate asking a question during the question-and-answer session, please register in advance using this link, Upon registration, telephone participants will receive a confirmation email detailing how to join the conference call, including the dial-in number and a unique registrant ID. The company suggests participants listening via the web or the conference call sign in or dial in at least 15 minutes in advance of the call. For those unable to participate in the live event, the virtual presentation archive will be available in the Historical Webcasts and Presentations section of the Investor Relations page at approximately two hours following the live webcast. The company's 2Q25 earnings news release is expected to include financial measures that are not in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). A reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to financial results under GAAP, as well as management's reasons for including non-GAAP financial measures, will be included in the company's 2Q25 earnings news release, a copy of which will be available on the Investor Relations page of on July 30, 2025. About Humana Humana Inc. is committed to putting health first – for our teammates, our customers, and our company. Through our Humana insurance services, and our CenterWell health care services, we make it easier for the millions of people we serve to achieve their best health – delivering the care and service they need, when they need it. These efforts are leading to a better quality of life for people with Medicare, Medicaid, families, individuals, military service personnel, and communities at large. Learn more about what we offer at and at
Business Insider
13 hours ago
- Business
- Business Insider
The Big Beautiful Bill just quietly boosted Big Tech earnings
President Donald Trump's new tax bill hands businesses major tax perks, but it's especially generous to Big Tech — and it could deliver an earnings boost that's not yet been priced in by the market. Specifically, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act's research and development (R&D) expensing guidelines will create a "cash flow tailwind" for software companies, Morgan Stanley said this week. Previously, the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act required companies to spread out domestic R&D costs over the course of five years starting in 2022. But now, the new tax bill allows companies to expense those R&D costs upfront, restoring a more favorable tax treatment that lowers companies' taxable income. And to make the deal even sweeter, the new tax bill allows for retroactive deductions of previously deferred R&D costs, allowing companies to claim tax savings from previous years all at once. There's an additional accounting wrinkle: According to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), the rulebook that companies follow when reporting earnings to Wall Street, R&D expense must be expensed immediately even if the costs are being paid over the period of five years, as was the case under the previous legislation. This discrepancy means companies actually paid more in taxes up front than their GAAP incomes would suggest, creating a deferred tax asset that allowed companies to take a tax deduction in later years. Now, with the One Big Beautiful Bill, companies can take advantage of those deferred tax assets earlier and deduct R&D costs immediately going forward. "The option to expense over two years, or to remain on the five-year amortization schedule, is more attractive for companies where full accelerated expensing in the first year would put them in a net loss position for tax purposes," Keith Weiss, technology equity analyst at Morgan Stanley, wrote on Tuesday. Software companies in particular stand to be big beneficiaries of the provision in the bill, as they spend heavily on R&D to develop new products. Microsoft has spent an average of $27 billion a year on R&D over the last three years. Others, like Oracle, Salesforce, and Adobe, have spent between $3.5 to $8 billion annually. They also have significant deferred tax assets that they can leverage to boost their free cash flow next year. According to Morgan Stanley, Microsoft could see a 4% boost to its free cash flow margin. Oracle and Salesforce are projected to benefit by around 6%. The biggest software winner on an incremental basis is Okta, which Morgan Stanley expects to receive a margin boost of nearly 12%.
Business Wire
30-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
BGC Group Updates its Outlook for the Second Quarter of 2025
Non-GAAP Financial Measures The non-GAAP definitions below include references to certain equity-based compensation instruments, such as restricted stock awards and/or restricted stock units ('RSUs'), that the Company has issued and outstanding following its corporate conversion on July 1, 2023. Although BGC is retaining certain defined terms and references, including references to partnerships or partnership units, for purposes of comparability before and after the corporate conversion, such references may not be applicable following the period ended June 30, 2023. This document contains non-GAAP financial measures that differ from the most directly comparable measures calculated and presented in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States ('GAAP'). Non-GAAP financial measures used by the Company include 'Adjusted Earnings before noncontrolling interests and taxes', which is used interchangeably with 'pre-tax Adjusted Earnings'; 'Post-tax Adjusted Earnings to fully diluted shareholders', which is used interchangeably with 'post-tax Adjusted Earnings'; 'Adjusted EBITDA'; 'Liquidity'; and "Constant Currency". The definitions of these terms are below. Adjusted Earnings Defined BGC uses non-GAAP financial measures, including 'Adjusted Earnings before noncontrolling interests and taxes' and 'Post-tax Adjusted Earnings to fully diluted shareholders', which are supplemental measures of operating results used by management to evaluate the financial performance of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries. BGC believes that Adjusted Earnings best reflect the operating earnings generated by the Company on a consolidated basis and are one of the financial metrics that management considers when managing its business. As compared with 'Income (loss) from operations before income taxes' and 'Net income (loss) for fully diluted shares', both prepared in accordance with GAAP, Adjusted Earnings calculations primarily exclude certain non-cash items and other expenses that generally do not involve the receipt or outlay of cash by the Company and/or which do not dilute existing stockholders. In addition, Adjusted Earnings calculations exclude certain gains and charges that management believes do not best reflect the underlying operating performance of BGC. Adjusted Earnings is calculated by taking the most comparable GAAP measures and adjusting for certain items with respect to compensation expenses, non-compensation expenses, and other income, as discussed below. Calculations of Compensation Adjustments for Adjusted Earnings and Adjusted EBITDA Treatment of Equity-Based Compensation Line Item for Adjusted Earnings and Adjusted EBITDA The Company's Adjusted Earnings and Adjusted EBITDA measures exclude all GAAP charges included in the line item 'Equity-based compensation and allocations of net income to limited partnership units and FPUs' (or 'equity-based compensation' for purposes of defining the Company's non-GAAP results) as recorded on the Company's GAAP Consolidated Statements of Operations and GAAP Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. These GAAP equity-based compensation charges reflect the following items: Charges related to amortization of RSUs, restricted stock awards, other equity-based awards, and limited partnership units; Charges with respect to grants of exchangeability, which reflect the right of holders of limited partnership units with no capital accounts, such as LPUs and PSUs, to exchange these units into shares of common stock, or into partnership units with capital accounts, such as HDUs, as well as cash paid with respect to taxes withheld or expected to be owed by the unit holder upon such exchange. The withholding taxes related to the exchange of certain non-exchangeable units without a capital account into either common shares or units with a capital account may be funded by the redemption of preferred units such as PPSUs; Charges with respect to preferred units and RSU tax accounts. Any preferred units and RSU tax accounts would not be included in the Company's fully diluted share count because they cannot be made exchangeable into shares of common stock and are entitled only to a fixed distribution or dividend. Preferred units are granted in connection with the grant of certain limited partnership units that may be granted exchangeability or redeemed in connection with the grant of shares of common stock, and RSU tax accounts are granted in connection with the grant of RSUs. The preferred units and RSU tax accounts are granted at ratios designed to cover any withholding taxes expected to be paid. This is an alternative to the common practice among public companies of issuing the gross amount of shares to employees, subject to cashless withholding of shares, to pay applicable withholding taxes; GAAP equity-based compensation charges with respect to the grant of an offsetting amount of common stock or partnership units with capital accounts in connection with the redemption of non-exchangeable units, including PSUs and LPUs; Charges related to grants of equity awards, including common stock, RSUs, restricted stock awards or partnership units with capital accounts; Allocations of net income to limited partnership units and FPUs. Such allocations represent the pro-rata portion of post-tax GAAP earnings available to such unit holders; and Charges related to dividend equivalents earned on RSUs and any preferred returns on RSU tax accounts. The amounts of certain quarterly equity-based compensation charges are based upon the Company's estimate of such expected charges during the annual period, as described further below under 'Methodology for Calculating Adjusted Earnings Taxes.' Virtually all of BGC's key executives and producers have equity stakes in the Company and its subsidiaries and generally receive deferred equity as part of their compensation. A significant percentage of BGC's fully diluted shares are owned by its executives, partners and employees. The Company issues RSUs, restricted stock, limited partnership units (prior to July 1, 2023) as well as other forms of equity-based compensation, including grants of exchangeability into shares of common stock (prior to July 1, 2023), to provide liquidity to its employees, to align the interests of its employees and management with those of common stockholders, to help motivate and retain key employees, and to encourage a collaborative culture that drives cross-selling and revenue growth. All share equivalents that are part of the Company's equity-based compensation program, including REUs, PSUs, LPUs, HDUs, and other units that may be made exchangeable into common stock, as well as RSUs (which are recorded using the treasury stock method), are included in the fully diluted share count when issued or at the beginning of the subsequent quarter after the date of grant. Compensation charges are also adjusted for certain other cash and non-cash items. Certain Other Compensation-Related Adjustments for Adjusted Earnings BGC also excludes various other GAAP items that management views as not reflective of the Company's underlying performance in a given period from its calculation of Adjusted Earnings. These may include compensation-related items with respect to cost-saving initiatives, such as severance charges incurred in connection with headcount reductions as part of broad restructuring and/or cost savings plans. Calculation of Non-Compensation Adjustments for Adjusted Earnings Adjusted Earnings calculations may also exclude items such as: Non-cash GAAP charges related to the amortization of intangibles with respect to acquisitions; Acquisition related costs; Non-cash GAAP asset impairment charges; Resolutions of litigation, disputes, investigations, or enforcement matters that are generally non-recurring, exceptional, or unusual, or similar items that management believes do not best reflect BGC's underlying operating performance, including related unaffiliated third-party professional fees and expenses; and Various other GAAP items that management views as not reflective of the Company's underlying performance in a given period, including non-compensation-related charges incurred as part of broad restructuring and/or cost savings plans. Such GAAP items may include charges for professional fees and expenses, exiting leases and/or other long-term contracts as part of cost-saving initiatives, as well as non-cash impairment charges related to assets, goodwill and/or intangible assets created from acquisitions. Calculation of Adjustments for Other (income) losses for Adjusted Earnings Adjusted Earnings calculations also exclude gains from litigation resolution and certain other non-cash, non-dilutive, and/or non-economic items, which may, in some periods, include: Gains or losses on divestitures; Fair value adjustment of investments; Certain other GAAP items, including gains or losses related to BGC's investments accounted for under the equity method; and Any unusual, non-ordinary, or non-recurring gains or losses. Methodology for Calculating Adjusted Earnings Taxes Although Adjusted Earnings are calculated on a pre-tax basis, BGC also reports post-tax Adjusted Earnings to fully diluted shareholders. The Company defines post-tax Adjusted Earnings to fully diluted shareholders as pre-tax Adjusted Earnings reduced by the non-GAAP tax provision described below and net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interest for Adjusted Earnings. The Company calculates its tax provision for post-tax Adjusted Earnings using an annual estimate similar to how it accounts for its income tax provision under GAAP. To calculate the quarterly tax provision under GAAP, BGC estimates its full fiscal year GAAP income (loss) from operations before income taxes and noncontrolling interests in subsidiaries and the expected inclusions and deductions for income tax purposes, including expected equity-based compensation during the annual period. The resulting annualized tax rate is applied to BGC's quarterly GAAP income (loss) from operations before income taxes and noncontrolling interests in subsidiaries. At the end of the annual period, the Company updates its estimate to reflect the actual tax amounts owed for the period. To determine the non-GAAP tax provision, BGC first adjusts pre-tax Adjusted Earnings by recognizing any, and only, amounts for which a tax deduction applies under applicable law. The amounts include charges with respect to equity-based compensation; certain charges related to employee loan forgiveness; certain net operating loss carryforwards when taken for statutory purposes; and certain charges related to tax goodwill amortization. These adjustments may also reflect timing and measurement differences, including treatment of employee loans; changes in the value of units between the dates of grants of exchangeability and the date of actual unit exchange; changes in the value of RSUs and/or restricted stock awards between the date of grant and the date the award vests; variations in the value of certain deferred tax assets; and liabilities and the different timing of permitted deductions for tax under GAAP and statutory tax requirements. After application of these adjustments, the result is the Company's taxable income for its pre-tax Adjusted Earnings, to which BGC then applies the statutory tax rates to determine its non-GAAP tax provision. BGC views the effective tax rate on pre-tax Adjusted Earnings as equal to the amount of its non-GAAP tax provision divided by the amount of pre-tax Adjusted Earnings. Generally, the most significant factor affecting this non-GAAP tax provision is the amount of charges relating to equity-based compensation. Because the charges relating to equity-based compensation are deductible in accordance with applicable tax laws, increases in such charges have the effect of lowering the Company's non-GAAP effective tax rate and thereby increasing its post-tax Adjusted Earnings. BGC incurs income tax expenses based on the location, legal structure and jurisdictional taxing authorities of each of its subsidiaries. Certain of the Company's entities are taxed as U.S. partnerships and are subject to the Unincorporated Business Tax ('UBT') in New York City. Any U.S. federal and state income tax liability or benefit related to the partnership income or loss, with the exception of UBT, rests with the unit holders rather than with the partnership entity. The Company's consolidated financial statements include U.S. federal, state, and local income taxes on the Company's allocable share of the U.S. results of operations. Outside of the U.S., BGC operates principally through subsidiary corporations subject to local income taxes. For these reasons, taxes for Adjusted Earnings are expected to be presented to show the tax provision the consolidated Company would expect to pay if 100% of earnings were taxed at global corporate rates. Calculations of Pre- and Post-Tax Adjusted Earnings per Share BGC's pre- and post-tax Adjusted Earnings per share calculations assume either that: The fully diluted share count includes the shares related to any dilutive instruments, but excludes the associated expense, net of tax, when the impact would be dilutive; or The fully diluted share count excludes the shares related to these instruments, but includes the associated expense, net of tax, when the impact would be anti-dilutive. The share count for Adjusted Earnings excludes certain shares and share equivalents expected to be issued in future periods but not yet eligible to receive dividends and/or distributions. Each quarter, the dividend payable to BGC's stockholders, if any, is expected to be determined by the Company's Board of Directors with reference to a number of factors. The declaration, payment, timing, and amount of any future dividends payable by the Company will be at the discretion of its Board of Directors using the fully diluted share count. For more information on any share count adjustments, see the table titled 'Fully Diluted Weighted-Average Share Count under GAAP and for Adjusted Earnings' in the Company's most recent financial results press release. Management Rationale for Using Adjusted Earnings BGC's calculation of Adjusted Earnings excludes the items discussed above because they are either non-cash in nature, because the anticipated benefits from the expenditures are not expected to be fully realized until future periods, or because the Company views results excluding these items as a better reflection of the underlying performance of BGC's ongoing operations. Management uses Adjusted Earnings and other financial metrics in part to help it evaluate, among other things, the overall performance of the Company's business and to make decisions with respect to the Company's operations. The term 'Adjusted Earnings' should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to GAAP net income (loss). The Company views Adjusted Earnings as a metric that is not indicative of liquidity, or the cash available to fund its operations, but rather as a performance measure. Pre- and post-tax Adjusted Earnings, as well as related measures, are not intended to replace the Company's presentation of its GAAP financial results. However, management believes that these measures help provide investors with a clearer understanding of BGC's financial performance and offer useful information to both management and investors regarding certain financial and business trends related to the Company's financial condition and results of operations. Management believes that the GAAP and Adjusted Earnings measures of financial performance should be considered together. For more information regarding Adjusted Earnings, see the sections of this document and/or in the Company's most recent financial results press release titled 'Reconciliation of GAAP Income (Loss) from Operations before Income Taxes to Adjusted Earnings and GAAP Fully Diluted EPS to Post-Tax Adjusted EPS', including the related footnotes, for details about how BGC's non-GAAP results are reconciled to those under GAAP. Adjusted EBITDA Defined BGC also provides an additional non-GAAP financial performance measure, 'Adjusted EBITDA', which it defines as GAAP 'Net income (loss) available to common stockholders', adjusted to add back the following items: Provision (benefit) for income taxes; Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interest in subsidiaries; Interest expense; Fixed asset depreciation and intangible asset amortization; Equity-based compensation, dividend equivalents and allocations of net income to limited partnership units and FPUs; Impairment of long-lived assets; (Gains) losses on equity method investments; and Certain other non-cash GAAP items, such as non-cash charges of amortized rents. The Company's management believes that its Adjusted EBITDA measure is useful in evaluating BGC's operating performance, because the calculation of this measure generally eliminates the effects of financing and income taxes and the accounting effects of capital spending and acquisitions, which would include impairment charges of goodwill and intangibles created from acquisitions. Such items may vary for different companies for reasons unrelated to overall operating performance. As a result, the Company's management uses this measure and other financial metrics to evaluate operating performance and for other discretionary purposes. BGC believes that Adjusted EBITDA is useful to investors to assist them in getting a more complete picture of the Company's financial results and operations. Since BGC's Adjusted EBITDA is not a recognized measurement under GAAP, investors should use this measure in addition to GAAP measures of net income when analyzing BGC's operating performance. Because not all companies use identical EBITDA calculations, the Company's presentation of Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. Furthermore, Adjusted EBITDA is not intended to be a measure of free cash flow or GAAP cash flow from operations because the Company's Adjusted EBITDA does not consider certain cash requirements, such as tax and debt service payments. For more information regarding Adjusted EBITDA, see the section of this document and/or in the Company's most recent financial results press release titled 'Reconciliation of GAAP Net Income (Loss) Available to Common Stockholders to Adjusted EBITDA', including the footnotes to the same, for details about how BGC's non-GAAP results are reconciled to those under GAAP. Timing of Outlook for Certain GAAP and Non-GAAP Items BGC anticipates providing forward-looking guidance for GAAP revenues and for certain non-GAAP measures from time to time. However, the Company does not anticipate providing an outlook for other GAAP results. This is because certain GAAP items, which are excluded from Adjusted Earnings and/or Adjusted EBITDA, are difficult to forecast with precision before the end of each period. The Company therefore believes that it is not possible for it to have the required information necessary to forecast GAAP results or to quantitatively reconcile GAAP forecasts to non-GAAP forecasts with sufficient precision without unreasonable efforts. For the same reasons, the Company is unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information. The relevant items that are difficult to predict on a quarterly and/or annual basis with precision and may materially impact the Company's GAAP results include, but are not limited, to the following: Certain equity-based compensation charges that may be determined at the discretion of management throughout and up to the period-end; Unusual, non-ordinary, or non-recurring items; The impact of gains or losses on certain marketable securities, as well as any gains or losses related to associated mark-to- market movements and/or hedging. These items are calculated using period-end closing prices; Non-cash asset impairment charges, which are calculated and analyzed based on the period-end values of the underlying assets. These amounts may not be known until after period-end; and Acquisitions, dispositions, and/or resolutions of litigation, disputes, investigations, or enforcement matters, or similar items, which are fluid and unpredictable in nature. Liquidity Defined BGC may also use a non-GAAP measure called 'liquidity'. The Company considers liquidity to be comprised of the sum of cash and cash equivalents, reverse repurchase agreements (if any), financial instruments owned, at fair value, less securities lent out in securities loaned transactions and repurchase agreements (if any). The Company considers liquidity to be an important metric for determining the amount of cash that is available or that could be readily available to the Company on short notice. For more information regarding Liquidity, see the section of this document and/or in the Company's most recent financial results press release titled 'Liquidity Analysis', including any footnotes to the same, for details about how BGC's non-GAAP results are reconciled to those under GAAP. Constant Currency Defined BGC generates a significant amount of its revenues in non-U.S. dollar denominated currencies, particularly in the euro and pound sterling. In order to present a better comparison of the Company's revenues during the period, which exhibited highly volatile foreign exchange movements, BGC provides revenues year-over-year comparisons on a "Constant Currency" basis. BGC uses a Constant Currency financial metric to provide a better comparison of the Company's underlying operating performance by eliminating the impacts of foreign currency fluctuations between comparative periods. Since BGC's consolidated financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars, fluctuations in non-U.S. dollar denominated currencies have an impact on the Company's GAAP results. The Company's Constant Currency metric, which is a non-GAAP financial measure, assumes the foreign exchange rates used to determine the Company's comparative prior period revenues, apply to the current period revenues. Constant Currency revenue percentage change is calculated by determining the change in current quarter non-GAAP Constant Currency revenues over prior period revenues. Non-GAAP Constant Currency revenues are total revenues excluding the effect of foreign exchange rate movements and are calculated by remeasuring and/or translating current quarter revenues using prior period exchange rates. BGC presents certain non-GAAP Constant Currency percentage changes in Constant Currency revenues as a supplementary measure because it facilitates the comparison of the Company's core operating results. This information should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for, results reported in accordance with GAAP. About BGC Group, Inc. BGC Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: BGC) is a leading global marketplace, data, and financial technology services company for a broad range of products, including fixed income, foreign exchange, energy, commodities, shipping, equities, and now includes the FMX Futures Exchange. BGC's clients are many of the world's largest banks, broker-dealers, investment banks, trading firms, hedge funds, governments, corporations, and investment firms. BGC and leading global investment banks and market making firms have partnered to create FMX, part of the BGC Group of companies, which includes a U.S. interest rate futures exchange, spot foreign exchange platform and the world's fastest growing U.S. cash treasuries platform. For more information about BGC, please visit Discussion of Forward-Looking Statements about BGC Statements in this document regarding BGC that are not historical facts are 'forward-looking statements' that involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. These include statements about the Company's business, results, financial position, liquidity and outlook, which may constitute forward-looking statements and are subject to the risk that the actual impact may differ, possibly materially, from what is currently expected. Except as required by law, BGC undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. For a discussion of additional risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see BGC's Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") filings, including, but not limited to, the risk factors and Special Note on Forward-Looking Information set forth in these filings and any updates to such risk factors and Special Note on Forward-Looking Information contained in subsequent reports on Form 10-K, Form 10-Q or Form 8-K.
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Choy sues Hawai‘i Tourism Authority for ‘retaliation,' seeks reinstatement
Isaac Choy, who remains on unpaid leave from the Hawai 'i Tourism Authority, has sued named and unnamed HTA officials alleging they retaliated against him for reporting what he called HTA procurement, spending and other violations. The lawsuit filed Thursday in Circuit Court by Choy—who was HTA's vice president of finance and acting chief administrative officer—represents the latest drama at HTA, which has the key responsibility for organizing state and private tourism entities and marketing Hawaii as a travel destination. HTA interim President and CEO Caroline Anderson, whom Choy names as a defendant in his lawsuit, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. HTA Chair Todd Apo declined to comment on the lawsuit. The Attorney General's office had not been served with Choy's lawsuit by the end of Friday and said it generally does not comment on pending litigation. Choy's lawsuit seeks penalties up to $5, 000 against Anderson and anyone else at HTA for each alleged violation of 'the Hawaii Whistleblowers Protection Act ' in what he calls retaliation for reporting violations. He also wants to be reinstated with back pay, in addition to payment of his attorneys' fees. Choy, Hawaii's former tax director, had worked at HTA since April 2023 and had responsibility for 'fiscal supervision of the funds appropriated to the HTA in a manner consistent with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles standards, State budget fiscal requirements, and any regulatory requirement, ' among other duties. Beginning in March 2024, Choy said he began reporting HTA violations to state and HTA officials that continued into February. In one instance, according to the lawsuit, the state Procurement Office in January 2024 'confirmed that the then-program manager, Caroline Anderson, violated state procurement laws by failing to conduct a proper contract extension and then verbally extending the contract without going through the proper procurement process.' 'Mr. Choy reported his concerns about HTA's failure to timely and consistently comply with laws, rules, regulations and contracts to the State Legislative Auditor, the State Attorney General, and State legislators, who were conducting investigations or inquiry as part of their legislative duties, ' according to the lawsuit. After Choy alleged improper use of Hawai 'i Convention Center space by then-HTA CEO Mufi Hannemann, Choy's lawsuit said the Attorney General's office confirmed in writing that Choy mentioned Hawaii's whistleblower law in September 'as a protection against retaliation for himself and other HTA staff members.' Then allegations emerged that Choy had made racist and sexist remarks on the job, prompting the Attorney General's office and the Department of Human Resources on May 9 to direct that he be placed on unpaid leave. In his lawsuit, Choy said that Anderson on May 9 'delivered a letter to Mr. Choy, stating that Mr. Choy was being placed on administrative leave without pay, and was barred from coming to the HTA offices.' 'At Ms. Anderson's direction, Mr. Choy was immediately escorted from the HTA offices, on a 'perp walk' in front of all HTA employees as if Mr. Choy had been charged with a crime, in an attempt to humiliate Mr. Choy and intimidate other HTA staff members.' The reasons that Anderson cited in her May 9 letter for placing him on leave 'were false, misrepresented and /or grossly overstated, based on hearsay and unsubstantiated allegations, ' according to the lawsuit. 'The reasons stated in Ms. Anderson's May 9, 2025 letter were an obvious pretext, to silence Mr. Choy, and to retaliate against Mr. Choy for reporting numerous, serious violations of State laws, rules, regulations, and contracts, including the procurement violations by Ms. Anderson that Mr. Choy had reported. Placing Mr. Choy on leave without pay, without any legitimate basis under State law, was a transparent attempt by HTA and Ms. Anderson to harm Mr. Choy financially and unlawfully coerce him into resigning his position from HTA, to prevent him from providing additional details about the violations of State laws, rules, regulations, and contracts Mr. Choy had reported or was about to report.' On May 15, Choy sent a letter to Anderson, demanding that 'your retaliatory actions cease immediately and that my employment status be restored immediately.' In the letter, Choy told Anderson that 'Your false and reckless statements and retaliatory behavior have not only significantly damaged my reputation and income but also profoundly affected my family.' Choy served five terms in the House representing Manoa from 2008 through 2018.
