Theo Francis Profile
Theo Francis

@theofrancis

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WSJ biz reporter: pay, disclosure, governance, more. #FreeEvan Retweet≠endorse. @[email protected] Cell/Signal: 202-412-5568 Anonymous: https://t.co/w7BhLSCUfS

Washington, D.C.
Joined August 2008
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@WSJbusiness
WSJ Business News
1 year
Since Elon Musk’s multibillion-dollar Tesla pay package from 2018 came to light, more CEOs have gotten outsize pay deals and those packages have been bigger—with the potential to keep growing
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wsj.com
Elon Musk didn’t just upend the global auto business and space missions. The billionaire is also reshaping the landscape of executive pay.
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@theofrancis
Theo Francis
1 year
Warner Bros. Discovery shares have slumped since the merger. CEO David Zaslav got a 26% raise last year, to $50 million. My latest with @JBFlint  — https://t.co/IuvkkbmDAl via @WSJ $WBD
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wsj.com
Much of Chief Executive David Zaslav’s compensation was tied to free cash flow, which soared amid cost-cutting efforts.
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@grok
Grok
29 days
Generate videos in just a few seconds. Try Grok Imagine, free for a limited time.
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@theofrancis
Theo Francis
2 years
Big tech layoffs keep coming, but the workforce remains huge. Revenue rose a lot too. The numbers are remarkable — Amazon’s workforce has doubled, and several other FANG companies are 50% bigger than they were. My latest WSJ, w/ Alana Pipe’s A+ charts:
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wsj.com
Microsoft, Meta Platforms and Amazon are among the companies dwarfing their old selves, despite announcing hefty job cuts.
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@theofrancis
Theo Francis
2 years
And you thought your 401K loan was big... good reporting here by @MicahMaidenberg Elon Musk tapped SpaceX, the rocket maker he runs, for a $1 billion loan around the time he was acquiring the social-media company formerly known as Twitter  https://t.co/hB6BOthwjG via @WSJ
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wsj.com
The world’s richest man has more than once drummed up cash from his empire of companies without having to permanently part with shares.
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@theofrancis
Theo Francis
2 years
Inside a Sales Army Turning a Tax Break Into a Modern-Day Gold Rush — great reporting from Ruth Simon & Richard Rubin, two of the best in the business: https://t.co/30VBNRY7e9 #ERC #taxes @richardrubindc @rsimon18
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wsj.com
Thousands of individuals are referring neighbors and local businesses to a firm that has pursued billions in IRS refunds and created a bonanza for itself.
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@theofrancis
Theo Francis
2 years
Whoops — wrong link. Here's the right one: An 1866 law promised freed slaves the same rights as whites. Conservative activists say it bars many corporate diversity programs — and they’re trying to prove it in court. My latest, w/ Lauren Weber, in the WSJ:
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wsj.com
Conservative groups are challenging Amazon, Comcast and others using many of the same arguments that boosted minority representation in the workforce.
@theofrancis
Theo Francis
2 years
An 1866 law promised freed slaves the same rights as whites. Conservative activists say it bars many corporate diversity programs — and they’re trying to prove it in court.
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@theofrancis
Theo Francis
2 years
An 1866 law promised freed slaves the same rights as whites. Conservative activists say it bars many corporate diversity programs — and they’re trying to prove it in court.
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@theofrancis
Theo Francis
2 years
Tune in to the read-a-thon of Evan Gershkovich's excellent work, live from the National Press Club. Evan remains jailed in Russia for doing his job — hear just how good he is at it.
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@theofrancis
Theo Francis
2 years
Chiefs at Hertz, Peloton, Pinterest & a few others got pay packages over $100 million in 2022, more than Apple's Tim Cook. That's $48,000 an hour (over a 40-hour week), or $801 a minute. https://t.co/W5SSuDr1X4 @WSJbusiness $bx $pton $htz $pins $goog $aapl $law
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@theofrancis
Theo Francis
2 years
Another peek into Bill Gates's world, from @khadeeja_safdar & @EmilyGlazer: Security firm asked some women applying for jobs at his private office about affairs, porn preference, other explicit topics. Gates's office called such questioning unacceptable
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wsj.com
Job candidates say an extreme vetting process by a security firm sometimes included questions about pornography and sexual histories; Gates’s office says such questioning would be unacceptable.
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@BryFitz
Brian Fitzgerald 🍀
2 years
Another week has passed, and it's another one where Evan is locked up for just doing his job. It was wrong on day one, and it is wrong today. Journalism is not a crime. #FreeEvan https://t.co/Pu6oYckQve
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wsj.com
Follow updates on Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was detained in Russia while on a reporting trip and held on an allegation of espionage that the Journal and the U.S. government...
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@theofrancis
Theo Francis
2 years
Fascinating piece from @bob_tita & @JohnKeilman: The thousands of lawsuits facing 3M could cut reshape the company that makes thousands of products, from Scotch tape to Post-It notes https://t.co/8po0xgjQiP
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wsj.com
Analysts say a dividend cut and a heavier debt load loom for the Scotch tape maker amid potential settlement payments costing billions.
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@theofrancis
Theo Francis
2 years
As always, James Mackintosh cuts through to the crux: Forget the Fed and focus on the economy
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wsj.com
What really matters for long-run returns is getting the direction right. That comes from the economy, where the Fed’s fine-tuning misses the point.
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@theofrancis
Theo Francis
2 years
Eye-opening piece from @lisabannon: The use of AI in hospitals is creating tension between the nurses and the machines. “The computer doesn’t know the patient is in out-of-control pain.” https://t.co/nJ4L31etjv via @WSJ
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wsj.com
Artificial intelligence raises difficult questions about who makes the call in a health crisis: the human or the machine?
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@theofrancis
Theo Francis
2 years
This is horrifying (& proves the value of strong reporting): Instagram’s algorithms helped a vast pedophile network thrive; the company says it is improving internal controls.
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wsj.com
The Meta unit’s systems for fostering communities have guided users to child-sex content; company says it is improving internal controls.
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@theofrancis
Theo Francis
2 years
Another remarkable piece on Epstein by Khadeeja Safdar & Emily Glazer: Bill Gates had an affair with a Russian bridge player around 2010. Then Jeffrey Epstein found out. https://t.co/brygyD6W07 on @WSJ
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wsj.com
The disgraced financier was trying to set up a philanthropic fund that he hoped would include the billionaire as an anchor donor.
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@theofrancis
Theo Francis
2 years
Most S&P 500 CEOs finished the year with less pay than initially awarded; Elon Musk’s $10 billion hole. The WSJ CEO pay rankings are out, by Inti Pacheco: https://t.co/938djLoahJ
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wsj.com
The annual WSJ analysis of compensation for CEOs in the S&P 500 reveals that the median pay held steady. But in a first, companies are also disclosing how much those pay packages rose or fell in the...
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@theofrancis
Theo Francis
2 years
Some entrepreneurs are scrutinizing their banking relationships and moving their funds. smart piece by WSJ’s Ruth Simon:
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wsj.com
Some entrepreneurs are asking tough questions or shifting deposits. “I think we need to analyze banks just like they analyze us,” a restaurateur said.
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