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HEARD ON THE STREET: SQUARE GOES FULL CIRCLE ON GROWING PAYMENTS B

S&P2978.76g4.42% S&PFINg4.37% S&PITg5.33% DJ TRANSg3.62% WSJ$IDXg0.50% LIBOR3M 1.580 NIKKEI(Midday)21184.77g3.48% See more at WSJ.com/Markets

BUSINESS & FINANCE

EARNINGS

AB InBev’s stock

sinks 9.2% after

brewer of Budweiser

misses forecast.B

of Monsanto, which sharehold-

ers have criticized as overly

risky after the acquisition

plunged the company into a le-

gal battle over Roundup weed-

killer, which thousands of

Americans allege causes cancer.

The moves highlight Bayer’s

efforts to appease investors

ahead of its shareholder meet-

ing in April. By then, many

shareholders expect Bayer to

BERLIN—BayerAG said it
would strengthen external
oversight of its due diligence in
deal making, in the company’s
latest concession to sharehold-
ers after its 2018 acquisition of
Monsanto swamped it with a
tide of lawsuits and sent its
stock crashing.
Bayer said Thursday that it
would allow an independent
expert to review its rules for
scrutinizing major deals and
would publish the results on its
website in late March.
Bayer has also agreed to a
new review of how it evaluated
risks in its $63 billion purchase

BYRUTHBENDER

60

0

15

30

45

million contracts traded

Feb. 19 27

40

15

20

25

30

35

Feb. 20 27

20

• 
  


• 
  


• 
  


• 
  


• 
  


• 
  
  
  
  • 
    
  
  
  
  

0

5

10

15

%

Feb. 20 21 24 25 26 27

$

46

48

50

52

54

a barrel

Feb.20 27

Domino'sPizza

▲17.1%

Regeneron

Pharmaceuticals

▲7.7%

CMEGroup

▲1.4%

Clorox

▲2.3%

CboeGlobal

Markets

▲0.7%

S&P

▼12.0%

Halliburton

▼21.9%

American

Airlines

▼27.3%

Cinemark

▼21.6%

RoyalCaribbean

Cruises

▼30.6%

CboeVolatilityIndex

CMEGroupdailytradingvolume

U.S.crude

futuresprice

TRADING

Recentmarketgyrationshave

beenaboontoexchange

companieslikeCMEGroup

andCboeGlobalMarkets.

ENERGY

Loweroildemandduetotherisk

oftravelrestrictionsandfactory

andofficeclosureshasdragged

downsharesofoil-fieldservices

companieslikeHalliburton.

Performance

sinceFeb.19close

ofselect:

Sources: FactSet; CME Group (trade volume)

WINNERS

LOSERS

BYAKANEOTANI

Some Stocks Are Diamonds in Rough Patch

deliver progress on resolving

the lawsuits. The company has

been exploring a comprehen-

sive settlement.

The agreement to a volun-

tary external audit also comes

a day after the German chemi-

cal and pharmaceutical com-

pany said Chairman Werner

Wenning, a company veteran of

more than 50 years who had

backed the Monsanto deal, was

stepping down earlier than

planned, a move some share-

holders interpreted as a sign

Bayer is trying to turn the

page.

Some of the group’s largest

shareholders said the new

chairman, Norbert Winkeljo-

hann, would allow for a more

independent oversight but crit-

icized his lack of experience in

Bayer’s businesses.

“A new era is starting at

Bayer,” Chief Executive Werner

Baumann said Thursday about

the departure of Mr. Wenning,

who was also his mentor.

Markus Mayer, an analyst at

Baader Bank, said Mr. Bau-

mann’s future could become

more fragile now that he is los-

ing a crucial supporter, adding

pressure on Mr. Baumann to

reach a good settlement.

Some investors interpreted

Mr. Wenning’s departure as a

sign that a settlement is ap-

proaching. On Thursday, Bayer

said it faced a total of 48,

plaintiffs. That is 5,900 more

than three months ago but a

less drastic spike than in the

prior quarter. The company

contends that the weedkiller is

safe and has appealed verdicts

in the three cases it has lost.

Bayer has been negotiating

with plaintiff attorneys since

last summer to try to reach a

deal to settle the claims. The

company lost three jury ver-

Please turn to page B

Bayer Toughens Scrutiny of Deals

Company agrees to

allow expert reviews

in wake of lawsuits

tied to Monsanto

Environmental activists last April protested the merger of the

pharmaceutical and chemical maker with Monsanto.

THILO SCHMUELGEN/REUTERS

Shares ofWPPPLC plunged

to their lowest level in almost

a decade after the world’s

largest advertising company

said sales would be flat for

2020, adding more pressure

on Chief Executive Mark Read.

WPP said organic revenue—

a closely watched measure-

ment of its underlying operat-

ing performance—declined

1.9% in the fourth quarter,

compared with the 0.8% de-

cline analysts forecast.

WPP shares dropped almost

17% on Thursday, down $9.

to $47.92.

Like much of the advertis-

ing sector, WPP is grappling

with challenges including in-

creased competition from tech

giants such asAlphabetInc.’s

Google andFacebookInc., and

consulting firms such asAc-

centure.

The British company, which

owns agencies such asWun-

derman Thompson and

GroupM, is in the midst of a

three-year turnaround plan af-

ter it was stung by losing

business from clients such as

American Express Co. and

Ford MotorCo.

WPP said it is too early to

predict the effects of the coro-

navirus epidemic, but many

firms in the ad sector are

bracing for fallout, since ad

companies have operations

across the globe.

“The market is worried

about their revenue outlook of

flat before the impact of the

coronavirus and the lack of

any margin improvement in

2020,” said Michael Na-

thanson, an analyst at Moffett

Nathanson. “In addition, after

showing improving revenue

trends, the fourth quarter per-

formance was a step back.”

The downbeat outlook adds

more pressure on Mr. Read,

who took the reins of WPP in

September 2018, after the de-

parture of longtime CEO and

founder Martin Sorrell.

Mr. Read has sought to slim

down the company to make its

operations, which span the

globe, less unwieldy for mar-

keters to navigate.

“We are pleased with the

progress that we’ve made, but

we’re not in any way compla-

cent,” said Mr. Read during a

conference call with analysts.

“We know that we’ve got work

to do.” He added that the com-

pany has “made significant

progress simplifying WPP,”

pointing out that it has gone

from having nine networks of

creative ad agencies to five.

For 2019 as a whole, the

company said organic sales

fell 1.6%. The company’s 2020

guidance of flat sales excludes

Please turn to page B

BYSUZANNEVRANICA

ANDADRIÀCALATAYUD

Shares of

WPP Dive

On Weak

2020 Sales

mining-related, partly because

governments frequently fail to

properly document such fatali-

ties and some smaller compa-

nies don’t want to invite in-

creased regulatory scrutiny,

mining experts say. By some

estimates, uncounted deaths in

illegal and small-scale mining

add thousands to the industry’s

death toll. Leaving them out

distorts mining’s safety record

and makes it harder to detect

and improve potential hazards.

Pressure to improve safety

in mining has intensified after

a mine-waste dam operated by

ValeSA burst a year ago in

the Brazilian town of Bru-

madinho, killing 270 people.

The official death toll for

the sector in India—one of the

world’s biggest mining na-

tions—was 120 in 2018, though

a former government official

said it could reach 20,000. In

the Democratic Republic of

Congo, which releases no fatal-

ity data, up to 2,000 illegal

miners are dying a year, ac-

cording to research from a

Harvard University professor.

A Wall Street Journal inves-

tigation in December revealed

that disclosures of mining fa-

talities were being kept lower

because large miners don’t al-

ways disclose deaths in trans-

port and joint ventures, and

some governments weren’t in-

cluding mine contractors in fa-

tality statistics.

The lack of accurate data in

illegal and small-scale mining is

a big problem, said Richard Ad-

kerson, chief executive ofFree-

port-McMoRan Inc., one of

America’s largest miners.

“Numbers would shine a spot-

light that could translate into

government action and enforce-

ment to constrain the risks

these miners take,” he said.

Please turn to page B

Surat Lal died with seven

colleagues in an explosion at a

small quarry in India, but like

thousands of other casualties

at mines in the developing

world, his death wasn’t

counted as a mining fatality.

Around 90% of the world’s

miners, according to theWorld

Bank, work in small-scale op-

erations or illegally by tres-

passing on land controlled by

others, including bigger mining

companies. Those miners—

who dig up materials used in

cars and smartphones, among

other products—are frequently

operating in emerging econo-

mies like India, in dangerous

conditions with no safety regu-

lations, poor equipment and a

culture of risk-taking.

When tragedies occur, few

of the deaths are recorded as

BYALISTAIRMACDONALD

ANDKRISHNAPOKHAREL

Many Mining Deaths Never

Show Up in Safety Reports

pensation Advisory Partners, a

compensation consulting firm.

As more CEOs from the baby

boom generation reach retire-

ment age, the position of execu-

tive chairman will become more

prevalent, says Susan Schroeder,

a partner at CAP, citing a desire

among founders and long-serv-

ing CEOs to keep working while

protecting their legacies.

Recent examples include Un-

der Armour Inc. founder Kevin

Plank and NikeInc.’s Mark

Parker, who was named execu-

tive chairman after a 14-year

run as CEO. And Mastercard

Inc. said this week that Ajay

Banga, its president and CEO

for the past 10 years, will be-

come executive chairman in

2021. His successor as chief ex-
      ecutive, Michael Miebach, will
      first move into the position of
      president in March.
      Executive chairmen, unlike
      their independent counterparts,
      Please turn to page B

Robert Iger, the longtime
head of Walt Disney Co.,
stepped aside as CEO this week.
But he’s not really gone: Mr.
Iger has taken on the relatively
rare role of executive chairman.
Major corporations are in-
creasingly splitting the posi-
tions of chairman and chief ex-
ecutive. Today, more than half
the companies in the S&P 500
use such a structure, according
to proxy advisory firm Institu-
tional Shareholder Services, up
from just 35% in 2009.
But chairmen who hold that
sole title at U.S. corporations
are typically independent—an
arrangement long supported by
pension funds and governance
advocates. The position of exec-
utive chairman tends to be re-
served for company founders or
long-serving CEOs who say they
want to help ensure a smooth
transition, according to Com-

BYCHIPCUTTER

Iger’s Move Highlights

Rare Leadership Role

Global markets have been on
a roller-coaster ride the past
week. The coronavirus epi-
demic is spreading rapidly, and
analysts say there is no telling
how big of a hit the economy
will take as a result.
Investors quickly singled out
stocks that could lose big if the
virus proves especially disrup-
tive, but many also tried to
spot winning bets—stocks that
might actually benefit from
consumers pulling back on
their regular activities.
While the S&P 500 suffered
its worst two-day stretch in
more than four years to start
the week, investors found ha-
vens in a peanut-butter maker,
bleach producer and financial
exchanges. They rebuffed go-
ing out: Restaurants took a
hit, as did concert venues.
Here’s our look at what bets
have worked—and what inves-
tors shied away from.
WINNERS
GROCERY SHOPPING:
In times of market duress,
investors often turn to shares
of bland but essential busi-
nesses where households are
unlikely to stop spending
money. The past week has been
no exception. Investors pun-
ished shares of peanut-butter
giantJ.M. SmuckerCo. much
less than the market as a whole
(down 4.2% since the S&P 500
peaked Feb. 19, versus a drop of
12% for the broad stock index)
while boostingCloroxCo. (up
2.43%). Viruses aren’t about to
stop Americans from stocking
up their pantries. And they
might make disinfectant wipes
more popular.
HEALING:
Pharmaceutical companies
have raced to develop treat-
ments effective against
Covid-19, the illness caused by
the new coronavirus. Investors
have placed their bets accord-

ingly, wagering any company

that wins approval to roll out a

vaccine stands to profit hand-

somely.Regeneron Pharma-

ceuticalsInc., which has part-

nered with the Department of

Health and Human Services to

develop antibody treatments,

has risen 7.7% since Feb. 19.

TRADING:

Exchanges and high-speed

trading firms tend to make

more money when markets are

volatile. That means the mar-

ket’s gyrations over the past

couple of days have been a

boon to companies likeCME

GroupInc. (up 1.4% since Feb.

19), which experienced record

volumes Tuesday as traders

used its futures to place bets or

hedge against market moves.

Another beneficiary: rival ex-

change operatorCboe Global

MarketsInc. (up 0.7%), which

makes much of its money from

products tied to its Cboe Vola-

tility Index. Then there is elec-

tronic-trading giantVirtu Fi-

nancial Inc. (up 5.4%).

Volatility tends to benefit

speedy traders like Virtu by al-

Please turn to page B

INSIDE

Viral Impact

 Shortage of auto parts

looms................................. B

 Film box office, production

suffers............................... B

 Toy industry upended by

China disruption............ B

 Invisible forces add to

market swings................ B

BUSINESS

Thyssenkrupp

to sell lucrative

elevator business

for $19 billion.B

SEBASTIAN GOLLNOW/ZUMA