Business news briefs: Jabil’s stock drops on iPhone concerns, insurance probe and more

Jabil Inc. (NYSE: JBL) is one of several companies whose stock price is taking a hit after another Apple supplier warned about reducing orders from “a major customer.”

Jabil headquarters in St. Petersburg

The warning came from Lumentum Holdings (NASDAQ: LITE), which supplies the Face ID technology for Apple. While Lumentum did not identify the customer, analysts said it could only be Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), and the warning stoked fears among investors that demand for iPhones is waning, Reuters reported.

The stock price for Jabil, a St. Petersburg-based manufacturing services business that makes the aluminum casings for iPhones along with other parts, was trading down more than 4 percent at mid-day Monday.

Logistics firm is hiring

BlueGrace Logistics plans to add 70 positions at its Tampa headquarters as part of the company’s strategy to meet demand in the growing supply chain industry.

Bobby Harris, CEO, BlueGrace Logistics

BlueGrace has more than 500 employees and processes over 15,000 shipments each week for thousands of large and small manufacturers, carriers, distributors and start-ups. The company said it plans to hire and train recent college graduates seeking a sales career in the $750 billion logistics industry.

“We’re not looking for specific college majors or degrees; as long as you have a passion for success and for serving our customers, you’ll fit in at BlueGrace Logistics,” said CEO Bobby Harris.

Interested candidates can view job openings here.

Credit concern

A St. Petersburg insurance firm is named in a subpoena issued by a federal court in North Carolina.

Bankers Life Insurance Co. is one of more than a half-dozen entities associated with Eli Global, a financial company in Raleigh, North Carolina. The subpoena is seeking information on Greg Lindberg, the founder of Eli Global and one of the state’s largest political donors, according to the Triangle Business Journal.

Global Bankers Insurance Co., an affiliate of Eli Global, bought Bankers Life in December 2016. Bankers Life kept its own name and retained its St. Petersburg headquarters.

On Friday, A.M. Best, a global rating agency, revised its outlook from positive to stable for Bankers Life and for Colorado Bankers Life Insurance Co., another Global Bankers affiliate, citing the investigation.

“A.M. Best expects the business disruptions resulting from these events to dampen the previously projected growth estimates for these companies. While A.M. Best expects the companies to maintain or grow premiums, this is now projected to occur at a slower rate than before,” a press release said.

A.M. Best affirmed the financial strength and long-term issuer credit ratings for both companies.

Social entrepreneurs

Tonya Donati, founder of Mother Kombucha.

It’s a wrap for BBVA Momentum, a five-month program from BBVA Compass bank to help social entrepreneurs achieve scale and learn ways to enhance their operations. Mother Kombucha, a St. Petersburg company that creates organic beverages, was among the participants in the just-completed 16-member cohort.

Click here to hear Mother Kombucha’s origin story.

The BBVA Momentum program ended with a pitch competition. On the Road Lending, a Dallas company that finances fuel-efficient and reliable cars for low-skill workers with weak credit, took first place.

National spotlight

Brigitte Shaw, chief strategy and business development officer for Florida Hospital Tampa, was among the panelists talking about getting disruptive in healthcare leadership at Becker’s Hospital CEO/CFO roundtable Monday in Chicago.

More than 1,000 chief executives and chief financial officers were slated to attend, with a featured address from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Tom Johnson and his wife, Jane, in a profile published by The Cannata Report

Tom Johnson, founder of Global Imaging Systems in Tampa, received the Lifetime Achievement Award from The Cannata Report, an imaging industry intelligence resource. Johnson changed the industry for the better by elevating how dealers measure their performance, according to the report. He took Global Imaging public in 1998, and the company completed 100 acquisitions and had more than $1 billion in revenue when it was bought by Xerox in 2006.

The Cannata Report’s annual awards and charities dinner was held Nov. 8 in Morristown, New Jersey.