Wayfair recorded stronger financial results in its fist quarter ended March 31 despite what company chief executive Niraj Shah described as disruptive conditions.
Net loss was $105 million, or 80 cents per diluted share, versus a net loss of $113 million, or 89 cents per diluted share, in the year-previous quarter. Adjusted for one-time events, the company reported, earnings were $34 million compared to $12 million and earnings per diluted share were 26 cents versus 10 cents in the year-before period.
A Zacks Investment Research analyst consensus estimate had adjusted diluted earnings per share pegged at 26 cents and revenues at $2.88 billion.
Net revenue was $2.93 billion versus $2.73 billion in the year-earlier quarter. Loss from operations was $11 million compared to a loss from operations of $122 million in the period a year prior.
U.S. net revenue was $2.61 billion versus $2.43 billion in the year-past quarter.
Shah, Wayfair’s co-founder, co-chairman and CEO, said the company had a solid start to the year despite an uncertain macroeconomic climate and “weather disruptions in the front part of the quarter leading right into a broader pullback in consumer spending, driven by elevated energy and fuel prices. Sometimes we get asked why weather would impact an online business, and the answer is pretty simple. Weather disrupts our customers’ lives, and when you have no power or your children are home from school, you’re simply not shopping for home goods. By our estimates, the home furnishings category was down in the low single-digit range for the first quarter, suggesting that we outperformed the market by a high single-digit spread. Our share spread success has held strong.”
Shah added the company had a strong opening at its Atlanta brick-and-mortar store as the first quarter ended on March 31 and was happy with the consumer engagement it enjoyed during its April Way Day promotional event.
In the conference call, Kate Gulliver, Wayfair CFO and chief administrative officer, said the company expects second quarter to- line growth in the mid-single digits year-over-year.
Shah, in announcing the first quarter results, said, “Our strong revenue performance in Q1 translated to noteworthy profitability. Our 5.2% adjusted EBITDA margin in the first quarter is the best Q1 result we’ve delivered in five years and approaches what we reported in the first quarter of 2021. Our plan remains consistent: increasingly outperform the category to drive top-line growth, flow that growth through in a manner that maximizes EBITDA dollars and grows them faster than revenue, and deploy our excess cash to manage both our upcoming maturities and dilution. While the home furnishings category experienced a choppy start to the year, we outperformed the market by a high single-digit spread in the first quarter, based on our estimates. Our scale enables us to deliver a customer experience that is difficult to replicate, supported by years of investment in our core offering, global logistics network and technology platform. We are particularly encouraged by the pace at which our share gains are accelerating and remain excited about the opportunity ahead.”
