Wayfair CEO Niraj Shah, in announcing the company’s year-over-year loss increased and revenue slipped year in the fourth quarter, said the retailer had adjusted operations for greater efficiency and to generate better results.
Wayfair CEO Niraj Shah, in announcing the company’s year-over-year loss increased and revenue slipped year in the fourth quarter, said the company had adjusted operations for greater efficiency and to generate better results.
Net loss for the quarter was $351 million, or $3.26 per diluted share, versus a net loss of $202 million, or $1.92 per diluted share, in the year-previous quarter.
Net loss adjusted for one-time events was $184 million, or $1.71 per diluted share, versus an adjusted net loss of $97 million, or 92 cents per diluted share, in the year-before period, the company reported.
A Yahoo Finance-published analyst consensus estimate called for a loss of $1.61 per adjusted diluted share and revenues of $3.06 billion.
Net revenue was $3.1 billion versus $3.25 billion in the year-prior quarter. Loss from operations was $330 million versus $196 million in the year-earlier period.
Net loss in the full fiscal year was $1.33 billion, or $12.54 per diluted share, versus a net loss of $131 million, or $1.26 per diluted share, in the year previous.
Adjusted net loss was $818 million, or $7.71 per diluted share, versus adjusted net income of $276 million, or $2.32 per diluted share in the year before, Wayfair stated.
Net revenue was $12.22 billion versus $13.71 billion in the year prior. Operating loss was $1.38 billion versus $94 million in the year earlier.
In a conference call, Naraj Shah, Wayfair co-founder, co-chairman and CEO, said 2022 has been one of the difficulties that became more evident as the year progressed, but he added that the challenges had prompted meaningful change for Wayfair. He said the company entered 2023 as a leaner execution-focused organization concentrating on the key priorities for the company. Wayfair intends to build on the recent momentum in particular gains such as Cyber 5 2022 sales growth.
The short-term macroeconomic picture may be unpredictable, Shah said, but Wayfair leadership remains optimistic in its ability to navigate the challenges based on a return to form in the core recipe and the flexibility of its business model versus peers. Whatever happens on the top line, Wayfair will continue working toward adjusted EBITDA profitability soon. From there, the company will become even more intent on consistently generating and scaling positive free cash flow. The goals set are in the context of total shares outstanding with an emphasis on maximizing profitability and minimizing dilution, he said.
In announcing the financial results, Shah said, “We are excited to see customers respond positively to improvements in our core recipe with compelling pricing, faster delivery times and increasing availability bearing fruit in the form of market share gains. We enter 2023 as a lean, focused team driven by the same key priorities that defined much of 2022: driving cost efficiency, nailing the basics and earning customer and supplier loyalty every day. Although the short-term macroeconomic picture is unpredictable, we are confident in our ability to navigate its challenges and are reiterating our commitment to quickly reaching adjusted EBITDA profitability and then to positive free cash flow.”
In the fourth quarter, adjusted EBITDA came in as a loss of $71 million versus a loss of $4 million in the period a year past.
