Wayfair's Strong Q4 Performance

Wayfair Shows Strong Performance in Fourth Quarter

In a surprising turn of events, Wayfair showcased a narrower-than-expected loss and an increase in active customers in the final quarter of the year. However, despite this growth in customer base, the amount spent by customers decreased during this period.

Financial Overview

• The online furniture giant reported a fourth-quarter adjusted per-share loss of only 11 cents, surpassing Wall Street estimates of a 15 cent loss.
• Total net revenue reached $3.1 billion, meeting the consensus estimate and marking a 0.4% increase from the previous year.

Customer Metrics

• Active customers for the quarter reached 22.4 million by Dec. 31, signifying a 1.4% rise compared to the previous year.
• Despite the increase in active customers, net revenue per active customer in the past year dropped by 3% to $537, although the orders delivered increased by 2.7%.

CEO Statement

CEO Niraj Shah expressed optimism about the company's performance, stating, "Our efforts in 2023 yielded significant enhancements in our core offerings related to availability, speed, and price competitiveness. These enhancements directly contributed to our substantial market share growth throughout the year and the increase in customer loyalty, reflected by growth in our active customer base by the fourth quarter."

Market Reaction

Following the positive quarterly results, Wayfair's stock surged by 5.1% to $51.25 in premarket trading on Thursday, outperforming S&P 500 futures which rose by 1.3%.