Wayfair Inc. (NYSE:W) shares took off for the stratosphere, on reporting fourth-quarter results.
The Boston-based Wayfair, which prides itself on being "one of the world’s largest online destinations for the home", reported direct retail net revenue --consisting of sales generated primarily through Wayfair’s sites -- increased $576.6 million to $1,995.8 million, up 40.6% year over year
Gross profit was $485.1 million or 24.1% of total net revenue. GAAP net loss was $143.8 million. Adjusted EBITDA was $(53.8) million or (2.7)% of total net revenue.
At the end of the fourth quarter, cash, cash equivalents, and short-term and long-term investments totaled $970.3 million.
Said CEO Niraj Shah, "We remain focused on our long-term approach to investing in the business, and believe the Company’s outsized growth at scale is a testament to the strength of our brand and platform as we redefine the shopping experience in our category.
"Our offering is resonating more and more with our customers in North America and Europe, and we see clear parallels in the progress of our businesses in Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany and the successful course of Wayfair.com in the U.S. at similar stages of development."
The company also said the number of active customers in its direct retail business reached 15.2 million as of December 31, 2018, an increase of 37.9% year over year. LTM net revenue per active customer was $443 as of December 31, 2018, an increase of 5.0% year over year.
Shares hiked $31.80, or 27.1%, to $149.08.
