Wayfair’s (NYSE:W) net loss widened in the first quarter as its sales surged nearly 20%, with more people flocking to its website to furnish their home offices and bedrooms during the coronavirus pandemic.
The loss proved $2.30 per share, as revenue registered at $2.33 billion.
“The broader market disruption has highlighted the many differentiated advantages we have built as the e-commerce leader in Home over the last two decades,” CEO Niraj Shah said in a statement.
The online furniture retailer, based in Boston, reported a net loss of $285.87 million, or $3.04 a share, compared with a net loss of $200.39 million, or $2.20 per share, a year ago.
Excluding one-time items, Wayfair lost $2.30 per share.
Net revenue grew nearly 20% to $2.33 billion from $1.94 billion a year ago.
Analysts expected the company to report an adjusted loss of $2.60 per share on revenue of $2.31 billion, according to a poll by Refinitiv.
The company said it delivered 9.9 million orders during the quarter, up 21% year-over-year. It said repeat customers placed 6.9 million orders, representing an increase of almost 28%. Average order value dropped $2 from a year ago, to $235 per order.
The issue for Wayfair has long been, and continues to be, how to make money. The company has been criticized, among other things, for spending too much on advertising to acquire new customers on the internet. Wayfair has yet to report a profit, and its quarterly losses continue to widen. Wayfair went public in October 2014.
W shares climbed $43.89, or 32.7%, to $178.00
