By Chibuike Oguh
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Shares of Wayfair Inc rose by as much as 24% on Thursday, hitting their highest level in more than a year, after the online furniture retailer reported a smaller-than-expected second quarter loss driven by higher orders and slimmer costs.
Wayfair said that although its net revenue fell 3.4% year-on-year to $3.2 billion, it delivered more than 10 million orders in the quarter, up 3% from a year earlier.
The cost of the merchandise Wayfair sold to its customers fell 8.4% to $2.2 billion. That allowed its gross profit to rise by nearly 10% and its net loss to narrow to $46 million. Analysts had been expecting a net loss of $74 million, per Refinitiv.
Wayfair’s shares rose as high as $90.5, the highest since May 2022. The stock, which has risen by 173% year-to-date, was last up 23% to $90.3 per share.
“The second quarter saw gross margins exceed 30%, a milestone we’ve only previously accomplished during the peak pandemic period of 2020,” Wayfair Chief Executive Niraj Shah told an analyst conference call on Thursday.
(Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New York; Editing by Will Dunham)
