As customers spend more time at home, Overstock.com's home furnishings business appears to have been a key beneficiary.
With home goods making up 92 percent of its revenue, the online retailer shocked Wall Street for the second straight quarter when it reported better-than-expected Q3 earnings on Thursday.
"We are really working to delight our customers," Jonathan Johnson, CEO of Overstock.com ($OSTK), told Cheddar after the earnings release.
Overstock.com saw its sales double from the same period last year, leading to a 15 percent spike in the stock price at the start of the trading session, though shares later fell into negative territory.
Overstock Crushes Analyst Expectations in Q3 Earnings Report
"I don't really know why Wall Street does what it does. I think they may have seen the second quarter as a COVID flash-in-the-pan," Johnson said. "We've certainly benefited from the tailwinds of people staying at home and furnishing, but I think it's much more than that."
Since taking over as CEO last September, Johnson has been behind one of Wall Street's most impressive turnarounds. From a stock price of under $7, the value has shot up nearly 1,000 percent in 2020.
Johnson credits the company's constant goal of "efficiency" for Overstock.com's improved profit margins.
"We have always viewed ourselves as a tech company first," Johnson explained. "We try to innovate through automation. That helps us scale where we can grow revenues without growing the cost structure too much."
The retailer estimates that before the pandemic about 23 percent of home furniture purchases were made online. Now, it believes that number has jumped to 35 percent in a matter of months.
"People are focused on improving their living area where they're spending more and more of their time," Johnson said. "For us, this is just right in our wheelhouse."
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
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