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."
Apple has rolled out an update to its operating system this week with a feature called Stolen Device Protection. It makes it a lot harder for phone thieves to access key functions and settings, and users are being urged to turn it on immediately.
The U.S. economy grew at an unexpectedly brisk 3.3% annual pace from October through December as Americans showed a continued willingness to spend freely despite high interest rates and frustrating price levels.
Alan Becker, CEO and Investment Adviser Representative at Retirement Solutions Group and RSG Investments, shares his thoughts on the latest GDP data plus why he's not sold cryptocurrency as a long-term asset.
The Biden administration wants to ban another type of bank “junk fee," targeting fees that are typically charged by banks when a transaction is declined in real time.
Al Root, senior writer at Barron’s, breaks down everything expected from Tesla’s earnings report, from Elon Musk’s demands from the board to why the market has been looking for affordable EV options.
Online retailer eBay Inc. will cut about 1,000 jobs, or an estimated 9% of its full-time workforce. The announcement follows similar moves by other tech companies that ramped up hiring during the pandemic while people spent more time and money online.
Tony Drake, CFP at Drake and Associates, LLC shares thoughts on whether the record gains in technology will broaden to other sectors, the risks of the Fed keeping interest rates higher for too long, and the health of the U.S. consumer.
