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."
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
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Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
Elon Musk on Monday targeted Apple and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in artificial intelligence.
