Overstock.com saw its share price jump 25 percent this week after an impressive Q2 earnings report.
While Wall Street analysts predicted a negative quarter for the online home goods retailer, Overstock stunned investors on Thursday when it revealed that it brought in a record-high $782.5 million in net revenue.
"It was really gratifying to see new customers finding us, experiencing our website, and coming back and purchasing more," Jonathan Johnson, CEO of Overstock.com, told Cheddar Friday.
Johnson credits stay-at-home mandates during the second quarter for his company's success, as workers filled out home offices and residents decided to transform their backyards into private outdoor oases.
"There were a lot of people that were eager to get to the outside of their home in their yards and make them lovely with Overstock purchases," Johnson said. "We did see an early tick up in patio furniture — things for the outdoors like swing sets, above-ground pools."
While Johnson thinks predicting what the pandemic will bring next is a near-impossible task, he still believes a high level of demand can be sustained for the foreseeable future.
"I'm not sure consumers are ready to storm the stores again. I think online's going to be particularly strong," Johnson said, adding that Overstock intended to live up to its name. "Our partners are bringing in product as we speak."
President Donald Trump is talking up a joint venture investing up to $500 billion for infrastructure tied to artificial intelligence by a new partnership formed by OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank. The new entity, Stargate, will start building out data centers and the electricity generation needed for the further development of the fast-evolving AI in Texas, according to the White House. The initial investment is expected to be $100 billion and could reach five times that sum. While Trump has seized on similar announcements to show that his presidency is boosting the economy, there were already expectations of a massive buildout of data centers and electricity plants needed for the development of AI.
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