Many households are apparently booming with better audio and Sonos stock is soaring after the American wireless audio developer beat earnings expectations last quarter.
Patrick Spence, Sonos CEO, attributes the company’s success to its reliable brand.
“I really think that it's a testament to the power of the model and the system that we’ve built. Customers have known for years the power of the system and how great it is when you get one Sonos, but how much it gets even better as you get a second and a third and you add that to the system,” Spence told Cheddar.
In the latest earnings report, the company announced it raked in $340 million, beating expectations by about $40 million. It’s no secret that many industries have suffered amid the COVID-19 crisis, but Spence says his company’s focus on direct-to-consumer marketing and sales has helped in its success during the pandemic.
“We’ve been around for a long time. We’ve navigated the Great Recession. We’ve navigated many competitors trying to do what we do and work through that. We’ve navigated, now, a pandemic” he added.
Spence noted a nine percent increase in direct-to-consumer sales from last year.
Brand Loyalty Matters
Sonos was able to build on its ongoing revenue growth and brand reputation with new marketing and customer acquisition strategies. The company also invested in expanding its technical capabilities.
“Only about 20 percent of traffic coming to our website is paid, which is pretty low in the industry. So, we’ve been able to really build a brand over the last 15 years, which people know and love,” Spence said.
New product development is also in the near future for Sonos. The wireless speaker-maker looks to expand its reach to all areas of audio, according to the CEO. The company has already launched Sonos Radio, a service similar to Pandora, and has filed a patent for headphones.
For Spence, developing new products and improving customer experience is always a priority, but during the current trying times, he said the well-being of his team has become more consuming than anything else.
“When I think about what keeps me up at night it's really our people and helping support them through this pandemic because they have been just heroic in terms of delivering the kind of results that we reported yesterday and making sure we can still launch these amazing products and services, even with everybody working from home,” he continued.
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
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.
