Wayfair stock jumps more than 25% as retailer posts strongest U.S. growth since 2020
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- Wayfair posted U.S. sales growth of 8.7% to $3.1 billion in Q2, its strongest growth in that market since 2020, when the home goods industry surged and Wayfair grew 55%.
- Wayfair generated $301 million in free cash flow during the quarter, also the strongest since the pandemic era, as the retailer swung to a $1 million net loss from a $15 million gain a year earlier on a GAAP basis.
- Wayfair's stock jumped more than 25% in morning trading after the company beat expectations on adjusted EPS (95 cents vs. 89 cents), revenue ($3.52 billion vs. $3.47 billion), and adjusted EBITDA ($242 million vs. $230 million expected).
- Wayfair guided to "high single digit" percentage revenue growth for the current quarter, well ahead of the 5% analysts had expected per LSEG, with gross margin guided between 29.5% and 30.5%.
- CFO Kate Gulliver said Wayfair is winning market share primarily from traditional brick-and-mortar competitors while the housing market remains "stalled."
- CEO Niraj Shah highlighted that specialty retail brands grew nearly 20% in Q2 and luxury brand Perigold grew more than 35%, as Wayfair also exceeded estimates on active customers (21.7 million) and orders delivered (10.6 million).
- Average order value came in at $332, below expectations of $337.57 per StreetAccount, a soft spot in an otherwise strong report.
Why it matters: Wayfair's 8.7% U.S. growth and 25%+ stock surge show a pandemic-era e-commerce winner clawing back momentum by poaching customers from struggling brick-and-mortar chains — and management's high-single-digit guidance signals that share-shift, not a housing rebound, is doing the work. With Perigold up 35% and specialty brands up nearly 20%, the luxury end of home goods is becoming a real growth lever, not just a side bet.
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