Stitch Fix returns to revenue growth, disappoints with net loss

By

Robin Driver

Published
Sep 23, 2020

Following a rough Q3 caused by coronavirus-related disruptions, San Francisco-based online styling service Stitch Fix, Inc. announced an uptick in revenues in the fourth quarter ended August 1, 2020, but failed to impress Wall Street with a net loss of $44.5 million, or $0.44 per diluted share.

 
Stitch Fix’s latest Q4 loss compared unfavorably to the net earnings of $7.2 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, reported by the company in the prior-year period. The quarterly loss was also significantly greater than that of $0.18 predicted by Wall Street analysts, a fact which caused Stitch Fix’s stock to take a dive of more than 14% in after-hours trading on Tuesday.
 
The company was, nonetheless, eager to highlight that its fourth-quarter net revenue of $443.4 million represented an 11% increase from the $432.1 million that it achieved in the comparable period in the previous year.

This rise reflected a year-over-year increase of 9% in the platform’s active clients, who now total 3.5 million, as well as 2% growth in net revenue per active client, which came to $486.
 
“I'm very pleased with our strong Q4 results and our return to topline growth,” said Stitch Fix founder and CEO Katrina Lake in a release.
 
The company’s president, Elizabeth Spaulding, also highlighted the momentum of the platform’s new direct buy offering and, based on this success, revealed plans to expand the service.
 
“It’s still early days, but the ability to shop personalized items and outfits in our feed-based experience is clearly resonating with our clients,” she said. “Our styling algorithms combined with input from our talented stylists, and the network effects of nearly 10 years of shopping data are enabling clients to now shop via direct buy without ever having purchased something from us in the past.”
 
For the full fiscal year, Stitch Fix reported net revenue of $1.7 billion, up 11% from $1.6 billion in the previous year. The company’s annual net loss was $67.1 million, or $0.66 per diluted share, compared to net earnings of $36.9 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, in the previous year.
 
Although the Covid-19 pandemic has led to a sharp increase in online shopping, Stitch Fix was unable to take full advantage of its digital focus in the third quarter due to fulfillment delays. This situation caused an order backlog at the platform, meaning that its Q3 sales dropped 9% to $371.7 million.
 
With these issues seemingly resolved, the company is optimistic about its future in a market that has made a major shift towards e-commerce.
 
“I'm proud of our team for successfully navigating through the deepest impacts of Covid-19 and am excited to bring our model of an individual and deeply personalized shopping experience to even more consumers as they transition to a future of online shopping,” concluded Lake.