Warby Parker Slides as Omicron Impacts Earnings
2022.05.16 20:16
By Sam Boughedda
Investing.com — Warby Parker Inc (NYSE:WRBY), the online retailer of prescription glasses, is down 2.4% Monday after it released first-quarter earnings data, missing analyst expectations.
The company posted a loss per share of $0.30 on revenue of $153.22 million. Analysts expected a profit of $0.01 per share on revenue of $154.25 million.
Active customers rose 18% to 2.23 million year-over-year during the quarter, while average revenue per customer increased 11.2% to $249.
The company said first-quarter revenue was negatively impacted by roughly $15 million in estimated lost sales due to the Omicron variant, with disruption amplified in the last weeks of December and in the first quarter.
“The onset of Omicron coincided with peak demand in the optical industry as customers seek to utilize flexible spending dollars ahead of December 31st expirations,” stated Warby Parker.
“Lower December sales negatively impacted revenue in the first quarter, as did the continued impact of Omicron on store traffic and demand,” they added.
Looking ahead, Warby still expects full year 2022 revenue of $650 to $660 million, representing 20% to 22% growth. The outlook includes around $15 million in lost sales related to Omicron at the start of the year.
Warby Parker Chief Financial Officer Steve Miller said: “For the rest of the year, we look forward to seeing our store fleet return to pre-pandemic productivity levels while also realizing the benefits from the 35 new stores we opened in 2021, in turn driving accelerating revenue growth and profitability.”
