Shares of Chewy (CHWY) fell sharply in premarket trading Wednesday as the online pet retailer’s first-quarter profit came in below analysts’ expectations.
Chewy reported GAAP net income of $62.4 million, or $0.15 per share. Analysts polled by Visible Alpha were looking for $68.9 million, or $0.16 per share.
The company reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.35 on net sales that increased 8.3% year-over-year to $3.12 billion, while analysts had expected $0.34 and $3.08 billion, respectively. Last quarter, Chewy had guided for $0.30 to $0.35 and $3.06 billion to $3.09 billion in Q1.
Chewy’s active customer base grew 3.8% to nearly 20.8 million, while the retailer generated $2.56 billion in autoship sales, up 15% from a year ago and representing 82% of its total sales.
Chewy Affirms Full-Year Outlook
The company affirmed its full-year outlook of 6% to 7% sales growth to $12.30 billion to $12.45 billion. For the second quarter, Chewy forecast adjusted EPS of $0.30 to $0.35 and sales of $3.06 billion to $3.09 billion, while analysts currently expect $0.31 and $3.04 billion, respectively.
Last month, Chewy announced that CFO David Reeder would “be departing in several months to return to the semiconductor industry as a Chief Executive Officer.” Singh added that Reeder would “assist with an orderly transition as we undertake a search for his successor.”
Chewy shares, which entered Wednesday up 37% since the start of the year, were down 7% shortly after the report.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/GettyImages-2160085316-c7d03643b32c4434b1f682e316cf69ac.jpg?ssl=1&description=Chewy+Stock+Tumbles+as+Net+Income+Falls+Short+of+Estimates){kind=link}