Topic: How To Invest

Q: I’d like TSI’s take on Wayfair as a short-selling opportunity. Thanks.

Article Excerpt

A: Wayfair Inc., $306.22, symbol W on New York (Shares outstanding: 68.4 million; Market cap: $28.3 billion; www.wayfair.com), operates one of the world’s largest online retailers (www.wayfair.com) of furniture and home furnishings. The company offers its products to consumers in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Germany. In 2019, its U.S. operations accounted for 85% of total revenue. Wayfair first sold shares to the public in an IPO in October 2014 at $29 each. Over the last five years, sales have climbed rapidly. They rose 305.7%, from $2.25 billion in 2015 to $9.13 billion in 2019. Meanwhile, Wayfair’s losses have expanded quickly as well. They’ve risen from a $77.4 million, or $0.92 a share, loss in 2015 to the $984.6 million, or $10.68 a share, loss in 2019. The rising losses reflect the company’s increasingly heavy investment in its marketing and technology. However, in the latest quarter, ended June 30, 2020, Wayfair turned a profit for the first time since going public in…