What happened
Shares of Shutterfly, Inc. (SFLY), a leading digital retailer and manufacturer of high-quality personalized products and services in photo books, gifts, cards, and stationery, are jumping 15% as of 11:45 a.m. EDT Wednesday after the company posted a better-than-expected first quarter.
So what
The digital photo company generated revenue of $199.7 million during the first quarter, a 4% year-over-year increase, topping analysts' estimates of $191.8 million. On the bottom line, its adjusted earnings per share checked in at $0.73, which was an improvement compared to the prior year and better than analysts' calling for a loss of $0.95 per share.
"The first quarter of 2018 was a good start to the year for Shutterfly, led by healthy Shutterfly organic growth and overperformance in Shutterfly Business Solutions," said President and Chief Executive Officer Christopher North, in a press release. "We showed a significant improvement in profitability over the first quarter of 2017, thanks to organic Shutterfly brand growth of 10% and the benefits of last year's platform consolidation."
Image source: Getty Images.
Now what
While growth will continue to be a focus for Shutterfly, the company will switch gears a little bit as the Lifetouch acquisition is now closed and management can fully focus on generating cost and revenue synergies. It's a growth story investors are buying into with Shutterfly's stock price up 87% year to date, and if the company continues to make strategic progress in mobile, as well as pricing and promotion, 2018 should be a strong year for the company even if it gives back some of its stock price gains.
