What happened
Shares of e-commerce retailer and blockchain technology company Overstock.com (OSTK 4.90%) fell on Monday, declining as much as 13.5%. As of 11:00 a.m., the stock was down 8.7%.
The stock's Monday sell-off follows the company's fourth-quarter results. Revenue surprisingly declined compared to the year-ago quarter, and Overstock lost $42.3 million during the period.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
Overstock reported fourth-quarter revenue of $452.5 million, down from $456.3 million in the year-ago quarter. Analysts, on average, were expecting revenue to increase approximately 4% year over year. The decline in revenue was primarily due to a 4% year-over-year decrease in orders as the company spent 13% less on sales and marketing expenses. But higher promotional activities and sales also contributed to lower revenue.
The company's bottom line came in at a loss of $42.3 million -- an improvement from a loss of $95.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2017. Overstock's loss on a per-share basis was $1.39, narrower than a loss of $3.72 in the year-ago quarter.
Check out the latest earnings call transcript for Overstock.com.
Now what
Overstock acknowledged the company's struggle to become profitable during the year, with CEO Patrick Byrne noting, "Our retail arm lost money last year because I gunned things in an attempt to create a conventional high-growth/money losing e-commerce business, but the losses were nauseating and we reverted back to the philosophy of profitability on which we built Overstock."
But Byrne predicts Overstock will generate $10 million or more in positive operating cash flow in 2019 as the company prioritizes profitability.
