What happened
Shares of 1-800-Flowers.com (FLWS 2.62%), a U.S. based provider of food, gift baskets, and floral decorations, jumped as high as 18% Thursday morning, before giving back some of those gains, after the company released a better-than-expected third-quarter fiscal 2020 report.
So what
Total net revenue increased 12.2% to $278.8 million, well above the prior year's $248.4 million, and ahead of analysts' estimates of $264 million. Adjusted net loss was $0.14 per share, which beat analysts' estimates of an $0.18 per-share loss. The healthy top-line growth was driven by all three business segments: gourmet foods and gift baskets increased 27.1% while consumer floral and BloomNet increased 5.4% and 7.9%, respectively.
Image source: Getty Images.
CEO Chris McCann also had interesting insight to demand trends: "In both Consumer Floral and BloomNet, top and bottom-line results for the quarter would have been even stronger were it not for softer consumer demand in the last few weeks of March related to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis. We saw this pattern reverse as we entered our current fiscal fourth quarter and demand has increased significantly as consumers are increasingly turning to the 1-800-Flowers brand to help them express themselves and stay connected."
Now what
1-800-Flowers.com was one of few in a struggling consumer discretionary industry to boast an uptick in demand and traffic as the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak shut down many businesses across the nation and sent unemployment soaring. Management was also one of the few groups confident enough to not only offer guidance, but to reaffirm its growth guidance for fiscal 2020. It still anticipates total consolidated revenue to grow between 8% and 9%, compared to the prior year, with between 6% and 7% organic revenue growth. Earnings-per-share growth is expected to top 15%. It was a solid quarter, but the primary takeaway for investors is that COVID-19's negative impact on the business was brief before reversing.
