What happened

Shares of Vuzix (VUZI 8.70%) have plunged today, down by 10% as of 11 a.m. EDT, after the company reported first-quarter earnings. The results were mixed relative to analyst expectations, while the company continues to ramp shipments of its smart glasses.

So what

Revenue in the first quarter was $3.9 million, slightly ahead of the consensus estimate of $3.83 million in sales. That resulted in a net loss of $6.6 million, or $0.12 per share, which was worse than the $0.10 per share in losses that Wall Street was looking for.

Woman in a warehouse waring Vuzix smart glasses and safety equipment

Image source: Vuzix.

"Vuzix reported record smart glasses sales of $3.8 million as an increasing number of our customers continued to place larger and more frequent orders for our Smart Glasses," CEO Paul Travers said in a statement. "Sales of our workhorse M400 Smart Glasses tripled versus the prior year's comparable quarter and we are seeing a broadening array of use cases emerging from literally every corner of the world."

Now what

The technology company recently strengthened its balance sheet with the exercise of warrants and an equity offering. Vuzix had approximately $145 million in cash as of the beginning of April.

Vuzix did not provide specific financial guidance but noted that economic reopenings are leading to a rebound in demand across many sectors such as logistics, warehousing, and e-commerce. The company is "well-positioned to continue to achieve significant year-over-year comparative revenue growth throughout the balance of 2021," according to Travers.