What happened
Handmade and unique goods marketplace Etsy (ETSY 0.49%) was a major outperformer on Thursday. While the S&P 500 was modestly higher for most of the morning, Etsy's share price had skyrocketed 15% by 12:30 p.m. EDT.
So what
Since we're in the middle of third-quarter earnings season, it shouldn't come as a big surprise that today's move in the e-commerce retail stock is earnings related. And while the stock initially slid after the results were released, it quickly reversed course once analysts and investors had time to digest the report.
Image source: Getty Images.
In the third quarter, Etsy's gross merchandise sales (GMS) were $3.1 billion, 17% higher year over year. But it's important to point out that this is on top of the massive surge the company saw during the 2020 shutdown. Even excluding sales of face masks, which were a major revenue driver last year, Etsy's GMS is 138% higher than it was in 2019.
Digging a little deeper, there are several other impressive stats. Etsy's average active buyer now spends 20% more on the platform than a year ago, for example. The percentage of deliveries that arrive late has been cut in half since January thanks to a focus on efficient shipping methods.
Now what
Even after the impressive results, Etsy has barely begun to scratch the surface of its addressable market opportunity, and it continues to make moves in the right direction. The integration of the recently acquired Depop and elo7 marketplaces are opening Etsy's ecosystem to new customers, and there could be tons of growth -- both organic and acquisition-based -- in the coming years.
