Why Wayfair Inc. Stock Popped Today

What happened

Shares of Wayfair Inc. (NYSE: W) were up 22.3% as of 12:45 p.m. EDT on Tuesday after the online home-furnishings retailer announced better-than-expected first-quarter 2017 results.

So what

Quarterly revenue increased 28.6% year over year to $960.8 million, including 32.1% growth in direct retail net revenue to $940.4 million. That translated to an adjusted net loss of $41.4 million, or $0.48 per share, compared to an adjusted net loss of $30.2 million, or $0.36 per share in the same year-ago period. By comparison, analysts' consensus estimates predicted a wider net loss of $0.58 per share on lower revenue of $935.6 million.

IMAGE SOURCE: WAYFAIR.

"We are very pleased to report strong momentum in the first quarter of 2017 as we continue to gain significant traction across our key strategic initiatives and steadily increase our market share in the$600 billion dollarhome category acrossNorth AmericaandEurope," stated Niraj Shah, Wayfair's co-founder, CEO, and co-chairman."The home category is driven by visual imagery and discovery with customers responding most positively to an inspirational shopping experience that brings product to life and solves traditional retail challenges in unexpected and compelling ways."

Now what

For the second quarter, Wayfair expects total revenue in the range of $1.03 billion to $1.055 billion, with a similar profitability levels as in the first quarter. Analysts, on average, were modeling lower revenue of $990.5 million.

In the end, this was a straightforward quarterly beat from Wayfair as it gains market share and cements its leadership in the home category. And it's no surprise to see Wayfair stock touching a fresh 52-week high today.

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Steve Symington has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Wayfair. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.