Blue Apron Bites Back With Earnings

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 12, 12:07AM EST · Published May 3, 9:30AM EDT

Blue Apron Bites Back With Earnings — © Thinkstock

Blue Apron Holdings Inc. (NYSE: APRN) reported its first-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Thursday. The company said that it had a net loss of $0.17 per share on $196.7 million in revenue. The consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters had called for a net loss of $0.24 per share on $197.25 million in revenue. The same period of last year had a net loss of $0.78 per share and $244.8 million in revenue.

During the quarter, net revenue was driven primarily by a decrease in Customers and Orders, following the deliberate pullback in marketing spend in the second half of 2017, as Blue Apron builds toward momentum in the business in 2018. Net revenue increased 5% quarter over quarter, reflecting Blue Apron’s methodical reacceleration of its marketing efforts and advanced product merchandising capabilities in the first quarter of 2018.

Customers decreased 24% year over year and increased 5% quarter over quarter, following the deliberate pullback in marketing spend in the second half of 2017.

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Average revenue per customer was $250 in the first quarter of 2018, compared to $236 in the first quarter of 2017, and $248 in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Although the company did not offer any guidance, the consensus estimates call for a net loss of $0.16 per share and $207.99 million in revenue for the second quarter.

Brad Dickerson, CEO of Blue Apron, commented:

We are pleased with the progress we achieved this quarter, including significant improvement in operational efficiencies as reflected by our margin performance, which was the strongest we have seen since the second quarter of 2016. We also improved our customer metrics as we began to methodically reaccelerate marketing late last year, with a specific focus on attracting new customers with high affinity as well as deepening our engagement with current customers.

Shares of Blue Apron closed Wednesday at $2.10, with a consensus analyst price target of $4.92 and a post-IPO range of $1.72 to $11.00. Following the announcement, the stock was up over 6% at $2.24 in early trading indications Thursday.

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.