Etsy’s Total Revenue Up 136.7 Pct YoY, Boosted By 11.5 Million New Buyers

Online crafts giant Etsy Inc. reported huge Q2 gains Wednesday (Aug. 5) in its total number of buyers, sellers and gross merchandise sales as COVID drove consumers to its platform to purchase face masks and other items.

“Our extremely strong second-quarter results … [are] a testament to the agility of our team, the strength of our brand, the innovation of our sellers and the unique and special nature of inventory on our core Etsy marketplace,” CEO Josh Silverman said in announcing the results. “Our mission to ‘Keep Commerce Human’ matters now more than ever — and we are showing the world just how many purchase occasions our sellers can meet in a truly delightful way.”

The eCommerce Web site — which features handmade jewelry, art, clothing, furniture, toys and craft supplies — saw double- and triple-digit percentage gains during Q2 in several key areas.

For instance, Etsy’s consolidated gross merchandise sales gained 146 percent, while gross merchandise sales for Etsy’s marketplace grew 93 percent excluding face-mask sales. (Those accounted for 14 percent of total gross merchandise sales on Etsy’s marketplace.)

Homeware and home-furnishings sales excluding masks also increased 128 percent, while jewelry and accessory sales gained 50 percent and craft-supply sales swelled by 138 percent. 

Additionally, consolidated active buyers on the platform grew 41 percent year over year, including 18.7 million new buyers or former customers who hadn’t bought anything on the platform in a year or more. 

Sales per active buyer also expanded by 5 percent year over year on a trailing 12-month basis, or by a record 6 percent when excluding masks. Active sellers likewise expanded by nearly 35 percent compared to a year ago. 

All in, Etsy’s Q2 revenues rose to $428.7 million, up 136.7 percent from $181.1 million for the same period a year ago. Etsy also earned $96.4 million (75 cents per diluted share) — a 429 percent increase from the $18.2 million (14 cents per diluted share) that it netted in Q2 2019.

Those results crushed analyst estimates of just 39 cents of earnings per share on $329.8 million of revenues, and Etsy stock briefly hit an all-time high of almost $142 in after-hours trading before pulling back to $135.52.

As for the future, the company declined to update forward guidance, but reiterated a previous forecast that it expects Q3 gross merchandise sales to rise 80 percent to 100 percent year over year and revenues to gain 85 percent to 115 percent. 

“Events of the last few months have driven dramatic shifts in consumer shopping habits, which we believe will increase the total available market opportunity for Etsy,” CEO Silverman said.