Mixed quarter. Slightly disappointing guidance, and some word of caution for even beyond 3Q’21.
We have entered the treacherous stage for Covid beneficiary stocks, and the broader picture may remain a bit hazy for quite some time.
Here are my notes.
2/ For the past 5 quarters, Etsy comfortably beat high end of GMS guidance. Not this time even though it spent 31.7% of revenue in Sales & Marketing (+491 bps YoY) in 2Q’21.
3/ # of sellers sequentially increased by 531K QoQ which is really impressive. For context, it took Etsy 4 quarters pre-pandemic to add 587K sellers.
Many one-off mask buyers left which stalled # of buyers.
4/ Etsy still added 8 mn new buyers in the quarter vs ~4 mn they were adding pre-pandemic. GMS per new buyer is also accelerating at a much faster rate.
5/ Slightly disappointing to see # of habitual buyers, who are just 9% of active buyers but drive 40% of GMS, not increase sequentially in this quarter.
Buyer retention is consistently ~500 bps higher pre-pandemic levels which calm my nerves.
GMS per active buyer +22%
6/ One metric I would suggest @jgsilverman to provide is how many habitual buyers are buying from multiple categories.
As a shareholder, I would like to see buyers coming back to Etsy for different category of products.
7/ Etsy launched XWalk, Large-scale, real-time graph retrieval engine that provides more relevant search results and narrows the semantic gap, boosting conversion and repeat purchase rate for buyers.
Xwalk reduced the number of dead ends (queries with 0 search result) by >1 mn.
8/ The product experience has improved significantly.
“While we aren't in a race to be fastest, it's critical that we have transparent expectations that our
sellers can meet reliably.”
9/ Last week, Etsy launched Star Seller program. I really like this initiative as it sets clear expectation what it means to be a good seller on Etsy.
“We believe this creates a race to the top for sellers”
10/ “We focused on organic product improvements and to date, have invested very few marketing dollars to drive app downloads.”
Etsy started to prompt buyers to download the app, which is highest converting experience, in Q2 which is showing results.
11/ Today, Etsy calls itself House of Brands with Reverb, Depop, Elo7 in addition to the core Etsy brand.
“…we think Depop is potentially to Etsy like Venmo was to PayPal, a new way to shop for the new generation”
12/ “We now have a foothold in Latin America, a region with high barriers to entry where we previously did not have a meaningful customer base.”
Josh seems to think Brazil is a tough market to crack from his eBay experience and hence preferred a native brand Elo7 to enter LATAM.
13/ “will take multiple quarters and years to operationalize all of the many ways that we believe we can help Depop and Elo7 grow.”
“We launched a new premium ad platform for Bump" (on Reverb)
14/ Some ways Etsy can help optimize the acquisitions over time.
15/ International continues to outpace US GMS growth and now 41% of overall GMS.
16/ One of the drivers for increased S&M is Etsy’s focus on top-of-the-funnel marketing.
Long-term, I think it’s the right strategy even if it decreases margins in the short-term.
17/ In 1Q’21, Etsy did not buyback any share, and when stock went down 40% from the peak, I wondered whether Etsy will buyback in 2Q’21. They did. Etsy repurchased $180 Mn shares (SBC ~$48 mn).
"Market environment remains weak, with shipments below 2019 levels."
growth opportunities in industrial and automotive
Four revenue scenarios for 2026, with floor being $20 Bn. FYI, $TXN consensus estimates for '26 revenue is $20 Bn.
"I would be extremely disappointed if it ends up at $20 billion. That's not my expectation. That's not the signature I see as we compete for market share today."
I received a couple of DMs asking about "hey, what's going on in Bangladesh"
While I left Bangladesh in 2017, my almost entire family still lives there. So I'm keenly aware of what's going on. I'll briefly cover what happened and the implications.
let's start with the end result. The Prime Minister (PM) Sheikh Hasina or SH (who's the Head of State in Bangladesh) fled the country after facing intense protest from Bangladeshi students. Her exact location doesn't seem to be confirmed yet (rumored to be India or EU).
Let's back up a little and give some brief historical context.
SH came to power in 2008. Her father- Mujib was the architect in mobilizing people in Bangladesh to gain independence from Pakistan in 1971. Following independence, Mujib became the first PM of Bangladesh.
closed my $AMZN Jan 2025 $160 calls that I wrote. 43% gain in this trade, but feels like just another lucky trade as I now think AMZN is undervalued (and I was likely too cautious to hedge it at $160 back then). Kept the $55 calls unhedged now.
CSU's organic growth for recurring revenue will probably more or less mimic $BRO's organic growth. But CSU has ~20% ROIC vs BRO's ~10% but they trade at *almost* similar multiple. So I decided to buyback what I trimmed.
Going through insurance brokers earnings now. $AON and $MMC finally growing in tandem after AON lagged MMC consistently since 2Q'21.
$BRO is the clear winner in organic growth for this quarter. (disc: long $BRO and $AON)
Looking closer between MMC and AON.
will add to this thread later as I go through the transcript.
In the meantime, here's my Deep Dive on $BRO (also explains why I love this industry and would like to own probably most of these companies over time at "right" valuation):
After sequential revenue decline in China for 7 consecutive quarters, this quarter experienced ~15-20% growth across all segments in China. Europe and Japan are also in early phase of the upcycle.
More commentary on China:
"the market is more competitive in China, but we can compete and we can win business in very attractive margins"
expect incremental margin to be ~75-85% (ex depreciation)
"Inventory is being built at the right part, where we have this diversity and longevity positions such that we don't risk the scrap of the inventory."