Etsy soars in Q4; raising seller transaction fee

Etsy ended the year with top- and bottom-line results ahead of expectation.

The online-marketplace retailer posted net income of $161.6 million, or $1.11 a share, for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with $148.5 million, or$1.08 a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings came in at $218.8 million, which the company said was a record, compared with $192 million last year. Analysts has expected earnings of $0.77 cents a share.

Revenue rose 16.2% to $717.2 million, topping estimates of $685.4 million. For the full year, revenue increased to $2.33 billion.

Etsy said it had 96.3 million active buyers on the platform as of the fourth quarter. Its marketplace acquired approximately 10 million new buyers in the quarter, its highest level of new buyer acquisition since the fourth quarter of 2020. Habitual buyers, those with six or more purchase days and over $200 in spend in the trailing twelve months, grew 26% year-over-year, remaining the company’s fastest-growing cohort.  

"Reflecting on 2021, it is fair to say that Etsy has retained much of the positive impact we've seen from the dramatic adoption of e-commerce following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Josh Silverman, CEO. " In fact, more than half of Etsy's 2020 active buyers, and 37% of new buyers came back to make a purchase in 2021.”

Silverman added that the company is also leveraging its operational playbook for its most recent acquisitions — U.K.-based fashion resell marketplace Depop and Brazilian online marketplace Elo7.

Etsy also announced that its seller transaction fee is increasing from 5% to 6.5% as of April 11, 2022.

“We have demonstrated its ability to make improvements that directly translate into more sales for our sellers, as evidenced by record sales per seller in 202,” Silverman said.  “Our new transaction fee will enable us to invest in key areas like marketing and support to further extend our strong momentum."

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