Warby Parker narrows Q1 loss amid revenue growth; on track to open 40 stores

Warby Parker Inc. started its fiscal year on a positive note, delivering its highest quarterly revenue growth since 2021 as it also made progress to improve profitability.

The eyewear brand is also continuing to expand its store footprint. It opened eight new stores during the quarter, for a total of 245 locations. It remains on track to open 40 stores in 2024. 

Warby Parker reported a net loss of $2.679 million, or $0.02 a share, for the quarter ended March 31, compared to a loss  of $10.8 million, or $0.09 a share, in the year-ago period.  Gross profit increased 19.7% to $113.5 million.

Net revenue rose 16.3% to $200 million, ahead of analysts’ estimates of $196.0 million. 

“Earlier this year, we set out to reaccelerate both glasses and active customer growth,” stated co-founder and co-CEO Dave Gilboa. ”We’re encouraged to see strength in single-vision glasses as well as efficiencies across media channels….In Q2 and beyond, we’ll continue to invest in customer acquisition while scaling our holistic vision care offering to drive higher customer lifetime value.”

On the company’s earnings call, co-founder and co-CEO Neil Blumenthal said glasses accounted for 70% of revenue growth in the quarter. Executives said that a big area of growth for the company is its eye exam business.

“The majority of our customers still get their eye exams elsewhere and bring their prescriptions to Warby Parker, highlighting the opportunity in front of us,” Gilboa told analysts on the call.

Warby Parker ended the quarter with 2.36 million active customers, an increase of 3.2% on a trailing 12-month basis. Average revenue per customer increased 9.6% to $296.

The company raised its guidance for 2024 and now expects revenue to grow 12.5% to 13.5% to $753 million to $761 million, up from its prior guidance of $748 million to $758 million. It also estimates adjusted EBITDA margin of 9.2%, up from its prior outlook of 8.9%. 

“Our Q1 results are evidence of the returns we are starting to see from many of our recent investments,” said CFO Steve Miller. “Going forward, we plan to maintain a balanced approach to delivering both efficient growth and incremental profitability.”