=Etsy (ETSY) reported earnings on Tue 2 May 2017 (a/h)

Etsy misses by $0.01, misses on revs; CEO stepping down, co not providing guidance, discloses additional workforce reductions :

• Reports Q1 (Mar) GAAP net of breakeven, $0.01 worse than the Capital IQ GAAP Consensus of $0.01; revenues rose 18.4% year/year to $96.89 mln vs the $98.35 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• GMS was $719.0 million, up 14.2% compared with the first quarter of 2016. On a currency-neutral basis (excluding the direct impact of currency translation on GMS from goods that are not listed in U.S. dollars) GMS growth in the first quarter of 2017 would have been 15.2%. Growth in GMS was supported by 12.4% year-over-year growth in active sellers and 18.5% year-over-year growth in active buyers.
• The Company announced that the Etsy Board of Directors has appointed Josh Silverman, a director on the Board since November 2016, as CEO, effective May 3, 2017. Josh succeeds Chad Dickerson, who will step down as CEO and Chair of the Board of Directors. Chad will serve in an advisory role to the Company through May 31, 2017. Fred Wilson, who joined the Etsy Board in June 2007 and has served as lead independent director since October 2014, will succeed Chad as Chair of the Board. Josh previously served as President of Consumer Products and Services at American Express.
• In addition, the Company also announced that John Allspaw, Chief Technology Officer, will be leaving the Company and Mike Brittain, VP of Engineering, will be named interim CTO. Mr. Allspaw will serve in an advisory role to the Company through May 31, 2017.
• Expense Reductions and Resource Realignment
  • "Late last year, Etsy realigned its teams to better support the evolving needs of our business. This has resulted in strengthened cross-functional collaboration, increased accountability and faster execution. Building on this foundation, early in the second quarter of 2017, we also looked for opportunities to increase efficiency and streamline our cost structure. As a result of this process, we have identified savings that will be realized through a combination of headcount reductions and a reduction in internal program expenses. In total, we expect to eliminate approximately 80 positions, which is approximately 8% of the total workforce."
• Guidance
  • In light of the leadership transition, Etsy's new management team will review the Company's 2017 guidance. The Company plans to provide guidance in conjunction with the announcement of its second quarter 2017 results.