==Blue Apron (APRN) to be acquired by Wonder Group for $13/share in cash

• Wonder, the fast-growing virtual food hall company founded by billionaire entrepreneur Marc Lore, is acquiring meal kit company Blue Apron for $103 million. 

• APRN announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by Wonder Group, a company founded by entrepreneur Marc Lore that is redefining at-home dining and food delivery.
• Under the terms of the merger agreement, which has been unanimously approved by Blue Apron's Board of Directors, Blue Apron stockholders will be entitled to receive $13.00 in cash per share of Class A common stock through a tender offer, representing an equity value of approximately $103 million. The per share purchase price represents a 137% premium to the September 28, 2023 closing price and a 77% premium to the 30-day volume weighted average price of the Company's Class A common stock.
• The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2023, subject to customary closing conditions, including the tender of a majority of the outstanding shares of the Company's Class A common stock.
• The Company's Board of Directors unanimously recommends that Blue Apron's stockholders tender their shares in the tender offer. FreshRealm, Inc., which beneficially owns approximately 16.5% of Blue Apron's outstanding shares of Class A common stock, has agreed to exercise its warrant as part of the transaction and then tender its shares in the tender offer in accordance with the terms of the tender and support agreement, and has waived applicable termination rights it has under the production and fulfillment agreement between FreshRealm and Blue Apron in connection with the transaction.

-=Blue Apron (APRN) reported earnings on Wed 29 Apr 20 (b/o)

(Reuters) - Shares of Blue Apron Holdings Inc (APRN) slumped as much as 33% on Wednesday as the meal-kit company posted a steep decline in quarterly sales even after seeing a boost in orders from Americans confined to their homes amid coronavirus-led lockdowns.

The company, which posted results for the three months that ended March 31, said it saw a bump in orders only at the end of the first quarter and added that most of the benefit from a spike in demand will be reflected in the current quarter.

"Even as restrictions on consumer behavior begin to ease, we expect that there will be a shift to new economic and social norms, reflecting the changes in cooking and eating habits developed during the weeks or months consumers spend at home, and these will persist for some time," Chief Executive Officer Linda Findley Kozlowski said on a post-earnings call.

"We expect that our Q2 results will begin to reflect this increased demand."

The company expects second-quarter revenue to record a high single-digit percentage growth to about $130 million. 

Shares of the company, which are trading at $9.93, have nearly doubled this year, benefiting from its model that favors social distancing norms with people being required to stay home and as restaurants remained shut.

Blue Apron, which went public in 2017, has been losing ground to competition from established grocers that are bringing out their own meal-kits. Earlier this year, the company said it was considering various options for its business, including going private.

The company said on Wednesday it continues to move forward with the plan.

Orders during the first-quarter fell 29% from a year earlier, while the total number of customers declined to 376,000 from 550,000.

Net revenue fell 28.2% to $101.9 million in the quarter, while net loss widened to $20.2 million, or $1.51 per share, from $5.3 million, or 41 cents per share, a year earlier, mainly due to higher expenses and the closure of certain fulfillment centers.

Earnings this week : April 27 - May 1, 20 (wk 18)

Monday (April 27)

• Morning: AMG AWI CHKP CMS CNXM CNX DORM LECO EGOV UMC
• Afternoon:  ARE AMKR APY AVT BRO CNI CATY CE CINF CGNX FIX CR FFIV HLIT HSTM HTLF PI IBTX JJSF LRN KDP NOV NXPI OGS OMF PKG PCH PPG PFG QTS SANM SSD STL TCT UHS WSBC

Tuesday (April 28)

• Morning: MMM ABB AB AXE BP CAT CNC CIGI CBSH GLW CMI DHI DTE ECL FCF FBC FELE HOG IQV IRDM MRK MSCI NEO NVS NUE PPBI PEP PFE PII ROK ROP SPGI SC SSTK SIRI LUV TROW TAL TEL TRU TPB UBS UMBF UPS WDR XRX YNDX ZBRA 
• Afternoon: AMD AKAM GOOG A CA APAM AGR BXMT BXP BYD CHRW CERN CYH CSGP DXCM EHC WIRE ENVA EEFT FEYE F HWC THG HELE HIW HOPE IRBT JNPR LSCC MASI MXIM MEDP MRCY MTH MKSI MDLZ MPWR MRC OI OKE PAYC RNST SIMO SBUX SYX TENB TX TRMK UIS WERN WW YUMC 

Wednesday (April 29)

• Morning:  APRN ALKS AMT  ANTM AZN ADP AVY AZZ BANC BKU BDC BA BSX EAT CADE CLS CVE GIB CLH CME CSTM CRTO DIN EPD FSS FDP GRMN GD GE HAS HUM LH LIVN MHO MKTX MAS MA NYCB NSC NOC NVT OSK OC PB ROL RES R SAIA ST SHW SLAB SITE SAH SPOT SUM UTHR VLO YUM
• Afternoon: AEGN AFL AGNC AGI ALGN ADM BHE BMRN BCOV CACI WHD CHDN CMPR CNMD CREE CCI CONE DRE EBAY FB GIL JBT KLIC MXL MSFT PPC PS PRI PTC QCOM RJF RYN SCI NOW TDOC TSLA TTEK RIG TRN TYL UCTT URI HCC

Thursday (April 30)

• Morning: FLWS ABMD AGIO AIMC MO AAL AIT ARW BAX TECH BC CWT CG CRAI CHD CI COLB CMCSA COP COR CFR DAN DOW DNKN ETN FCN GNRC GT HBI HGV HUBB IDXX IMAX IP ICE ICE JHG K KHC LNTH LAZ LKQ MMC MCD MTOR MGPI TAP MCO NLSN NVCR ONDK PH PATK PNR PRGO SNDR SITC SIX SO SPB SWK SYNH TPR TFX TPX TXT TRS TWTR UBSI VLY VC GRA WCC  RDS.A
• Afternoon: TWOU AEM ALEX ATUS AMZN AMGN AAPL ATR AJG ASGN TEAM BAND NTB BL BRKS BLDR COG CDNA CXP COLM CXO OFC CUZ CRY EGP EMN EIX LOCO EBS FTV FTAI FBHS FWRD GLPI GILD HP HTH HUBG LMAT MGM MTX MITK MOH NATI NTUS NCR NPTN OTEX PRAH PVG PTCT PSA RRC RMD SILK STAG SYK TNDM TRUP X V WDC ZEN

Friday (May 1) 

• Morning: ABBV AON APO BCPC CBOE CHTR CVX CLX CL EL XOM HRC HON HUN IMO ITT JCI LYB MMP MINI NWL PSX TRP TKR SLCA WPC WY WSC WETF

Earnings spotlight:

• Keurig Dr Pepper (NYSE:KDP) and F5 Networks (NASDAQ:FFIV) on April 27; 
• UPS (NYSE:UPS), 3M (NYSE:MMM), Alphabet, Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV), Ford (NYSE:F), Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT), AMD (NASDAQ:AMD), PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP), Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) and Merck (NYSE:MRK) on April 28; 
• Microsoft (MSFT), eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY), Facebook, Yum Brands (NYSE:YUM), Boeing (NYSE:BA), Mastercard (NYSE:MA), General Electric (NYSE:GE) and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) on April 29; 
• Amazon, Apple, Dunkin' Brands (NASDAQ:DNKN), Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD), Dow (NYSE:DOW), Cigna (NYSE:CI), McDonald's (NYSE:MCD), Altria (NYSE:MO), Twitter (NYSE:TWTR), Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) and Visa (NYSE:V) on April 30; 
• Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO), Chevron (NYSE:CVX), Clorox (NYSE:CLX), Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) and AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) on May 1.

-=Blue Apron (APRN) reported earnings on Tue 18 Feb 20 (a/h)

Blue Apron misses by $0.20, misses on revs

Reports Q4 (Dec) loss of $1.66 per share, $0.20 worse than the single analyst estimate of ($1.46); revenues fell 33.0% year/year to $94.3 mln vs the $97.72 mln two analyst estimate.

Reports Total Orders of 1.622 mln vs 1.726 mln in 4Q18.

Reports Average Order Value of $58.14 vs. $57.60 in 4Q18.

Optimization of Operations: Following a review of its fulfillment center network structure and improvements in sourcing, production and logistics, Blue Apron announced the planned closure of its Arlington, Texas facility and consolidation of production volume into its New Jersey and California facilities. Through this action, the company believes it can more efficiently continue to service its national footprint while also enabling it to redirect financial resources into other parts of the business, including growth initiatives.

Strategic Alternatives: Co also announced that its Board of Directors, supported by its management team, is evaluating a broad range of strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value, including to support the execution of its growth strategy. These alternatives could include, among other things, a strategic business combination, a capital raise through the public or private markets, a transaction that results in private ownership or sale of the company or its assets, or some combination of these.

Earnings this week : Feb 17 - 21, 20 (wk 8)

Monday (Feb 17)

• Holiday: Presidents' Day (US stock, bond, and options markets and the Federal Reserve Bank will be closed on Monday, February 17, 2020. Futures markets will close at 1pm ET.

Tuesday (Feb 18)

• Morning: AAP AEIS ALLE ATH BLMN CEVA CHH CEQP ECL EXPD FLR FELE GSX INMD JELD LDOS MDT SFL SITE TSEM TRU USAC VG VMC WAB WMT WLK
• Afternoon: A AMED ACC TXG ACC AWK ATRC BKD CHE CXO DVN FANG WIRE ENPH EVBG EXR GRPN HCKT HVT HQY HSTM HLF IOSP INVH KAR KRG KNL LZB LC DOOR NP NTR PLMR QTS ROIC RPAI SGMS SCPL SSTI SOI SHO TX TIVO TRTX TPH WRSK WNO

Wednesday (Feb 19)

• Morning: ADI ATHM BHC BCOR APRN FUN DISH ELAN ENBL ETR FVRR FDP GRMN GEL THRM GPC GLDD HEP IART NHI DNOW OC STNG SSW SAH SMP VPG WING
• Afternoon: AGI ALB Y ALSN CRMT AROC CAR AXTI SAM BCOV CAKE XEC CDE CYH CONE ESRT EIG ET FARO FIVN LOPE GDOT HCR HNI HST H IAG ICLR IMAX INOV IVR NVTA JACK JBT KALU KBR KL LSI MX MANT MASI MOS MSA LASR NE NDSN OIS OGS OSUR OR OVV PAAS PE PRDO PXD QTWO O RETA RBBN RPT SNBR SM SED SPTN STMP SUI SUN SNPS TVTY TSLX TRN UCTT UFPI VMI HCC WMB ZG

Thursday (Feb 20)

• Morning: AAN AKS AEP ARD AAWW BRC CAMT CBZ CLF COMM CSTM COT DNR DPZ EPAM FOCS GIL HEES HSIC HFC HRL HPP IDA ITGR I IDCC LAMR LXP LKQ MD MFA NEM NCLH OPI PCRX PQG RCM RS RGEN SHLX SIX SO STFC SCL STOR SYNH TFX TNC TEN TXMD VTR VIAC VC WIX
• Afternoon: ADSW LNT COLD APPN ATR BAND BJRI BYD BVN BLDR COG CAI CATM CASA CWST CENX ED CNDT CORT CVA CUBE DRH BOOM DBX DCO EHTH EBS ENV EVRG FSLY FSLR FND GLPI GMED HTGC HBM LTHM MMI NBR NCMI NGHC NUVA OEC PEB PPC PRAH PRA PBYI RMAX RWT ROG SBAC SWM SEM SFM SSRM TXRH TMST TRUE OLED VAL VICI WK ZIXI ZS

Friday (Feb 21) 

• Morning: BCPC B CNK CFX DE ERF HSC HMSY ITT MGA PNW RY TECK WPC

Notable earnings reports:
Walmart (WMT), Agilent (NYSE:A), Herbalife (NYSE:HLF), Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) and Scientific Games (NASDAQ:SGMS) on February 18; IMAX (NYSE:IMAX), Blue Apron (NYSE:APRN), Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING), Albermarle (NYSE:ALB), Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H), Sunoco (NYSE:SUN), Dish Network (NASDAQ:DISH) and Zillow (NASDAQ:ZG) on February 19; Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NYSE:NCLH), (NASDAQ:VIAC), Domino's Pizza (NYSE:DPZ), Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED) and Dropbox (NASDAQ:DBX) on February 20; Diana Shipping (NYSE:DSX), Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) and Deere (NYSE:DE) on February 21.

Blue Apron (APRN) is pursuing plans for a reverse stock split

Meal-kit provider Blue Apron Holdings Inc. (APRN) said Monday it is pursing plans for a reverse stock split. The company's board unanimously approved the move in an April meeting, and recommended for shareholder approval a proposal for a 1-for-5 to 1-for-15 split with the ratio and timing to be determined by the board. The proposal will be voted on at the company's annual shareholder meeting on June 13. The main goal of the split is to increase the price of the company's common stock and to improve liquidity. It will also allow the company regain compliance with NYSE listing rules, which it has breached after falling below $1 for a period of 30 consecutive trading days. The stock closed Friday at 75 cents. It has fallen 73% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 (SPX) has gained 5.4%.

=Blue Apron (APRN) reported earnings on Tue 13 Feb 2018 (b/o)

Blue Apron beats by $0.05, reports revs in-line 

• Reports Q4 (Dec) loss of $0.20 per share, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.25); revenues fell 13.1% year/year to $187.7 mln vs the $186.13 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Customers decreased by 15% year-over-year and decreased by 13% quarter-over-quarter, primarily reflecting the Company's planned decrease in marketing spend.
  • Average Revenue per Customer was $248 in the fourth quarter of 2017 compared to $246 in the fourth quarter of 2016, and $245 in the third quarter of 2017.

=Blue Apron (APRN) reported earnings on Thur 2 Nov 2017 (b/o)

Blue Apron misses by $0.04, beats on revs; co reiterated its previously provided financial performance guidance for the second half of 2017

• Reports Q3 (Sep) loss of $0.47 per share, $0.04 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.43); revenues rose 2.5% year/year to $210.6 mln vs the $191.47 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Customers decreased by 6% year-over-year and decreased by 9% quarter-over-quarter, reflecting the Company's planned decrease in marketing spend.
  Average Revenue per Customer was $245 in the third quarter of 2017 compared to $227 in the third quarter of 2016, and $251 in the second quarter of 2017.
• Reiterated net revenue and adjusted EBITDA outlook for second half of 2017; updated net loss estimate to reflect recent company-wide realignment actions.
  • Marketing is expected to be approximately 15-16% of net revenue compared to the 19.7% rate in the first half of the year. The Company expects fourth quarter levels of marketing spend to be lower than the third quarter, both on an absolute basis and as a percentage of net revenue. 

=Blue Apron (APRN) reported earnings on Thur 10 Aug 2017 (b/o)

Blue Apron misses by $0.15, reports revs in-line; orders up 19% Y/Y

• Reports Q2 (Jun) GAAP loss of $0.47 per share, $0.15 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.32); revenues rose 17.9% year/year to $238.1 mln vs the $235.78 mln Capital IQ Consensus, driven by an increase in orders and customers. The year-over-year growth rate in the second quarter of 2017 was lower than the year-over-year growth rate of 42% from the first quarter of 2017, driven by a planned reduction in marketing spend of $26.1 million between the first and second quarter.
• Orders +19% Y/Y and -5.6% Q/Q.
• Customers increased 23% year-over-year and declined 9% quarter-over-quarter reflecting a planned reduction in marketing of $26.1 million between the first and second quarter.
• Average Revenue per Customer was $251 in the second quarter of 2017 compared to $264 in the second quarter of 2016, and an improvement relative to $236 in the first quarter of 2017.
• Cost of Goods Sold, excluding depreciation and amortization (COGS), increased 28% year-over-year to $163.5 million in the second quarter of 2017, and increased 560 basis points as a percentage of net revenue, driven by increased costs associated with the ongoing launch of new infrastructure to support Blue Apron's product expansion initiatives, including the launch of its new Linden, New Jersey facility.
• "We are beginning a new chapter as a public company, and remain focused on our long-term strategy to build an iconic consumer brand, develop a more diverse product portfolio, and further build out an end-to-end supply chain platform."

APRN — is it a buy?

• 2 weeks after IPO:  Is APRN a buy?

• 2 weeks later:

• 1 week later: