Revolve Group Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Financial Results

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Revolve Group, Inc. (NYSE: RVLV), the next-generation fashion retailer for Millennial and Generation Z consumers, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2023.

"I'm proud of our team's accomplishments in 2023 that set us up well for 2024," said co-founder and co-CEO Mike Karanikolas. "Despite the challenging backdrop for consumer discretionary spending, we closed out the year with a solid fourth quarter that included improved sales trends, year-over-year expansion of our gross margin and early progress on selling and distribution cost efficiencies."

"Our profitable and cash generative business remains a key competitive advantage that has enabled us to invest in longer-term growth initiatives throughout the cycle at a time when many industry peers have no choice but to significantly reduce investment," said co-founder and co-CEO Michael Mente.  "Our focus on maximizing value creation over the long-term is supported by investments in our brands, technology and operations as well as delivering value to stockholders through our $100 million stock repurchase program." 

Fourth Quarter 2023 Financial Summary

Fourth Quarter 2023 Operational Metrics

Additional Fourth Quarter 2023 Metrics and Results Commentary 

• Trailing 12-month Active customers increased by 33,000 during the fourth quarter of 2023, growing to 2,543,000 as of December 31, 2023, an increase of 9% year-over-year.  
• Total net sales were $257.8 million, a decrease of 1% year-over-year, and a sequential improvement from the 4% decrease year-over-year reported in the third quarter of 2023.      
• Gross profit was $134.0 million, an increase of 1% year-over-year.
• Gross margin was 52.0%, a year-over-year increase of 57 basis points that was driven by margin expansion in the REVOLVE segment. It was the first year-over-year increase in gross margin in six quarters. 
• Within operating expenses, our variable operating costs were more efficient than implied by our fourth quarter 2023 outlook, primarily driven by early progress in our efforts to contain shipping and logistics costs, which was offset by higher-than-expected general and administrative expenses.              
• Net income was $3.5 million, a year-over-year decrease of 56%, primarily due to growth in operating expenses year-over-year that more than offset the slight growth in gross profit referenced above. 
• Adjusted EBITDA was $8.5 million, a year-over-year decrease of 40%.  
• Diluted earnings per share (EPS) was $0.05, a year-over-year decrease of 55%.    

Additional Fourth Quarter 2023 Net Sales Commentary

• REVOLVE segment net sales were $220.0 million, a year-over-year increase of 1%.
• FWRD segment net sales were $37.8 million, a year-over-year decrease of 10%.
• Domestic net sales were $213.7 million, a year-over-year decrease of 2%.    
• International net sales were $44.1 million, a year-over-year increase of 7%.   

Additional trend information regarding Revolve Group's fourth quarter and full year 2023 financial results and operating metrics is available in the Q4 and FY 2023 Financial Highlights presentation available on the company's investor relations website at https://investors.revolve.com. 

Results Since the End of Fourth Quarter 2023

During the first eight weeks of 2024 (January 1, 2024 to February 25, 2024), net sales decreased by a mid-single digit percentage year-over-year compared to the same period in 2023.    

2024 Business Outlook

Based on information available to us as of February 27, 2024, we are providing the following guidance for the full year ending December 31, 2024 and the first quarter ending March 31, 2024.  

Full Year 2023 Financial Summary

Full Year 2023 Operational Metrics

Additional Full Year 2023 Metrics and Results Commentary 

• Total net sales were $1.1 billion, a year-over-year decrease of 3%.  
• Gross profit was $554.2 million, a year-over-year decrease of 6%.
• Gross margin was 51.9%, a year-over-year decrease of 192 basis points that was primarily driven by our results in the first half of 2023 when our proportion of net sales at full price was significantly lower compared to the same period in 2022.  Successful rebalancing of our inventory levels during 2023 resulted in improved year-over-year comparisons for gross margin each quarter throughout 2023.     
• Net income was $28.1 million, a year-over-year decrease of 52%, primarily reflecting the slight decrease in net sales, reduced gross profit and an increase in operating expenses year-over-year. 
• Adjusted EBITDA was $43.4 million, a year-over-year decrease of 52%. 
• Diluted EPS was $0.38, a year-over-year decrease of 52%.  

Additional Full Year 2023 Net Sales Commentary

• REVOLVE segment net sales were $904.5 million, a year-over-year decrease of 2%.
• FWRD segment net sales were $164.2 million, a year-over-year decrease of 9%.
• Domestic net sales were $870.4 million, a year-over-year decrease of 5%.
• International net sales were $198.3 million, a year-over-year increase of 6%.     

Cash Flow and Balance Sheet Commentary  

• Net cash provided by operating activities was $43.3 million and free cash flow was $39.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, an increase of 85% and 114%, respectively. The increase in both cash flow measures primarily reflects favorable movements in working capital, partially offset by lower net income.   
• Stock repurchases were $30.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, exclusive of broker fees and excise taxes. The company repurchased  1,291,635 and 2,198,854 shares of its Class A common stock during the fourth quarter and full year 2023, respectively, at an average cost of $13.94 and $13.91 per share, respectively. $69.4 million remained available under the company's $100 million stock repurchase program as of December 31, 2023
• Balance sheet: Cash and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2023 grew to $245.4 million, an increase of $10.7 million, or 5%, from $234.7 million as of December 31, 2022. Our balance sheet as of December 31, 2023 remains debt free.     
• Inventory as of December 31, 2023 was $203.6 million, a decrease of $11.6 million, or 5%, from the inventory balance of $215.2 million as of December 31, 2022.      

Conference Call Information

Revolve Group management will host a call today at 4:30 pm ET / 1:30 pm PT to discuss today's results in more detail.  To participate, please dial  (888) 330-2454 within the United States or (240) 789-2714 outside the United States approximately 10 minutes before the scheduled start of the call. The conference ID for the call is 3102771. The conference call will also be accessible, live via audio broadcast, on the Investor Relations section of the Revolve Group website at http://investors.revolve.com. A replay of the conference call will be available online at http://investors.revolve.com. In addition, an audio replay of the call will be available for one week following the call and can be accessed by dialing 1-800-770-2030 within the United States or 1-647-362-9199 outside the United States. The replay conference ID is 3102771. 

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains ''forward-looking statements'' within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S.  Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical or current fact included in this press release are forward-looking statements, including but not limited to our expectations regarding our financial performance for the first quarter and full year of 2024 and statements regarding macroeconomic conditions. Forward-looking statements include statements containing words such as "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "project," "will" and similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties, which include, without limitation, risks related to changing economic conditions and their impact on consumer demand and our business, operating results and financial condition; demand for our products; supply chain challenges; inflationary pressures; wars and conflicts in Ukraine/Russia, Israel/Gaza and the Middle East, other geopolitical tensions; our fluctuating operating results; seasonality in our business; our ability to acquire products on reasonable terms; our e-commerce business model; our ability to attract customers in a cost effective manner; the strength of our brand; competition; fraud; system interruptions; our ability to fulfill orders; the impact of public health crises on our business, operations and financial results; the effect of claims, lawsuits, government investigations, other legal or regulatory proceedings or commercial or contractual disputes; and other risks and uncertainties included under the caption "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, including, without limitation, our  Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2023 and our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, which we expect to file with the SEC on February 27, 2024. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, and we undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Other Operating Metrics
To supplement our condensed consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States of America (GAAP), we reference in this press release and the accompanying tables the following non-GAAP financial measures: Adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow.    

The presentation of this non-GAAP financial information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP, and our non-GAAP measures may be different from non-GAAP measures used by other companies.

We use these non-GAAP financial measures to evaluate our operating performance, generate future operating plans and make strategic decisions regarding the allocation of capital. Our management believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide meaningful supplemental information regarding our performance and liquidity by excluding certain expenses that may not be indicative of our ongoing core operating performance. We believe that both management and investors benefit from referring to these non-GAAP financial measures in assessing our performance and when analyzing historical performance and liquidity and when planning, forecasting, and analyzing future periods.

For a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP measures, please see the tables captioned "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" included at the end of this release.

Definitions of our non-GAAP financial measures and other operating metrics are presented below. 

Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure that we calculate as net income before other (income) expense, net; taxes; and depreciation and amortization; adjusted to exclude the effects of equity-based compensation expense and certain non-routine items. Adjusted EBITDA is a key measure used by management to evaluate our operating performance, generate future operating plans and make strategic decisions regarding the allocation of capital. In particular, the exclusion of certain expenses in calculating Adjusted EBITDA facilitates operating performance comparisons on a period-to-period basis and, in the case of exclusion of the impact of equity-based compensation, excludes an item that we do not consider to be indicative of our core operating performance.

Free Cash Flow
Free cash flow is a non-GAAP financial measure that we calculate as net cash provided by operating activities less cash used in purchases of property and equipment. We view free cash flow as an important indicator of our liquidity because it measures the amount of cash we generate. Free cash flow also reflects changes in working capital.

Active Customers
We define an active customer as a unique customer account from which a purchase was made across our platform at least once in the preceding 12-month period. In any particular period, we determine our number of active customers by counting the total number of customers who have made at least one purchase in the preceding 12-month period, measured from the last date of such period. We view the number of active customers as a key indicator of our growth, the reach of our sites, the value proposition and consumer awareness of our brand, the continued use of our sites by our customers and their desire to purchase our products.

Total Orders Placed
We define total orders placed as the total number of orders placed by our customers, prior to product returns, across our platform in any given period.  We view total orders placed as a key indicator of the velocity of our business and an indication of the desirability of our products and sites to our customers. Total orders placed, together with average order value, is an indicator of the net sales we expect to recognize in a given period.

Average Order Value
We define average order value as the sum of the total gross sales from our sites in a given period, prior to product returns, divided by the total orders placed in that period. We believe our high average order value demonstrates the premium nature of our product assortment. Average order value varies depending on the site through which we sell merchandise, the mix of product categories sold, the number of units in each order, the percentage of sales at full price, and for sales at less than full price, the level of markdowns.

About Revolve Group, Inc.
Revolve Group, Inc. (NYSE: RVLV) is the next-generation fashion retailer for Millennial and Generation Z consumers. As a trusted premium lifestyle brand and a go-to online source for discovery and inspiration, we deliver an engaging customer experience from a vast yet curated offering of apparel, footwear, accessories, beauty and home products. Our dynamic platform connects a deeply engaged community of millions of consumers, thousands of global fashion influencers and more than 1,000 emerging, established and owned brands.

We were founded in 2003 by our co-CEOs, Michael Mente and Mike Karanikolas. We sell merchandise through two complementary segments, REVOLVE and FWRD, that leverage one platform. Through REVOLVE, we offer an assortment of premium apparel, footwear, accessories and beauty products from emerging, established and owned brands. Through FWRD, we offer an assortment of curated and elevated iconic and emerging luxury brands.  For more information, visit www.revolve.com.

Contacts:

Investors:

Erik Randerson, CFA
562.677.9513
[email protected]

Media:

Jennifer Walker
[email protected]       

SOURCE Revolve Group, Inc.