At a time when few companies will have positive earnings announcements or guidance to provide, Florida-based pet products e-tailer Chewy ($CHWY) may have good news for the fourth quarter before 2020 kicked off as we round out the first-quarter earnings season. That's what investors are expecting - shares have soared 25% in an otherwise dismal 2020 for investors.
Our first chart tracks job postings at Chewy - which fell during the fourth quarter - but in the time since, rose. As more companies responsible for making deliveries are staffing up to take care of consumers, it's a positive sign for an up-and-coming player in the pet space like Chewy that it still needs more workers. The downside is, that Amazon ($AMZN) is clearly looking to take some of Chewy's market share, by building out a "Pets" focused offering of its own.
Another positive for Chewy is its rising Facebook ($FB) Talking About Count - or how often people are talking about the company on the social network. What's notable is - similar to other brands likely outperforming through the pandemic - Chewy's Talking About Count kept rising last month, a signal it was on consumers' minds as they were cooped up at home.
On top of rising job postings and social engagement, Chewy's rating count in the Google Play Store (that is, where you download and provide ratings of the app) continues to rise, consistently. What's more, its rating in the Google ($GOOG) Play Store is higher than a 4.8, a sign of solid user satisfaction.
The earnings report for Chewy will not cover the pandemic outbreak time period; that won't be for several more months. Analysts tracked by Zacks Investment Research are looking for EPS losses of -$0.17 when the Florida-based pet products retailer announces numbers April 2.
About the Data:
Thinknum tracks companies using the information they post online - jobs, social and web traffic, product sales and app ratings - and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales.
Further Reading:
- Chains like Starbucks switch to "takeout only" to maintain foot traffic - and it's working
- Classic games like Connect 4 and Jenga rise among Amazon's best selling products as more people self-quarantine
- Low-cost bidets hit Amazon top-10 as people seek toilet paper alternatives
