Shares of Etsy, Inc. (NASDAQ: ETSY), an e-commerce website focused on handmade or vintage items, climbed Thursday after the company announced that it would be revising its seller transaction fee. In light of the changes to the fee structure, Etsy upped its guidance as well, and investors responded positively to the news, sending the shares up more than 28% in early trading.
Starting July 16, the transaction fee charged when a seller makes a sale will rise to 5% from 3.5%, and it will also apply to the cost of shipping. This revised fee structure will enable Etsy to make further investments in marketing to attract buyers, enhance customer support, and drive product innovation.
As a result of these changes to the fee structure, Etsy is revising its 2018 financial guidance. The company now sees gross merchandise sales (GMS) growth in the range of 16%-19%, compared with prior guidance of 16%-18%, and revenue increase in the range of 32%-34%, compared with prior guidance of 22%-24%.
There are consensus estimates calling for $0.44 in EPS and $543.98 million in revenue for the 2018 fiscal full year.
Josh Silverman, Etsy chief executive officer, commented:
Empowering creative entrepreneurs is at the heart of Etsy’s mission to keep commerce human. Our 2 million active sellers have individual business goals and aspirations, and we want to support them no matter where they are on their journey. By listening to the needs of our sellers, we designed our new subscription packages with a combination of tools to help them succeed at each phase of their business life cycle.
Shares of Etsy closed Wednesday at $32.99, with a consensus analyst price target of $31.60 and a 52-week range of $13.42 to $34.22. Following the announcement, the stock climbed $9.27, or 28.1%, to $42.23 in trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market in New York Thursday. More than 7.5 million shares had traded hands as of 10 :13 a.m., more than three times the daily volume.
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