Weight Watchers International shares fell after the company reported a decline in the number of subscribers despite quarterly earnings that beat analysts’ expectations on Monday.
For the second quarter, Weight Watchers said it had 4.5 million subscribers, down from 4.6 million in the previous quarter. Despite the decline, Weight Watchers still saw 27.6 percent year-over-year subscriber growth.
Shares of Weight Watchers fell as much as 7 percent in after-hours trading. The stock was last seen just 3 percent below its closing price.
Here’s how the company did on the top and bottom line compared with what Wall Street expected:
- Earnings: $1.01 per share vs. 88 cents per share forecast by Thomson Reuters
- Revenue: $409.7 million vs. $409.5 million forecast by Thomson Reuters
In the year-ago quarter, the company reported earnings of 67 cents per share on revenue of $341.7 million. That revenue figure represents a growth of nearly 20 percent year over year.
The weight-loss company raised their full-year guidance and now expects earnings between $3.10 and $3.25 per share. Weight Watchers previously said it expected full-year earnings between $3.00 and $3.20 per share.
Shares have skyrocketed over 175 percent year over year, boosted by media mogul Oprah Winfrey’s promotional deal with the company, which lasts through October 2020. Winfrey, who sits on Weight Watchers’ board of directors, owns about 8 percent of its stock. Shares of the company have risen more than 1,100 percent since her investment was announced in October 2015.
According to J.P. Morgan analyst Christine Brathwaite, the weight-loss company could see continued “outsized” growth as the company adds more celebrities, such as DJ Khaled, who joined as an ambassador in January 2018.
Last spring, Weight Watchers announced it would launch its own line of meal kits, entering the competitive space with other providers such as Blue Apron. The campaign is part of the company’s push to become a healthy lifestyle brand.
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