Overstock.com saw its share price jump 25 percent this week after an impressive Q2 earnings report.
While Wall Street analysts predicted a negative quarter for the online home goods retailer, Overstock stunned investors on Thursday when it revealed that it brought in a record-high $782.5 million in net revenue.
"It was really gratifying to see new customers finding us, experiencing our website, and coming back and purchasing more," Jonathan Johnson, CEO of Overstock.com, told Cheddar Friday.
Johnson credits stay-at-home mandates during the second quarter for his company's success, as workers filled out home offices and residents decided to transform their backyards into private outdoor oases.
"There were a lot of people that were eager to get to the outside of their home in their yards and make them lovely with Overstock purchases," Johnson said. "We did see an early tick up in patio furniture — things for the outdoors like swing sets, above-ground pools."
While Johnson thinks predicting what the pandemic will bring next is a near-impossible task, he still believes a high level of demand can be sustained for the foreseeable future.
"I'm not sure consumers are ready to storm the stores again. I think online's going to be particularly strong," Johnson said, adding that Overstock intended to live up to its name. "Our partners are bringing in product as we speak."
An independent watchdog within the IRS reports that while taxpayer services have vastly improved, the agency is still too slow to resolve identity theft cases. And National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins says those delays are “unconscionable.” Erin M. Collins said in the report released Wednesday that overall the 2024 filing season went smoothly, though IRS delays in resolving identity theft victim assistance cases are worsening. It took nearly 19 months to resolve self-reported identity theft cases as of January, and Wednesday's report states that now it takes 22 months to resolve these cases.
Amazon.com Inc. surpassed $2 trillion in market value for the first time in afternoon trading on Wednesday. The push higher for Amazon’s stock market valuation comes a little more than a week after Nvidia hit $3 trillion and briefly became the most valuable company on Wall Street. Nvidia’s chips are used to power many AI application and its valuation has soared as a result. Amazon has also been making big investments in AI as global interest has grown in the technology. Most of the company’s focus has been on business-focused products.
Climate change doesn’t just mean more extreme weather – it also leads to billions of dollars in lost productivity, tourism, and stresses infrastructure.
