IRobot Warns of COVID-19 Chip Impact; Stock Down After Q1 Results
IRobot raised 2021 guidance Tuesday even as CEO Colin Angle cautioned on a quarterly call that it's "early in the year." The pandemic “continues to weigh heavily on the macroeconomic landscape and limit our visibility," he said. IRobot is challenged…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
by the semiconductor shortage, and some component suppliers recently notified it of “potential volume limitations,” Angle said. The company is “grappling with rising costs for raw materials,” including resins that are up 50% in some situations, said Angle in Q&A; costs are higher in freight and transportation, too. Elevated costs are expected to extend through the next several months, reverting “over time” to “more normalized levels as market forces adjust.” Others also are grappling with chip issues (see 2104230052). On the “huge shift” to e-commerce during the coronavirus crisis, the executive said trends continued in Q1, with 56% of revenue coming from digital sales vs. 40% in 2019. He believes brick-and-mortar sales could “come back a bit” but not to 2019 levels when the split was 60/40. Q1 revenue grew 58% to $303.3 million. The stock closed 7.5% lower at $96.17. See Q1 materials here.