Wix shares plunged 30% in Wall Street trading on Wednesday. The website-building platform provider reported first-quarter revenue of $541.2 million, up 14.3% from the same period last year but slightly below analysts’ expectations of $543.6 million.
Adjusted earnings per share, on a non-GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) basis, came in at 68 cents, well below analysts’ expectations of $1.22 per share. The company attributed the gap to heavy acquisition-related expenses.
Adjusted operating profit, also non-GAAP, was $27.79 million, compared with expectations of $68.67 million. The company again cited significant acquisition-related expenses.
Under GAAP accounting, Wix posted an operating loss of $69.7 million and swung to a negative operating margin of 12.9%, compared with a positive 7% margin in the same quarter last year. Even before Wednesday’s trading, Wix shares had fallen 30% since the start of the year, giving the company a market value of $4.2 billion.
Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.5%, the S&P 500 was flat and the Nasdaq was up 0.3%. The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds was unchanged at 4.47%, alongside slight moves in gold and oil, with Brent at $107.50 a barrel and WTI at $102.50.