Sonos Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2022 Results

Eddie Lazarus Appointed Chief Financial Officer

Sonos, Inc. (Nasdaq: SONO) today reported fourth quarter and fiscal 2022 results.

Fiscal 2022 Financial Highlights (unaudited)

• Revenue increased 2.1% year-over-year to $1,752.3 million; on a constant-currency basis, revenue increased approximately 4.9% year-over-year
• Gross margin decreased (180) basis points year-over-year to 45.4%
• GAAP net income of $67.4 million compared to $158.6 million last year
  • GAAP diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.49 compared to $1.13 last year
• Non-GAAP net income¹ of $165.9 million compared to $248.3 million last year
  • Non-GAAP diluted EPS¹ of $1.20 compared to $1.77 last year
• Adjusted EBITDA of $226.5 million compared to $278.6 million last year
  • Adjusted EBITDA margin of 12.9% compared to 16.2% last year
• Free cash flow of $(74.5) million. Cash flows (used) in operating activities of $28.3 million

Fourth Quarter 2022 Financial Highlights (unaudited)

• Revenue decreased 12.0% year-over-year to $316.3 million; on a constant-currency basis, revenue decreased approximately 6.6% year-over-year
• Gross margin decreased 720 basis points year-over-year to 39.2%
• GAAP net (loss) of $(64.1) million compared to $(8.7) million last year
  • GAAP diluted (loss) per share of $(0.50) compared to $(0.07) last year
• Non-GAAP net (loss)¹ of $(40.4) million compared to non-GAAP net income of $11.8 million last year
  • Non-GAAP diluted (loss) per share¹ of $(0.32) compared to $0.08 last year
• Adjusted EBITDA of $(25.6) million compared to $17.1 million last year
  • Adjusted EBITDA margin of (8.1%) compared to 4.8% last year
• Free cash flow of $(125.2) million. Cash flows (used) in operating activities of $103.9 million

Notes: ¹ Non-GAAP net income/EPS and non-GAAP net (loss)/(loss) per share exclude stock-based compensation and legal and transaction related fees. See “Use of Non-GAAP Measures” and reconciliations to GAAP measures below.

“The macroeconomic backdrop became significantly more challenging in Fiscal 2022 and I am proud of our team's tremendous efforts to deliver our 17th consecutive year of revenue growth. We grew the team to build on our leadership in existing categories, and pursue four additional categories, to ultimately capture more of the $96 billion global audio market. We were pleased to see trends stabilize in Q4, and head into the holidays with a good early response to our latest product, Sub Mini, and our healthiest in-stock inventory position in three years,” said Patrick Spence, CEO of Sonos.

Mr. Spence continued, “We will remain disciplined as we invest in the year ahead, and will take all necessary steps to protect the health of the business. My conviction in the long-term potential of Sonos has never been stronger. As these headwinds subside, I am confident that we will return to double-digit revenue growth.”

Sonos today announced that Eddie Lazarus, the Company’s interim Chief Financial Officer and Chief Legal Officer, has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer of the Company. A search will commence for a General Counsel who will assume the day-to-day responsibilities of the legal organization, reporting to Mr. Lazarus.

“Eddie has seamlessly transitioned into his expanded role and made an immediate impact on the organization,” said Mr. Spence. “I am confident that under his leadership we will execute on our strategic priorities, drive greater organizational efficiency and make continued progress toward delivering on our long term financial targets.”

Fiscal 2023 Outlook

• Revenue in the range of $1.7 billion to $1.8 billion, representing a decline of -3% to growth of 3% from fiscal 2022, or growth of 1% to 7% on a constant currency basis
• Gross margin in the range of 45.0% to 46.0%
• Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $145 million to $180 million, representing a decline of 36% to 21% from fiscal 2022
• Adjusted EBITDA margin of 8.5% to 10.0%

Fiscal 2022 Company Highlights (unaudited)

Key Metrics:

• Total households increased 11% to 14.0 million in fiscal 2022
• Existing households accounted for 44% of new product registrations in fiscal 2022
• Average number of registered products per household of 2.98 in fiscal 2022 vs 2.95 last year
• Listening hours increased 6% year-over-year to 12.8 billion
• Direct-to-consumer (DTC) revenue decreased 5% and represented 23% of total revenue
• New disclosure: Installer Solutions (IS) revenue increased 28% and represented 21% of total revenue

New Stock Repurchase Program

• As announced in a separate release today, the company’s Board of Directors has authorized a new common stock repurchase program of up to $100 million.
• Under its most recently completed repurchase program, the company repurchased $150 million in stock, representing 6.6 million shares at an average price of $22.80 per share, enabling the company to return capital to shareholders and offset dilution from compensation plans.

Strategic Initiatives

• Expansion of our Ecosystem
  • Mayht - Acquisition Announced April 2022: Mayht is a Netherlands-based company that has invented a new, revolutionary approach to audio transducers. Transducers are the foundational element within speakers that create sound, and Mayht has re-engineered them to enable smaller and lighter form factors while producing exceptional sound.
  • Sonos Voice Control - May 2022: The first voice experience created purely for listening on Sonos. Designed with privacy at its core, Sonos Voice Control is the simplest way to control your music, offering complete command of your Sonos system using only your voice.
  • Sonos Ray - June 2022 - $279 MSRP: Our entry-level, smart soundbar for TV, music and more.
  • Sub Mini - September 2022 - $429 MSRP: The wireless subwoofer that sets a new standard in its category for powerful, balanced bass. Building on the award-winning design of Sub, Sub Mini delivers rich, clear low end in a more compact, cylindrical design.
• Expansion of our Brand
  • LFC delivered TV viewership of over 270M in Season 1/ FY22.
  • ESPN delivered 205M impressions in its first season.
  • Food52, a platform with a large female following, delivered more than 28M impressions by the end of FY22
  • For the launch of Roam Colors, more than 170 advocates in the outdoor, travel and wellness spaces delivered inspiring video content showcasing how they Feel More with Sonos, resulting in more than 70M impressions in FY22
• Responsibility and Innovation
  • Recognized as one of the best places to work for LGBTQ+ equality by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation.
  • Publishing annual Listen Better Report on November 29th, highlighting the work we have done to improve our efforts as a responsible company. In FY22, we advanced our Climate Action Plan by conducting an annual assessment of our greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Won two awards for our product packaging. First-place in 2022 Dieline Awards under the electronics, office, e-commerce, entertainment and self-promo category, and Industrial Designers Society of America IDEA 2022 Jury Chair Award for Sonos Global Packaging System.
  • Won CIO 100 award for “IT in a Box.”

Supplemental Earnings Presentation

The company has posted a supplemental earnings presentation accompanying its fourth quarter and fiscal 2022 results to the Earnings Reports section of its investor relations website at https://investors.sonos.com/reports-and-filings/default.aspx#section=earningsreports.

Conference Call, Webcast and Transcript

The company will host a webcast of its conference call and Q&A related to its fourth quarter and fiscal 2022 results on November 16, 2022, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (2:00 p.m. Pacific Time). Participants may access the live webcast in listen-only mode on the Sonos investor relations website at https://investors.sonos.com/news-and-events/default.aspx.

The conference call may also be accessed by dialing (888) 330-2454 with conference ID 8641747. Participants outside the U.S. can access the call by dialing (240) 789-2714 using the same conference ID.

An archived webcast of the conference call and a transcript of the company’s prepared remarks and Q&A session will also be available at https://investors.sonos.com/reports-and-filings/default.aspx#section=earningsreports following the call.

Use of Non-GAAP Measures

We have provided in this press release financial information that has not been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”), including adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, free cash flow, net income (loss) excluding stock-based compensation and legal and transaction related fees and diluted earnings (loss) per share excluding stock-based compensation and legal and transaction related fees. These non-GAAP financial measures are not based on any standardized methodology prescribed by U.S. GAAP and are not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies. We use these non-GAAP financial measures to evaluate our operating performance and trends and make planning decisions. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures help identify underlying trends in our business that could otherwise be masked by the effect of the expenses and other items that we exclude in these non-GAAP financial measures. Accordingly, we believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results, enhancing the overall understanding of our past performance and future prospects and allowing for greater transparency with respect to a key financial metric used by our management in its financial and operational decision-making. Non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation of, or as an alternative to, measures prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Investors are encouraged to review the reconciliation of these financial measures to their nearest U.S. GAAP financial equivalents provided in the financial statement tables above. We define adjusted EBITDA as net income adjusted to exclude the impact of depreciation, stock-based compensation expense, interest income, interest expense, other income (expense), income taxes and other items that we do not consider representative of our underlying operating performance. We define adjusted EBITDA margin as adjusted EBITDA divided by revenue. We define free cash flow as net cash from operations less purchases of property and equipment and intangible and other assets. We calculate non-GAAP net income (loss) excluding stock-based compensation and legal and transaction related fees as net income (loss) less stock-based compensation and legal and transaction related fees. We calculate non-GAAP diluted earnings (loss) per share excluding stock-based compensation and legal and transaction related fees as net income (loss) less stock-based compensation and legal and transaction related fees divided by our number of shares at fiscal year end. We calculate constant currency growth percentages by translating our prior period financial results using the current period average currency exchange rates and comparing these amounts to our current period reported results. We do not provide a reconciliation of forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures to their comparable GAAP financial measures because we cannot do so without unreasonable effort due to unavailability of information needed to calculate reconciling items and due to the variability, complexity and limited visibility of the adjusting items that would be excluded from the non-GAAP financial measures in future periods. When planning, forecasting and analyzing future periods, we do so primarily on a non-GAAP basis without preparing a GAAP analysis as that would require estimates for items such as stock-based compensation, which is inherently difficult to predict with reasonable accuracy. Stock-based compensation expense is difficult to estimate because it depends on our future hiring and retention needs, as well as the future fair market value of our common stock, all of which are difficult to predict and subject to constant change. In addition, for purposes of setting annual guidance, it would be difficult to quantify stock-based compensation expense for the year with reasonable accuracy in the current quarter. As a result, we do not believe that a GAAP reconciliation would provide meaningful supplemental information about our outlook.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding our outlook for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2023, our long-term outlook, our long-term focus, financial, growth and business strategies and opportunities, growth metrics and targets, our business model, new products, services and partnerships, profitability and gross margins, market growth and our market share, the macroeconomic environment and our ability to weather it, and other factors affecting variability in our financial results. These forward-looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual results due to a variety of factors, including, but not limited to the duration and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and related mitigation efforts on our industry and our supply chain; supply chain challenges, including shipping and logistics challenges, component supply-related challenges and inflationary pressures; our ability to effectively manage inventory levels, particularly during periods of fluctuating component availability; the impact of global economic, market and political events, including the continuing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, foreign currency exchange fluctuations and inflation; changes in consumer income and overall consumer spending as a result of economic or political uncertainty; changes in consumer spending patterns; our ability to successfully introduce new products and services and maintain or expand the success of our existing products; the success of our efforts to expand our direct-to-consumer channel; the success of our financial, growth and business strategies; our ability to meet product demand and manage any product availability delays; and the other risk factors set forth under the caption “Risk Factors” in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended July 2, 2022 and our other filings filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), copies of which are available free of charge at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or upon request from our investor relations department. All forward-looking statements herein reflect our opinions only as of the date of this press release, and we undertake no obligation, and expressly disclaim any obligation, to update forward-looking statements herein in light of new information or future events. Sonos and Sonos product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sonos, Inc. All other product names and services may be trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.

About Sonos

Sonos (Nasdaq: SONO) is one of the world’s leading sound experience brands. As the inventor of multi-room wireless home audio, Sonos’ innovation helps the world listen better by giving people access to the content they love and allowing them to control it however they choose. Known for delivering an unparalleled sound experience, thoughtful home design aesthetic, simplicity of use and an open platform, Sonos makes the breadth of audio content available to anyone. Sonos is headquartered in Santa Barbara, California. Learn more at www.sonos.com.

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