Wayfair’s second quarter was marked by notable sales momentum and a return to operating profitability, prompting a strong positive reaction from the market. Management pointed to a combination of sustained share gains, effective advertising discipline, and operational cost management as major contributors to the quarter’s outperformance relative to Wall Street’s expectations. CEO Niraj Shah highlighted the importance of Wayfair’s flexible supplier network and the company’s ability to maintain pricing consistency, even as broader market conditions remained largely flat. He added, “Our inventory-light model gives us unmatched flexibility with our global network of more than 20,000 suppliers offering over 30 million products.”

Is now the time to buy W? Find out in our full research report (it’s free).

While we enjoy listening to the management's commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls are the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention.

Our Top 5 Analyst Questions From Wayfair’s Q2 Earnings Call

• Christopher Horvers (JPMorgan) asked how Wayfair’s share gains compared with overall market trends and whether demand was pulled forward by tariff concerns. CEO Niraj Shah responded that share gains were structural, not driven by temporary tariff effects, and that the broader market remained flat.
• Peter Keith (Piper Sandler) questioned whether current contribution margin levels represented a new normal. CFO Kate Gulliver stated that improved margins reflected years of cost discipline and were expected to be sustainable as the business scales.
• David Bellinger (Mizuho) asked about AI-driven customer features and product discovery. CEO Niraj Shah explained that generative AI is being integrated across search, recommendations, and new app features, with further enhancements planned.
• Oliver Wintermantel (Evercore ISI) requested insight into order trends from new versus repeat customers. Gulliver noted new order growth was strong, but repeat business also remained solid, contributing to overall share gains.
• Brian Nagel (Oppenheimer) probed what specific levers drove the acceleration in sales and margin improvement. Management emphasized a combination of structural business initiatives and advertising optimization, rather than one-time events.

Catalysts in Upcoming Quarters

In upcoming quarters, the StockStory team will watch (1) the continued scaling and customer adoption of the Wayfair Rewards program, (2) expansion and performance of new physical retail locations in major metro areas, and (3) progress in multichannel logistics offerings and their impact on supplier participation. We will also monitor the rollout of new AI-powered shopping features and management’s ability to sustain contribution margin improvements.

Wayfair currently trades at $74.70, up from $65.22 just before the earnings. In the wake of this quarter, is it a buy or sell? The answer lies in our full research report (it’s free).

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