Wayfair (W) 10-K2022 FY Annual report

Wayfair is one of the world's largest online destinations for the home. Through our e-commerce platform, we offer customers visually inspired browsing, compelling merchandising, easy product discovery and attractive prices for over 40 million products from over 20 thousand suppliers. We are focused on bringing our customers an experience that is at the forefront of shopping for the home online. Wayfair customers span a wide range of demographics, with annual household income ranging from $25,000 to over $250,000, and also include business professionals. We have built one of the largest online selections of furniture, décor, housewares and home improvement products in order to appeal to our customers’ different tastes, styles, purchasing goals and budgets when shopping for their home. We are able to offer this vast selection of products because we hold minimal inventory. We specialize in the home category and this has enabled us to build a shopping experience and logistics infrastructure that is tailored to the unique characteristics of our market.

The delivery experience and overall customer service we offer our shoppers are central to our business. The majority of our products are shipped to customers directly from our suppliers with an increasing proportion flowing through our own logistics network. We have invested considerably in our logistics network and leverage these capabilities to improve the experience for both customers and suppliers. This network consists of CastleGate and the Wayfair Delivery Network (“WDN”). We also offer inbound services via CastleGate Forwarding (“CGF”). Our CastleGate facilities enable suppliers to forward-position their inventory in our warehouses, allowing us to offer faster delivery. Through WDN, we can directly manage large parcel deliveries via consolidation centers, cross docks and last mile delivery facilities, which, alongside CastleGate, enables us to speed up deliveries, decrease our reliance on third parties and undertake efforts to reduce damage. Our CGF services allow our suppliers to unlock efficiencies on inbound logistics, including through Asia-based product consolidation and port-to-door freight forwarding solutions, which ultimately result in faster deliveries to our customers. We believe these investments in logistics capabilities result in an enhanced experience for our customers and suppliers. In addition to logistics, we offer a range of supplemental media services in support of a seamless selling experience for suppliers. We also believe providing superior customer service is key to delighting our customers. Our customer service locations are staffed with over 4,200 highly-trained sales and service employees located in the United States (“U.S.”) and Europe.

Our co-founders are lifetime tech innovators who have worked together in the commercial Internet sector since 1995. As engineers themselves, they have created a company culture deeply rooted in technology and data, and their significant equity ownership in Wayfair has informed their leadership and allowed them to take a long-term view when building the company.

As used herein, “Wayfair,” “the company,” “we,” “us,” “our” and similar terms refer to Wayfair Inc. and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

The home goods market is large and characterized by specific consumer trends, structural challenges and market dynamics that are shaping the future of our industry.

We estimate that the annual U.S. market for home goods is over $450 billion, of which, by our estimate, more than a fifth is sold online. According to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau, there are more than 100 million households in the U.S. with annual incomes over $25,000. Moreover, we believe there are more than 200 million individuals between the ages of 20 and 70 in the U.S., many of whom are accustomed to purchasing goods online. As younger generations age, start new families and move into new homes, we expect online sales of home goods to increase. In addition, we believe the online home goods market will further grow as older generations of consumers become increasingly comfortable purchasing online. Including our presence in Canada and Western Europe, we believe our total addressable market is more than $800 billion.

We offer a broad selection and choice. We have one of the largest online selections of furniture, décor, housewares and home improvement products, with over 40 million products from over 20 thousand suppliers. We have built a portfolio of over one hundred house brands, which offer curated brand experience, making it easier for customers to discover styles, products and price points that appeal to them.

We support our customers' shopping journey from start to finish through everything from financing solutions to customer support. Our private label and co-branded credit cards build loyalty and encourage repeat shopping with cash back rewards. Superior customer service is a core part of the experience we offer shoppers. Our customer service organization has over 4,200 employees who help consumers navigate our sites, answer questions and complete orders, as well as specialists focused on specific product classes. This team helps us build trust with consumers, build our brand awareness, enhance our reputation and drive sales.

We give suppliers cost-effective access to our large customer base. We sell products from over 20 thousand suppliers, many of which are small, family-run operations without well-known product brands and without easy retail access to a large customer base. We provide our suppliers with access to our large customer base, with 22.1 million active customers over the last twelve months, enabling our suppliers to increase their sales and access the growing e-commerce market.

Our logistics infrastructure allows us to ship directly to our customers from our suppliers or from our CastleGate warehouses. This fulfillment network is a key component of our custom-built and seamlessly integrated technology and operational platform.

Each of our customers has a different taste, style, purchasing goal and budget when shopping for her home. To help her find the right products for her home, we offer a family of sites, each with a unique brand identity that offers a tailored shopping experience and rich product selection to a different target audience.

Wayfair represents a significant majority of our net revenue and is currently the only one of our sites that also operates internationally, operating as Wayfair.ca in Canada, Wayfair.co.uk in the United Kingdom, Wayfair.de in Germany and Wayfair.ie in Ireland.

We have custom-built large portions of our technology and operational platform to deliver the best experience for both our customers and suppliers. Our success has been built on a culture of data-driven decision-making, operational discipline and an unwavering focus on the customer. We believe that our internal control of our technology systems, which gives us the ability to update them often, is a competitive advantage.

Our team of engineers and data scientists has built a full set of technology solutions specific to the home goods market. Our storefront consists of a large set of tools and systems with which our customers directly interact, that are specifically tuned for shopping the home goods category by mixing lifestyle imagery with easy-to-use navigation tools and personalization features designed to increase customer conversion. We have designed operations software to deliver the reliable and consistent experience consumers desire, with proprietary software enhancing our performance in areas such as integration with our suppliers, our warehouse and logistics network and our customer service operation. Much of our advertising technology was internally developed, including campaign management and bidding algorithms for online advertising. This allows us to leverage our internal data and target customers efficiently across various channels. We also partner selectively with marketing partners where we find solutions that meet our marketing objectives and deliver a strong return on investment.

Much of the underlying infrastructure for storefront, operations and advertising technology is common across all of our sites and countries. We have transitioned most of our data storage and processing systems from our physical data centers to a cloud-based solution.

We use a variety of marketing and advertising efforts to drive customer engagement across all of our channels, strengthen and reinforce brand and product awareness, as well as attract new customers and encourage repeat purchases from existing customers. Our paid advertising efforts consist primarily of online channels, including search engine marketing, display advertising and paid social media, and to a lesser extent direct mail and television advertisements. Our non-paid advertising efforts include search engine optimization, non-paid social media, mobile “push” notifications and email. Upon acquiring a

Our logistics network was built specifically for the home category, where items can be bulky, heavy and prone to damage. Our primary method of fulfillment is a drop-ship network where integration into our suppliers' back-end technology infrastructure allows us to process an order and send the information directly to a supplier's warehouse. We arrange for shipment from the loading dock of the supplier's warehouse to the customer's home. Depending on the size of the package, the delivery is made either through carriers such as FedEx, UPS, DHL, the U.S. Postal Service or third-party line haul trucking companies and third-party last mile home delivery agents.

We have also been growing the percentage of our customer orders that are shipped from our CastleGate warehouses over the last several years. This is facilitated by our CastleGate Forwarding services, offering inbound freight, drayage and ocean services for suppliers sending products from Asia with direct delivery to CastleGate locations. The majority of large parcel items are delivered to the customer through our Wayfair Delivery Network, which includes consolidation centers, cross docks and last mile delivery facilities. For smaller items, we partner with carriers to handle the delivery to the customer. We believe that our proprietary logistics network has and will continue to help drive incremental sales by delighting our customers with faster delivery times and a better home delivery experience. Over time we believe this network will also lower our costs per order by reducing damage rates and leveraging economies of scale in transportation.

Our customer service team consists of over 4,200 highly-trained sales and service employees located across North America and Europe who are available to assist our customers with sales and service via phone, email or online chat. Providing our customers with superior customer service is one of our key values. As part of our commitment to providing superior customer service, our sales and service employees receive extensive training as well as competitive compensation and benefit packages. Our customer service team consists of employees focused on general sales and service matters, as well as specialists who have deeper expertise and training in select areas of our catalog, such as lighting, flooring and upholstery.

Our goal is to further increase our leadership in the home goods market by pursuing the following key strategies:

The market for online home goods and furniture is highly competitive, fragmented and rapidly changing. While we are primarily focused on the mass market, we compete across all segments of the home goods market. Our competition includes furniture stores, big box retailers, department stores, specialty retailers and online retailers and marketplaces in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and Ireland, including:

We believe that the primary competitive factors in the mass market are vast selection, visually inspiring browsing, compelling merchandising, ease of product discovery, price, convenience, reliability, speed of fulfillment and customer service. We believe our technological and operational expertise allows us to provide our customers with a vast selection of goods, attractive price points, reliable and timely fulfillment, plus superior customer service and that the combination of these capabilities is what provides us with a sustainable competitive advantage.

At Wayfair, we believe strongly in our people. Supporting our employees has always been central to our work and we believe that it is important that all employees feel welcome and are able to bring their full selves to work every day.

We believe we have a good relationship with our employees, which includes 15,745 full-time equivalent employees as of December 31, 2022. Our reported headcount includes a substantial majority of the approximately 1,750 employees impacted by the workforce reduction we announced in January 2023, who will no longer be reflected in our headcount by the end of the first quarter of 2023. Additionally, we rely on independent contractors and temporary personnel to supplement our workforce, primarily in our logistics network. None of our employees are represented by a labor union or covered by a collective bargaining agreement.

Wayfair has a dedicated Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (“DEI”) team that serves as our internal compass in promoting a global community, ensuring an inclusive culture and growing market penetration through innovation that only a sense of belonging across a diverse workforce can provide.

Through cross-functional partnerships, the DEI team creates the strategy and identifies initiatives to embed a lens of inclusivity into all aspects of the business with a keen focus on increasing diverse representation internally and externally. We have worked to include DEI best practices into several parts of the employee lifecycle, including hiring, performance management and career and leadership development. In addition to threading DEI through the employee lifecycle, we have partnered with groups across the business to leverage DEI principles in support of our broader company goals –– not only for our people, but for our customers, our suppliers and our partners.

Wayfair’s overall compensation program is structured to attract, motivate and retain highly qualified talent by paying them competitively and equitably, including offering market-competitive salaries, equity and benefits. Our full-time employees are eligible to receive, subject to the satisfaction of certain eligibility requirements, our comprehensive benefits package including life and health (medical, dental and vision) insurance, a 401(k) retirement plan, where we provide matching contributions competitive with those provided by our peers, paid parental leave, paid time off, and a discount off of purchases made through our family of sites.

As a company with a global business, we are continuing to closely monitor macroeconomic impacts on our business, results of operations and financial results. Our focus remains on promoting the health, safety and financial security of our employees and serving our customers.

We are also closely monitoring the recent volatility in the global markets and the rise in inflation and interest rates. These developments could continue to negatively impact global economic activity and consumer behavior, which may adversely affect our business and results of operations. While it is difficult to predict all of the impacts these global economic events, including rising inflation and interest rates, will have on our business and to predict consumer spending in the near term, we believe the long-term opportunity that we see for shopping for the home online remains unchanged.

Our business is affected by seasonality, which historically has resulted in higher sales volume during our fourth quarter, which ends December 31.

We believe our intellectual property, including any trademarks, service marks, copyrights, domain names, patents, trade dress, trade secrets and proprietary technologies, is an important part of our business. We seek to protect our intellectual property by relying on federal, state and common law rights in the United States and other countries, as well as contractual restrictions. We generally enter into confidentiality and assignment of invention assignment agreements with employees and certain contractors and confidentiality agreements with other third parties, such as suppliers, in order to limit access to, and disclosure and use of, our confidential information and proprietary technology. In addition to these contractual arrangements, we also rely on a combination of trademarks, trade dress, domain names, copyrights, trade secrets and patents to help protect our other intellectual property.

We began operating as Smart Tech Toys, Inc., a Massachusetts corporation, in May 2002 and changed our name to CSN Stores, Inc. in February 2003. From 2002 through 2011, the company was bootstrapped by our co-founders and operated as hundreds of niche websites, such as bedroomfurniture.com and allbarstools.com. In March 2008, we formed, and contributed all of the assets and liabilities of CSN Stores, Inc. to a subsidiary, CSN Stores LLC, and we continued operating our business through this Delaware limited liability company. In late 2011, we made the strategic decision to close and permanently redirect over 240 of our niche websites into Wayfair.com. As part of that shift, we changed the name of CSN Stores, Inc. to SK Retail, Inc. and changed our name from CSN Stores LLC to Wayfair LLC. In connection with our initial public offering, we completed a corporate reorganization, as a result of which Wayfair Inc. was formed to be a holding company with no material assets other than 100% of the equity interests in Wayfair LLC and SK Retail, Inc.

We encourage investors to use our investor relations website, investor.wayfair.com, to find information about us. We promptly make available on this website, free of charge, the reports that we file or furnish with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), as well as corporate governance information (including our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics). We file annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, proxy and information statements

Uncertainties in global economic conditions that are beyond our control have in the past impacted our business and may in the future materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and stock price. These adverse economic conditions include inflation, slower growth or recession, new or increased tariffs and other, changes to fiscal and monetary policy, higher interest rates, high unemployment, decreased consumer confidence in the economy, armed hostilities, such as the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, conditions affecting the retail environment for products we sell, and other matters that influence consumer spending and preferences.

A downturn in the economic environment can also lead to financial instability, increased credit and collectability risk on our receivables, the failure of important partners, including suppliers, logistics providers, derivative counterparties and other financial institutions, limitations on our ability to issue new debt, reduced liquidity and declines in the fair value of our financial instruments. These and other economic factors can materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and stock price.

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the global economy, disrupted consumer spending and global supply chains and created significant volatility and disruption of financial markets. The COVID-19 pandemic and the various responses to it globally have created significant volatility, uncertainty and economic disruption. Authorities across the U.S. and the globe have implemented varying degrees of restriction on social and commercial activity. While certain of these restrictions were lifted and phased re-openings occurred in some regions, some restrictions continued through fiscal 2022 in certain regions or to certain extents, and other regions have seen a resurgence of COVID-19 cases resulting in reinstitution or expansion of such measures.

In particular, while we saw increased sales and order activity at times during the COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic significantly disrupted the global supply chain, including many of our suppliers, logistics providers and other partners. Such disruptions, including staffing shortages, raw material and labor inflation, factory closures and production slowdowns, port closures a stoppages and/or disruptions in delivery systems, have and may continue to materially and adversely affect our suppliers’ ability to provide products in a timely manner, or at all, and have and may continue to materially and adversely affect our logistics providers’ ability to distribute products to our customers in a timely manner, or at all. The issues related to the global supply chain may continue into 2023.

The extent of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business will depend on future developments, which remain highly uncertain and difficult to predict, including the duration, severity and sustained geographic spread of the pandemic, additional waves of increased infections, the virulence and spread of different strains of the virus, and the extent to which associated prevention, containment, remediation and treatment efforts, including global vaccination programs and vaccine acceptance, are successful. Additionally, to the extent the COVID-19 pandemic or other outbreaks, epidemics, pandemics or public health crises adversely affects our business, results of operations or financial condition, it may heighten other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section below.

Our historical growth rates may not be sustainable or indicative of future growth. To manage our growth effectively, we must continue to implement our operational plans and strategies, improve and expand our infrastructure of people and information systems and expand, train and manage our employee base. If our new hires perform poorly, if we are unsuccessful in hiring, training, managing and integrating these new employees and staff, or if we are not successful in retaining our existing employees and staff, our business may be harmed. Moreover, beginning in 2022 and continuing in 2023, in an effort to reduce our operational costs and improve our organizational efficiency, we implemented a cost efficiency plan, part of which included an internal restructuring and a workforce reduction. Any reduction in force may yield unintended consequences and costs, such as attrition beyond the intended reduction in force, the distraction of employees, reduced employee morale and adverse effects to our reputation as an employer, which could make it more difficult for us to hire new employees in the future and to retain and motivate key employees, and there is a risk that we may not achieve the anticipated benefits from the reduction in force. We also face significant competition for personnel. Failure to manage our hiring needs effectively or successfully integrate our new hires may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results. Properly managing our growth will also require us to establish consistent policies across regions and functions, and a failure to do so could likewise harm our business. Further, we have a substantial number of hourly employees. While we are at or above current local and federal minimum wage requirements across the U.S, any future local or federal minimum wage increases may increase our labor costs, which may have an adverse effect on our results of operations.

Additionally, the growth of our business places significant demands on our operations, as well as our management and other employees. For example, we typically launch hundreds of promotional events across thousands of products each month on our sites via emails, "push" notifications and personalized displays. These events require us to produce updates of our sites and emails to our customers on a daily basis with different products, photos and text. Any surge in online traffic and orders associated with such promotional activities places increased strain on our operations, including our logistics network, and may cause or exacerbate slowdowns or interruptions. The growth of our business may require significant additional resources to meet these daily requirements, which may not scale in a cost-effective manner or may negatively affect the quality of our sites and customer experience. Further, we have faced and may continue to face a number of challenges to our expansion into physical retail locations, including locating retail space with a cost and geographic profile that will allow us to operate in highly desirable shopping locations, hiring in-store talent and expanding our physical retail operations in a cost-effective manner. We have entered into and may continue to enter into long-term leases before we know whether our physical retail strategy or a particular geography will be successful. We are also required to manage relationships with a growing number of suppliers, customers and other third parties across the world. Our information technology systems and our internal controls and procedures may not be adequate to support future growth of our supplier and employee base.

Our success depends on our ability to acquire and retain customers in a cost-effective manner. In order to expand our customer base, we must appeal to and acquire customers who have historically used other means of commerce to purchase home goods and may prefer alternatives to our offerings, such as traditional brick and mortar retailers, the websites of our competitors or our suppliers' own websites. We have made significant investments related to customer acquisition and expect to continue to spend significant amounts to acquire additional customers and to reactivate prior customers. Our paid advertising efforts consist of television advertising, direct mail, catalog and print advertising, and online channel advertising, including display advertising, paid search advertising, social media advertising, search engine optimization and comparison shopping engine advertising. These efforts are expensive and may not result in the cost-effective acquisition of customers. Our marketing expenses have varied from period to period, and we expect this trend to continue as we test new channels and refine our marketing strategies. We may increase or decrease our marketing spend within a period, based on the degree of our achievement of intended results, which may result in increased or decreased customer engagement in any given period. We cannot assure you that the net profit from new or returning customers we acquire will ultimately exceed the cost of acquiring those customers. Additionally, actions by third parties to block or impose restrictions on the delivery of certain advertisements could also adversely impact our business. If we fail to deliver a quality shopping experience, or if consumers do not perceive the products we offer to be of high value and quality, we may not be able to acquire new customers or retain existing customers. If we are unable to acquire new customers or reactivate prior customers who purchase products in numbers sufficient to grow our business, we may not be able to generate the scale necessary to drive beneficial network effects with our suppliers or efficiencies in our logistics network, our net revenue may decrease, and our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected.

We also utilize non-paid advertising. Our non-paid advertising efforts include search engine optimization, non-paid social media, mobile "push" notifications and email. We obtain a significant amount of traffic via search engines and, therefore, rely on search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo!. Although we employ search engine optimization and search engine marketing strategies, our ability to maintain and increase the number of visitors directed to our website and application is not entirely within our control. Search engines frequently update and change the logic that determines the placement and display of results of a user's search, such that the purchased or algorithmic placement of links to our sites can be negatively affected. Moreover, a search engine could, for competitive or other purposes, alter its search algorithms or results, causing our sites to place lower in search query results. A major search engine could change its algorithms in a manner that negatively affects our paid or non-paid search ranking, and competitive dynamics could impact the effectiveness of search engine marketing or search engine optimization. We also obtain a significant amount of traffic via social networking websites or other channels used by our current and prospective customers. As e-commerce and social networking continue to rapidly evolve, we must continue to establish relationships with these channels and may be unable to develop or maintain these relationships on acceptable terms. If we are unable to cost-effectively drive traffic to our sites, our ability to acquire new customers, reactivate prior customers or retain our existing customers and our financial condition would suffer.

Further, some of our new customers originate from word of mouth or other non-paid referrals from existing customers. If our efforts to satisfy our existing customers are not successful, we may not be able to acquire new customers or reactivate prior customers through these referrals, which may adversely affect how we continue to grow our business, or may require us to incur significantly higher marketing expenses in order to acquire new customers.

Our ability to grow our business depends on our ability to retain our existing customer base and generate increased net revenue and repeat purchases from this customer base and maintain high levels of customer engagement. To do this, we must continue to provide our customers and potential customers with a unified, convenient, efficient and differentiated shopping experience by:

If we fail to increase net revenue per active customer, generate repeat purchases or maintain high levels of customer engagement, our growth prospects, operating results and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.

We have faced and may face price competition in the future. In addition, competitors with whom we compete, or who can obtain better pricing, more favorable contractual terms and conditions, or more favorable allocations of products during periods of limited supply may be able to offer lower prices than we are able to offer. Our operating results and financial condition may be adversely affected by these and other industry-wide pricing pressures.

Maintaining and enhancing our brands is critical to expanding our base of customers and suppliers. Our ability to maintain and enhance our brands depends largely on our ability to maintain customer confidence in our product and service offerings, including by maintaining product availability and delivering products on time and without damage. If customers do not have a satisfactory shopping experience, they may seek out alternative offerings from our competitors and may not return to our sites as often in the future, or at all. In addition, unfavorable publicity regarding, for example, our practices relating to privacy and data protection, product quality or availability, poor customer service, delivery problems, competitive pressures, litigation or regulatory activity, could seriously harm our reputation. Such negative publicity also could have an adverse effect on the size, engagement and loyalty of our customer base and result in decreased net revenue, which could adversely affect our business and financial results. A significant portion of our customers' brand experience also depends on third parties outside our control, including suppliers, assembly and installation service providers and logistics providers such as FedEx, UPS, DHL, the U.S. Postal Service and other third-party delivery agents. If these third parties do not meet our or our customers' expectations, our brands may suffer irreparable damage.

In addition, maintaining and enhancing our brands may require us to make substantial investments, and these investments may not be successful. If we fail to promote and maintain our brands, or if we incur excessive expenses in this effort, our business, operating results and financial condition may be materially adversely affected. We anticipate that, as our market becomes increasingly competitive, maintaining and enhancing our brands may become increasingly difficult and expensive. Maintaining and enhancing our brands will depend largely on our ability to provide high quality products to our customers and a reliable, trustworthy and profitable sales channel to our suppliers, which we may not be able to do successfully.

Customer complaints or negative publicity about our sites, products, delivery times, company practices, employees, customer data handling and security practices or customer support, especially on blogs, social media websites and our sites, could rapidly and severely diminish consumer use of our sites and consumer and supplier confidence in us and result in harm to our brands and decreased revenue, whether or not the complaints and negative sentiment are based in fact.

New store openings may negatively impact our financial results due to the effect of store opening costs and lower sales during the initial period following opening. New stores, particularly those in new markets, build their brand recognition and customer base over time and, as a result, may have lower margins and incur higher operating expenses. We may not anticipate all of the challenges imposed by the expansion of our operations into new geographic markets. We may not manage our expansion effectively, and our failure to achieve or properly execute our expansion plans could limit our growth or have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our business success depends to some extent on our ability to expand our customer offerings by launching new brands and services and by expanding our existing offerings into new geographic markets from time to time. For example, we launched Wayfair.ie in Ireland in 2022, the Kelly Clarkson Home Collection in 2020 and Hykkon, a European Union flagship brand in 2019. Launching new brands and services or expanding internationally is time-consuming, requires significant amounts of management time and resources, substantial upfront investments, including investments in marketing, information technology and additional personnel. Expanding our brands internationally is particularly challenging because it requires us to gain country-specific knowledge about consumers, regional competitors and local laws, construct catalogs specific to the country, build local logistics capabilities and customize portions of our technology for local markets. We may not be able to generate satisfactory net revenue from these efforts to offset these costs. Any lack of market acceptance of our efforts to launch new brands and services or to expand our existing offerings could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results. Further, as we continue to expand our fulfillment capability or add new businesses with different requirements, our logistics networks become increasingly complex and operating them becomes more challenging. There can be no assurance that we will be able to operate our networks effectively.

We have also entered and may continue to enter new markets or channels in which we have limited or no experience, which may not be successful or appealing to our customers. These activities may present new and difficult technological and logistical challenges, and resulting service disruptions, failures or other quality issues may cause customer dissatisfaction and harm our reputation and brand. Further, our current and potential competitors in new market segments may have greater brand recognition, financial resources, longer operating histories and larger customer bases than we do in these areas. As a result, we may not be successful enough in these newer areas to recoup our investments in them. If this occurs, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected.

A failure to implement our expansion initiatives properly, or the adverse impact of political or economic risks in our current or new international markets, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. In all international markets we face established local and international competitors. In many of these locations, the real estate, labor and employment, transportation and logistics and other operating requirements differ dramatically from those in the locations where we have more experience. Consumer demand and behavior, as well as tastes and purchasing trends, may differ substantially, and as a result, sales of our products may not be successful, or the margins on those sales may not be in line with those we currently anticipate. Our potential inability to anticipate and address differences that we encounter as we expand internationally may divert financial, operational, and managerial resources from our existing operations, which could adversely impact our financial condition and results of operations.

Because we generate net revenue in the local currencies of our international business, our financial results are impacted by fluctuations in currency exchange rates. The results of operations of our international business are exposed to currency exchange rate fluctuations as the financial results of the applicable subsidiaries are translated from the local currency to U.S. dollars for financial reporting purposes. Our consolidated financial statements are denominated in U.S. dollars and as a result fluctuations in currency exchange rates may adversely affect our results of operations or financial results. If the U.S. dollar weakens against foreign currencies, the translation of these foreign currency denominated net revenues or expenses will result in increased U.S. dollar denominated net revenues and expenses. Similarly, if the U.S. dollar strengthens against foreign currencies, particularly the euro, the British pound, or the Canadian dollar, our translation of foreign currency denominated net revenues or expenses will result in lower U.S. dollar denominated net revenues and expenses. Additionally, global events as well as geopolitical developments, including regional conflicts in Europe, fluctuating commodity prices, trade tariff developments and inflation have caused, and may in the future cause, global economic uncertainty and uncertainty about the interest rate environment, which has

We have had a history of losses and negative cash flow and a resulting accumulated deficit of $3.3 billion as of December 31, 2022. We incurred losses in fiscal year 2021 and fiscal year 2022 and we can provide no assurance that we will be profitable in future years or achieve our goal of sustained profitability. Because the market for purchasing home goods online is rapidly evolving and has not yet reached widespread adoption, it is difficult for us to predict our future operating results. As a result, we may incur future losses that may be larger than anticipated. Also, our operating expenses may increase if we continue to expand internationally, add additional physical retail locations, grow our proprietary logistics network, experiment with paid marketing channels, hire more employees and continue to develop new brands, features and services. Furthermore, if our future growth and operating performance fail to meet investor or analyst expectations, or if we have future negative cash flow or losses resulting from our investment in acquiring new customers, our financial condition and stock price could be materially adversely affected.

Our management generally has broad discretion over the use of our cash resources, and you will be relying on the judgment of our management regarding the application of these resources. Our management might not apply these resources in ways that increase the value of your investment.

The satisfactory performance, reliability and availability of our sites, transaction processing systems, logistics network and technology infrastructure are critical to our reputation and our ability to acquire and retain customers, as well as maintain adequate customer service levels.

For example, if our cloud provider fails or suffers an interruption or degradation of services, we could lose customer data and miss order fulfillment deadlines, which could harm our business. Our systems and operations, including our ability to fulfill customer orders through our logistics network, are also vulnerable to damage or interruption from inclement weather, fire, flood, power loss, telecommunications failure, terrorist attacks, labor disputes, cyber-attacks, data loss, acts of war, break-ins, other physical security threats, earthquake and similar events. In the event of a system outage or degradation, the failover to another site or a back-up could take substantial time, during which time our sites could be completely shut down. Further, our back-up services may not effectively process spikes in demand, may process transactions more slowly and may not support all of our sites' functionality.

We use complex proprietary software in our technology infrastructure, which we seek to continually update and improve. We may not always be successful in executing these upgrades and improvements, and the operation of our systems may be subject to failure. In particular, we have in the past and may in the future experience slowdowns or interruptions in some or all of our sites when we are updating them, and new technologies or infrastructures may not be fully integrated with existing systems on a timely basis, or at all. Additionally, we have expanded our use of third-party services, including third-party "cloud" computing services, and as a result our technology infrastructure may be subject to slowdowns or interruptions as a result of integration with such services and/or failures by such third-parties, which are out of our control. Our net revenue depends on the number of visitors who shop on our sites and the volume of orders we can handle. Unavailability of our sites or reduced order fulfillment performance would reduce the volume of goods sold and could also materially adversely affect consumer perception of our brand.

We may experience periodic system interruptions from time to time. In addition, continued growth in our transaction volume, as well as surges in online traffic and orders associated with promotional activities and seasonal trends in our business, place additional demands on our technology platform and could cause or exacerbate slowdowns or interruptions. If there is a substantial increase in the volume of traffic on our sites or the number of orders placed by customers, we may be required to further expand and upgrade our technology, logistics network, transaction processing systems and network infrastructure. There can be no assurance that we will be able to accurately project the rate or timing of increases, if any, in the use of our sites or expand and upgrade our systems and infrastructure to accommodate such increases on a timely basis. In order to remain competitive, we must continue to enhance and improve the responsiveness, functionality and features of our sites, which is particularly challenging given the rapid rate at which new technologies, customer preferences and expectations, and industry

Any slowdown, interruption or performance failure of our sites and the underlying technology and logistics infrastructure could harm our business, reputation and our ability to acquire, retain and serve our customers, which could materially adversely affect our results of operations. Our disaster recovery plan may be inadequate, and our business interruption insurance may not be sufficient to compensate us for the losses that could occur.

Google Cloud provides a distributed computing infrastructure platform for business operations, or what is commonly referred to as a “cloud” computing service. We have architected our software and computer systems so as to also utilize data processing, storage capabilities and other services provided across multiple Google Cloud data centers. Given this, along with our inability to rapidly switch our Google Cloud operations to another cloud provider, any disruption of or interference with our use of Google Cloud or any widespread disruption in Google Cloud itself would impact our operations and our business would be adversely affected. In addition, if hosting costs increase over time, or we are unable to optimize our applications for a cloud environment, or we require more computing or storage capacity, our costs could increase disproportionately. If we are unable to grow our revenues faster than the cost of utilizing the services of Google or similar providers, our business and financial condition could be adversely affected.

We expect competition in e-commerce generally to continue to increase. We believe that our ability to compete successfully depends upon many factors both within and beyond our control, including:

Some of our current competitors have, and potential competitors may have, longer operating histories, greater brand recognition, larger fulfillment infrastructures, greater technical capabilities, faster and less costly shipping, lower prices, significantly greater financial, marketing and other resources and larger customer bases than we do. These factors may allow our competitors to derive greater net revenue and profits from their existing customer base, acquire customers at lower costs or respond more quickly than we can to new or emerging technologies and changes in consumer habits.

If the online market for home goods does not continue to gain acceptance, a significant portion of our business may suffer. Our success will depend, in part, on our ability to attract consumers who have historically purchased home goods through traditional retailers. Furthermore, we may have to incur significantly higher and more sustained advertising and promotional expenditures in order to attract additional online consumers to our sites and convert them into purchasing customers online. Specific factors that could impact consumers' willingness to purchase home goods from us online, especially in markets where we do not have physical stores, include:

In addition, if we do not have a clear and relevant promotional calendar to engage our customers, especially in the current macroeconomic environment, our customers may purchase fewer goods from us or we may have to increase our promotional activities. If the shopping experience we provide does not appeal to consumers or meet the expectations of existing customers, we may not acquire new customers at sustainable rates, acquired customers may not become repeat customers and existing customers' buying patterns and levels may decrease.

Some of the products we sell may expose us to product recalls, product liability and other claims and litigation (including class actions) or regulatory action relating to safety, personal injury, death or environmental or property damage. Some members of our supply chain may not have sufficient resources or insurance to satisfy their product liability and other indemnity and defense obligations. In addition, we are involved in lawsuits, claims and proceedings incident to the ordinary course of our business. Litigation is inherently unpredictable. Any claims against us, whether meritorious or not, could result in costly litigation that could adversely affect our business. Although we maintain liability insurance, we cannot be certain that our coverage will be adequate for liabilities actually incurred or that insurance will continue to be available to us on economically reasonable terms, or at all. If we do not have adequate contractual indemnification or insurance available, such claims could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Even with adequate insurance and indemnification, our reputation as a provider of high-quality products and services could suffer, damaging our reputation and impacting customer loyalty.

We depend on our ability to provide our customers with a wide range of products from qualified suppliers in a timely and efficient manner. Political and economic instability, global or regional adverse conditions, such as military conflicts, pandemics or other disease outbreaks or natural disasters, the financial stability or insolvency of suppliers, suppliers' ability to meet our code of conduct and other business standards, labor problems experienced by suppliers, the availability or cost of raw materials, merchandise quality issues, currency exchange rates, trade tariff developments, transport availability and cost, including import-related taxes, transport security, labor inflation and other factors relating to our suppliers are beyond our control. For example, while we experienced increased sales and order activity at times during the COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic significantly disrupted the global supply chain, including many of our suppliers due to factory closures, raw material and labor inflation and risks of labor shortages, among other things. Any ongoing or future disruptions could materially and adversely affect our suppliers’ ability to provide products in a timely manner, or at all, which may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.

Our agreements with most of our suppliers do not provide for the long-term availability or exclusivity of merchandise or the continuation of particular pricing practices. There can be no assurance that our current suppliers will continue to seek to sell us products on current terms or that we will be able to establish new or otherwise extend current supply relationships to ensure product availability on acceptable commercial terms. Our ability to develop and maintain relationships with reputable suppliers and offer high quality merchandise to our customers is critical to our success. If we are unable to develop and maintain relationships with suppliers that would allow us to offer a sufficient amount and variety of quality merchandise on acceptable commercial terms, our ability to satisfy our customers' needs, and therefore our long-term growth prospects, would be materially adversely affected.

Further, we rely on our suppliers’ representations of product quality, safety and compliance with applicable laws and standards. If our suppliers or other vendors violate our agreements, applicable laws or regulations, or implement practices regarded as unethical, unsafe, or hazardous to the environment, it could damage our reputation and negatively affect our operating results. Further, concerns regarding the safety and quality of products provided by our suppliers could cause our customers to avoid purchasing those products from us, or avoid purchasing products from us altogether, even if the basis for the concern is outside our control. As such, any issue, or perceived issue, regarding the quality and safety of any items we sell, regardless of the cause, could adversely affect our brand, reputation, operations and financial results. We are also subject to risks of fraud from our suppliers. If our suppliers violate our agreements, applicable laws or regulations, or implement fraudulent practices regarding their products, it could harm our business, reputation and brands and our operating results may be negatively affected.

We also are unable to predict whether any of the countries in which our suppliers' products are currently manufactured or may be manufactured in the future will be subject to new, different, or additional trade restrictions imposed by the U.S. or foreign governments or the likelihood, type or effect of any such restrictions. Any event causing a disruption or delay of imports from suppliers with international manufacturing operations, including the imposition of additional import restrictions, restrictions on the transfer of funds or increased tariffs or quotas, could increase the cost or reduce the supply of merchandise available to our customers and materially adversely affect our financial performance as well as our reputation and brand. Furthermore, some or all of our suppliers' foreign operations may be adversely affected by political and financial instability, resulting in the disruption of trade from exporting countries, restrictions on the transfer of funds or other trade disruptions.

In addition, with respect to our business with foreign suppliers, particularly for our international sites, we have in the past and may in the future be affected by changes in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to other foreign currencies. For example, any movement by any other foreign currency against the U.S. dollar may result in higher costs to us for those goods. Declines in foreign currencies and currency exchange rates might negatively affect the profitability and business prospects of one or more of our foreign suppliers. This, in turn, has caused and may in the future cause such foreign suppliers to demand higher prices for merchandise in their effort to offset any lost profits associated with any currency devaluation, delay merchandise shipments, or discontinue selling to us altogether, any of which could ultimately reduce our sales or increase our costs.

We have relationships with over 20 thousand suppliers. Our agreements with suppliers are generally terminable at will by either party upon short notice. If we do not maintain our existing relationships or build new relationships with suppliers on acceptable commercial terms, we may not be able to maintain a broad selection of merchandise, and our business and prospects would suffer severely.

If we are unable to provide our suppliers with a compelling return on investment and an ability to increase their sales, we may be unable to maintain and/or expand our supplier network, which would negatively impact our business.

As part of offering our suppliers’ products for sale on our sites, suppliers are often responsible for conducting a number of traditional retail operations with respect to their respective products, including maintaining inventory, preparing merchandise for shipment to our customers, and, in some cases, delivering products on our behalf. In these instances, we may be unable to ensure that suppliers will perform these services to our or our customers' satisfaction in a manner that provides our customer with a unified brand experience or on commercially reasonable terms. If our customers become dissatisfied with the services provided by our suppliers, our business, reputation and brands could suffer.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires that we maintain effective internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures. In particular, we must perform system and process evaluation, document our controls and perform testing of our key control over financial reporting to allow management and our independent public accounting firm to report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Our testing, or the subsequent testing by our independent public accounting firm, may reveal deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses. If we are not able to comply with the requirements of Section 404 in a timely manner, or if we or our accounting firm identify deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses, the market price of our stock would likely decline and we could be subject to lawsuits, sanctions or investigations by regulatory authorities, including SEC enforcement actions, and we could be required to restate our financial results, any of which would require additional financial and management resources.

We continue to invest in more robust technology and resources to manage those reporting requirements. Implementing the appropriate changes to our internal controls may distract our officers and employees, result in substantial costs and require significant time to complete. Any difficulties or delays in implementing these controls could impact our ability to timely report our financial results. For these reasons, we may encounter difficulties in the timely and accurate reporting of our financial results, which would impact our ability to provide our investors with information in a timely manner. As a result, our investors could lose confidence in our reported financial information, and our stock price could decline.

In addition, any such changes do not guarantee that we will be effective in maintaining the adequacy of our internal controls, and any failure to maintain that adequacy could prevent us from accurately reporting our financial results.

Our financial and operating results are inherently uncertain and difficult to forecast because they generally depend on the volume, timing and type of orders we receive, all of which are uncertain. In particular, we cannot be sure that our historical growth rates, trends and other key performance metrics are meaningful predictors of future growth. In addition, our mix of product offerings is highly variable from day-to-day and quarter-to-quarter. This variability makes it difficult to predict sales and could result in significant fluctuations in our net revenue from period-to-period. Our business is also affected by economic and business conditions globally, including inflation, slower growth or recession, new or increased tariffs and other, changes to fiscal and monetary policy, tighter credit, higher interest rates, high unemployment, consumer confidence in the economy, consumer debt levels, energy prices, and currency fluctuations. As a result, forecasted financial and operating results may differ materially from actual results, which may materially adversely affect our financial condition and stock price. For example, if certain of our assumptions or estimates prove to be wrong, we may spend more than we anticipate acquiring and retaining customers or may generate less net revenue per active customer than anticipated, which could cause us to miss our earnings guidance or negatively impact the results we report, either of which could negatively impact our stock price.

From time to time, we release earnings guidance or other financial guidance in our quarterly and annual earnings conference calls or otherwise, regarding our future performance that represents our management’s estimates as of the date of release. Our guidance includes forward-looking statements based on projections prepared by our management. Projections are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that are based on information known when they are issued, and, while presented with numerical specificity, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, and competitive uncertainties and contingencies relating to our business, many of which are beyond our control and are based upon specific assumptions with respect to future business decisions, some of which will change. Some of those key assumptions include broader macroeconomic conditions and the resulting impact of these factors on future consumer spending patterns and our business. These assumptions are inherently difficult to predict, particularly in the long term.

We generally state possible outcomes as high and low ranges which are intended to provide a sensitivity analysis as variables are changed but are not intended to imply that actual results could not fall outside of the suggested ranges. Furthermore,

Historically, we have experienced surges in online traffic and orders associated with promotional activities and seasonal trends. This activity may place additional demands on our technology systems and logistics network and could cause or exacerbate slowdowns or interruptions. Any such system, site or service interruptions could prevent us from efficiently receiving or fulfilling orders, which may reduce the volume or quality of goods or services we sell and may cause customer dissatisfaction and harm our reputation and brand.

The number of people who access the Internet through devices other than personal computers, including mobile phones, smartphones, smartwatches, handheld computers such as notebooks and tablets, video game consoles and television set-top devices, has increased dramatically in the past few years. We continually upgrade existing technologies and business applications to keep pace with these rapidly changing and continuously evolving technologies, and we may be required to implement new technologies or business applications in the future. The implementation of these upgrades and changes requires significant investments and as new devices, operating systems and platforms are released, it is difficult to predict requirements or the problems we may encounter in developing applications for these alternative devices, operating systems and platforms. Additionally, we may need to devote significant resources to the support and maintenance of such applications once created. Our results of operations may be affected by the timing, effectiveness and costs associated with the successful implementation of any upgrades or changes to our systems and infrastructure to accommodate such alternative devices, operating systems and platforms. Further, in the event that it is more difficult or less compelling for our customers to buy products from us on their mobile or other devices, or if our customers choose not to buy products from us on such devices or to use mobile or other products that do not offer access to our sites or limit the effectiveness of our marketing or other offerings, our customer growth could be harmed and our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. Limitations on the availability of capital and reductions to capital expenditures may delay or prevent deployment of strategic initiatives.

Implementation of our key strategic initiatives, including our technology transformation, expansion into physical retail and the continued expansion of our proprietary logistics network, require significant capital expenditures. A lack of available capital resources due to business performance or other financial commitments could prevent or delay the deployment of innovations in our business. We may reduce capital expenditures significantly or seek additional financing or issue additional securities, which may affect the timing and scope of growth strategy. We cannot be certain that we will be able to obtain new financing on favorable terms, or at all.

We allow our customers to return products, subject to our return policy. If merchandise returns are significant, our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations could be harmed. Further, we modify our policies relating to returns from time to time, which may result in customer dissatisfaction or an increase in the number of product returns. Many of our products are large and require special handling and delivery. From time to time our products are damaged in transit, which can increase return rates and harm our brand.

Our business is highly dependent upon email and other messaging services, including our mobile application, for promoting our sites and products. Daily promotions offered through emails and other messages sent by us, or on our behalf by our vendors, generate a significant portion of our net revenue. We provide daily emails and "push" communications to customers and other visitors informing them of what is available for purchase on our sites that day, and we believe these messages are an important part of our customer experience and operations strategy. If we are unable to successfully deliver emails or other messages to our subscribers, or if subscribers decline to open our emails or other messages, our net revenue and profitability would be materially adversely affected. Changes in how webmail applications organize and prioritize email may also reduce the number of subscribers opening our emails. For example, Google's Gmail service has a feature that organizes incoming emails into categories and such categorization or similar inbox organizational features may result in our emails being delivered in a less prominent location in a subscriber's inbox or viewed as "spam" by our subscribers and may reduce the likelihood of that subscriber opening our emails. Actions by third parties to block, impose restrictions on or charge for the delivery of emails or other messages could also adversely impact our business. From time to time, Internet service providers or other third parties may block bulk email transmissions or otherwise experience technical difficulties that result in our inability to successfully deliver emails or other messages to third parties. Changes in the laws or regulations that limit our ability to send such communications or impose additional requirements upon us in connection with sending such communications would also materially adversely impact our business. Our use of email and other messaging services to send communications about our sites or other matters may also result in legal claims against us, which may cause us increased expenses, and if successful might result in fines and orders with costly reporting and compliance obligations or might limit or prohibit our ability to send emails or other messages. We also rely on social networking messaging services to send communications and to encourage customers to send communications. Changes to the terms of these social networking services to limit promotional communications, any restrictions that would limit our ability or our customers' ability to send communications through their services, disruptions or downtime experienced by these social networking services or decline in the use of or engagement with social networking services by customers and potential customers could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.

We accept payments using a variety of methods, including credit card, debit card, electronic and mobile payment technologies, credit accounts (including promotional financing), gift cards and customer invoicing. We rely on third parties to provide many of these payment methods and payment processing services, including certain Wayfair-branded programs and promotional financing. As we offer new payment options to consumers, we may be subject to additional regulations, compliance requirements and fraud. For certain payment methods, including credit and debit cards, we pay interchange and other fees, which may increase over time and raise our operating costs and lower profitability. We also offer private label and/or co-branded credit card programs, which could adversely affect our operating results if terminated. We are also subject to payment card association operating rules and certification requirements, including the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard and rules governing electronic funds transfers, which could change or be reinterpreted to make it difficult or impossible for us to comply. As our business changes, we may also be subject to different rules under existing standards, which may require new assessments that involve costs above what we currently pay for compliance. If we fail to comply with the rules or requirements of any provider of a payment method we accept, if the volume of fraud in our transactions limits or terminates our rights to use payment methods we currently accept, or if a data breach occurs relating to our payment systems, we may, among other things, be subject to fines or higher transaction fees and may lose, or face restrictions placed upon, our ability to accept credit card and debit card payments from consumers or to facilitate other types of online payments. If any of these events were to occur, our business, financial condition and operating results could be materially adversely affected.

We occasionally receive orders placed with fraudulent credit card data. We have in the past, and may in the future, suffer losses as a result of orders placed with fraudulent credit card data even if the associated financial institution approved payment of the orders. Under current credit card practices, we may be liable for fraudulent credit card transactions. We have in the past, and may in the future also suffer losses from other online transaction fraud, including fraudulent returns. If we are unable to detect or control credit card or transaction fraud, our liability for these transactions could harm our business, financial condition and operating results.

We believe our success has depended, and continues to depend, on the efforts and talents of Niraj Shah, one of our co-founders, co-chairman of the board of directors (the "Board") and our Chief Executive Officer, Steven Conine, one of our co-founders and co-chairman of the Board, and the other members of our senior management team. The loss of any of our senior management or other key employees could materially harm our business.

The market for such positions in the Boston area and other cities in which we operate is competitive. Qualified individuals are in high demand, and we may incur significant costs to attract them. Our inability to recruit and develop mid-level managers could materially adversely affect our ability to execute our business plan, and we may not be able to find adequate replacements, particularly in light of high attrition rates in some regions where we have operations. These risks to attracting and retaining the necessary talent may be exacerbated by recent labor constraints and inflationary pressures on employee wages and benefits. All of our officers and other U.S. employees are at-will employees, meaning that they may terminate their employment relationship with us at any time, and their knowledge of our business and industry would be extremely difficult to replace. We use equity awards to attract talented employees. If the value or liquidity of our common stock declines significantly and remains depressed, that may prevent us from recruiting and retaining qualified employees. If we do not succeed in attracting well-qualified employees or retaining and motivating existing employees, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected.

As part of our business strategy, we may acquire other companies, businesses or assets. However, we may not be able to find suitable acquisition candidates, and we may not be able to complete acquisitions on favorable terms, if at all. Acquisitions involve numerous risks, any of which could harm our business, including: difficulties in integrating the technologies, operations, existing contracts and personnel of an acquired company; difficulties in supporting and transitioning customers and suppliers, if any, of an acquired company; diversion of financial and management resources from existing operations or alternative acquisition opportunities; failure to realize the anticipated benefits or synergies of a transaction; failure to identify all of the problems, liabilities or other shortcomings or challenges of an acquired company or technology, including issues related to intellectual property, regulatory compliance practices, liabilities related to data security and privacy of customer data, the acquired company's internal controls over financial reporting, including revenue recognition or other accounting practices; employee or customer issues; risks of entering new markets in which we have limited or no experience; potential loss of senior management or other key employees, customers and suppliers from either our current business or an acquired company's business; inability to generate sufficient net revenue to offset acquisition costs; additional costs or equity dilution associated with funding the acquisition; and possible write-offs or impairment charges relating to acquired businesses, and these liabilities may be greater than the warranty and indemnity limitations we negotiate.

In addition, our investments in properties may not be fully realized. We continually review our operations and facilities in an effort to reduce costs and increase efficiencies. For strategic or other operational reasons, we may decide to consolidate or co-locate certain aspects of our business operations or dispose of one or more of our properties. For example, we have increasingly moved to virtualize certain customer service centers. If we decide to fully or partially vacate a leased property, we may incur significant costs, including facility closing costs, employee separation and retention expenses, lease termination fees, rent expense in excess of sublease income, impairment charges for right-of-use (“ROU”) assets and leasehold improvements and accelerated depreciation of assets. Any of these events may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.

We regard our customer lists, trademarks, domain names, copyrights, patents, trade dress, trade secrets, proprietary technology and similar intellectual property as critical to our success, and we rely on a combination of trademark, copyright and patent law, trade dress, trade secret protection, agreements, and other methods together with the diligence our employees and others to protect our proprietary rights. We might not be able to obtain broad protection in the U.S. or internationally for all of our intellectual property, and we might not be able to obtain effective intellectual property protection in every country in which we sell products or perform services. For example, we are the registrant of marks for our brands in numerous jurisdictions and of the Internet domain name for the websites of Wayfair.com, Wayfair.ca, Wayfair.co.uk, Wayfair.de and Wayfair.ie and our other sites, as well as various related domain names. However, we have not registered our marks or domain names in all major international jurisdictions and may not be able to register or use such domain names in all of the countries in which we currently or intend to conduct business. Further, we might not be able to prevent third parties from registering, using or retaining domain names that interfere with our consumer communications or infringe or otherwise decrease the value of our marks, domain names and other proprietary rights.

The protection of our intellectual property rights may require the expenditure of significant financial, managerial and operational resources. We have in the past and may in the future initiate claims or litigation against others for infringement, misappropriation or violation of our intellectual property rights or proprietary rights or to establish the validity of such rights. Any litigation, whether or not it is resolved in our favor, could result in significant expense to us and divert the efforts of our technical and management personnel, which may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. Moreover, the steps we take to protect our intellectual property may not adequately protect our rights or prevent third parties from infringing or misappropriating our proprietary rights, and we may not be able to broadly enforce all of our trademarks or patents. Any of our patents, marks or other intellectual property rights may be challenged by others or invalidated through administrative process or litigation. Our patent and trademark applications may never be granted. Additionally, the process of obtaining intellectual property protections is expensive and time-consuming, and we may not be able to pursue all necessary or desirable actions at a reasonable cost or in a timely manner. Even if issued, there can be no assurance that these protections will adequately safeguard our intellectual property, as the legal standards relating to the validity, enforceability and scope of protection of patent and other intellectual property rights are uncertain. We also cannot be certain that others will not independently develop or otherwise acquire equivalent or superior technology or intellectual property rights. We may also be exposed to claims from third parties claiming infringement of their intellectual property rights, demanding the release or license of open source software or derivative works that we developed using such software (which could include our proprietary code) or otherwise seeking to enforce the terms of the applicable open source license. These claims could result in litigation and could require us to purchase a costly license, publicly release the affected portions of our source code, be limited in or cease using the implicated software unless and until we can re-engineer such software to avoid infringement or change the use of the implicated open source software.

The e-commerce industry is characterized by vigorous protection and pursuit of intellectual property rights, which has resulted in protracted and expensive litigation for many companies. We are subject to claims and litigation by third parties that we infringe their intellectual property rights, and we expect additional claims and litigation with respect to infringement to occur in the future. The costs of supporting such litigation and disputes are considerable, and there can be no assurances that favorable outcomes will be obtained. As our business expands and the number of competitors in our market increases and overlaps occur, we expect that infringement claims may increase in number and significance. Any claims or proceedings against us, whether meritorious or not, could be time-consuming, result in considerable litigation costs, require significant amounts of management time or result in the diversion of significant operational resources, any of which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.

Legal claims regarding intellectual property rights are subject to inherent uncertainties due to the oftentimes complex issues involved, and we cannot be certain that we will be successful in defending ourselves against such claims. In addition, some of our larger competitors have extensive portfolios of issued patents. Many potential litigants, including patent holding companies, have the ability to dedicate substantially greater resources to enforce their intellectual property rights and to defend claims that may be brought against them. Furthermore, a successful claimant could secure a judgment that requires us to pay substantial damages or prevents us from conducting our business as we have historically done or may desire to do in the future. We might also be required to seek a license and pay royalties for the use of such intellectual property, which may not be available on commercially acceptable terms, or at all. Alternatively, we may be required to develop non-infringing technology or intellectual property, which could require significant effort and expense and may ultimately not be successful.

We have received in the past, and we may receive in the future, communications alleging that certain items posted on or sold through our sites violate third-party copyrights, designs, marks and trade names or other intellectual property rights or other proprietary rights. Brand and content owners and other proprietary rights owners have actively asserted their purported rights against online companies, including Wayfair. In addition to litigation from rights owners, we may be subject to regulatory, civil or criminal proceedings and penalties if governmental authorities believe we have aided and abetted in the sale of counterfeit or infringing products.

Such claims, whether or not meritorious, may result in the expenditure of significant financial, managerial and operational resources, injunctions against us or the payment of damages by us. We may need to obtain licenses from third parties who allege that we have violated their rights, but such licenses may not be available on terms acceptable to us, or at all. These risks have been amplified by the increase in third parties whose sole or primary business is to assert such claims.

From time to time, we are subject to litigation or claims that could negatively affect our business operations and financial position. As we have grown, we have seen a rise in the number of litigation matters against us. These matters have included intellectual property claims, employment related litigation, as well as consumer and securities class actions, each of which are typically expensive to defend. Litigation disputes could cause us to incur unforeseen expenses, result in site unavailability, service disruptions and otherwise occupy a significant amount of our management's time and attention, any of which could negatively affect our business operations and financial position. We also from time to time receive inquiries and subpoenas and other types of information requests from government authorities and we may become subject to related claims and other actions related to our business activities. While the ultimate outcome of investigations, inquiries, information requests and related legal proceedings is difficult to predict, such matters can be expensive, time-consuming and distracting, and adverse resolutions or settlements of those matters may result in, among other things, modification of our business practices, reputational harm or costs and significant payments, any of which could negatively affect our business operations and financial position.

In August 2020, the Board authorized a stock repurchase program of up to $700 million of our Class A common stock in the open market, through privately negotiated transactions, or otherwise, including pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan (the “2020 Repurchase Program”). On August 10, 2021, the Board authorized a new $1.0 billion stock repurchase program on the same terms (the “2021 Repurchase Program” together with the 2020 Repurchase Program, the “Repurchase Programs”). Wayfair will begin repurchasing shares under the 2021 Repurchase Program upon the completion of the 2020 Repurchase Program. During the year that ended December 31, 2022, Wayfair repurchased 548,173 shares of Class A common stock under the Repurchase Programs. Although the Board has authorized the Repurchase Programs, the programs do not obligate us to repurchase any specific dollar amount or to acquire any specific number of shares. Even if our Repurchase Programs are fully implemented, we cannot guarantee that the Repurchase Programs will be fully consummated or that the programs will enhance long-term stockholder value. The programs could affect the trading price of our Class A common stock and increase volatility, and any announcement of a termination of either program may result in a decrease in the trading price of our Class A common stock. In addition, the amount, timing, and execution of our Repurchase Programs may fluctuate based on our priorities for the use of cash for other purposes and because of changes in cash flows, tax laws, and the market price of our Class A common stock, and the Repurchase Programs could diminish our cash reserves.

In August 2022, President Joseph R. Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (“IRA”). The IRA includes, among other things, a 1% excise tax on certain stock repurchases. We are currently evaluating the impacts of the excise tax on our Repurchase Programs, however we do not currently expect the new law to have a material impact on our results of operations.

We have the ability to borrow up to $600 million under our senior secured revolving credit facility (the “Revolver”) to finance working capital and provide funds for permitted acquisitions, repurchases of equity interests and other general corporate purposes. The Revolver replaced our previous $200 million senior secured revolving credit facility which was set to mature on February 21, 2022. If we draw down on this facility, our interest expense and principal repayment requirements will increase, which could have an adverse effect on our financial results and our ability to make payments on the Notes. Further, the agreements governing the Revolver contain numerous requirements, including affirmative, negative and financial covenants. As a result of these covenants, our ability to respond to changes in business and economic conditions and engage in beneficial transactions, including to obtain additional financing as needed, may be restricted. Our failure to comply with any of these covenants or to meet any payment obligations under the Revolver could result in an event of default which, if not cured or waived, would result in any amounts outstanding, including any accrued interest and unpaid fees, becoming immediately due and payable. We might not have sufficient working capital or liquidity to satisfy any repayment obligations in the event of an acceleration of those obligations.

Our business may not be able to generate sufficient cash flow from operations, and we can give no assurance that future borrowings will be available to us in amounts sufficient to enable us to pay our indebtedness as such indebtedness matures, including the Notes, and to fund our other liquidity needs. If this occurs, we will need to refinance all or a portion of our indebtedness on or before maturity. Any new or refinanced debt may be subject to substantially higher interest rates and restrictive covenants that could reduce our operational flexibility, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to refinance any of our indebtedness on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. We may need to adopt one or more alternatives, such as reducing or delaying planned expenses and capital expenditures, selling assets, restructuring debt, or obtaining additional equity or debt financing. We may sell Class A common stock, convertible securities and other equity securities in one or more transactions at prices and in a manner as we may determine from time to time. Our convertible notes are and any future issuance of equity or equity-linked securities would be dilutive to holders of our Class A common stock. New investors in such subsequent transactions could gain rights, preferences and privileges senior to those of holders of our Class A common stock or our convertible notes. These alternative strategies may not be implemented on satisfactory terms, if at all. Our ability to refinance our indebtedness or obtain additional financing, or to do so on commercially reasonable terms, may depend on, among other things, our financial condition at the time, our credit rating, restrictions in agreements governing our indebtedness, and other factors, including the condition of the financial markets and the markets in which we compete.

Further, we may from time to time seek to retire, restructure, repurchase or redeem, or otherwise mitigate the equity dilution associated with, our outstanding convertible debt, through cash purchases, stock buybacks of some or all of the shares underlying convertible notes, and/or exchanges for equity or debt, in open-market purchases, privately negotiated transactions or otherwise. Such repurchases, exchanges or liability management exercises, if any, will be upon such terms and at such prices and sizes as we may determine, and will depend on prevailing market conditions, our liquidity requirements, contractual restrictions and other factors. The amounts involved may be material.

Current capital market conditions, including the impact of inflation, have increased borrowing rates and can be expected to significantly increase our cost of capital as compared to prior periods should we seek additional funding. Recent quantitative tightening by the U.S. Federal Reserve, along with other central banks around the world, may further negatively affect our short-term ability or desire to incur debt. Moreover, global capital markets have undergone periods of significant volatility and uncertainty in the past, and there can be no assurance that such financing alternatives will be available to us on favorable terms or at all, should we determine it necessary or advisable to seek additional capital.

If we do not generate sufficient cash flow from operations, and additional borrowings, refinancings or proceeds from equity or debt issuances or asset sales are not available to us, we may not have sufficient cash to enable us to meet all of our obligations, including our obligations under the Revolver or the Notes. Further, our failure to service our existing and future indebtedness or other liabilities or maintain compliance with the financial covenants in our debt agreements could result in default under the related debt agreements or other alternatives that could result in our stockholders losing some or all of their equity investment in us.

If the conditional conversion feature of any series of our Non-Accreting Notes is triggered, holders of such series of Non-Accreting Notes will be entitled to convert the applicable series of Non-Accreting Notes at any time during specified periods at their option. If one or more holders elect to convert their Non-Accreting Notes, unless we elect to satisfy our conversion obligation by delivering solely shares of our Class A common stock (other than paying cash in lieu of delivering any fractional share), we would be required to settle a portion or all of our conversion obligation through the payment of cash, which could adversely affect our liquidity. To the extent we satisfy our conversion obligation of the Non-Accreting Notes by delivering shares of our Class A common, we would be required to deliver a significant number of shares, which would cause dilution to our existing stockholders. In addition, even if holders do not elect to convert their Notes in such circumstances, we could be required under applicable accounting rules to reclassify all or a portion of the outstanding principal of the applicable series of Notes as a current rather than long-term liability, which would result in a material reduction of our net working capital.

We are subject to general business regulations and laws as well as regulations and laws specifically governing the Internet and e-commerce. Existing and future regulations and laws could impede the growth of the Internet, e-commerce or mobile commerce. These regulations and laws may involve taxes, tariffs, privacy and data security, anti-spam, content protection, electronic contracts and communications, consumer protection, Internet neutrality and gift cards. It is not clear how existing laws governing issues such as property ownership, sales and other taxes and consumer privacy apply to the Internet as the vast majority of these laws were adopted prior to the advent of the Internet and do not contemplate or address the unique issues raised by the Internet or e-commerce. It is possible that general business regulations and laws, or those specifically governing the Internet or e-commerce, may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another and may conflict with other rules or our practices. We cannot be sure that our practices have complied, comply or will comply fully with all such laws and regulations. Any failure, or perceived failure, by us to comply with any of these laws or regulations could result in damage to our reputation, a loss in business and proceedings or actions against us by governmental entities or others. Any such proceeding or action could hurt our reputation, force us to spend significant amounts in defense of these proceedings, distract our management, increase our costs of doing business, decrease the use of our sites by consumers and suppliers and may result in the imposition of monetary liability. We may also be contractually liable to indemnify and hold harmless third parties from the costs or consequences of non-compliance with any such laws or regulations. In addition, it is possible that governments of one or more countries may seek to censor content available on our sites or may even attempt to completely block access to our sites. Adverse legal or regulatory developments could substantially harm our business. In particular, in the event that we are restricted, in whole or in part, from operating in one or more countries, our ability to retain or increase our customer base may be adversely affected, and we may not be able to maintain or grow our net revenue and expand our business as anticipated. For instance, in 2022 the U.S. and other countries implemented a series of sanctions against Russia in response to the conflict in Ukraine; U.S. agencies have enhanced trade restrictions and legislation is currently under consideration that would prohibit importation of goods from certain regions. Further, as we enter new market segments or channels or geographical areas and expand the products and services we offer, we may be subject to additional laws and regulatory requirements or prohibited from conducting our business, or certain aspects of it, in certain jurisdictions. We will incur additional costs complying with these additional obligations and any failure or perceived failure to comply would adversely affect our business and reputation.

In addition, there is also uncertainty regarding potential laws, regulations and policies related to Environmental, Social, Governance (“ESG”) and global environmental sustainability matters, including disclosure obligations and reporting on such matters. Changes in the legal or regulatory environment affecting ESG and sustainability disclosure, responsible sourcing, supply chain transparency, or environmental protection, among others, including regulations to limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions, to discourage the use of plastic or to limit or to impose additional costs on commercial water use may result in increased compliance costs for us and our business partners, all of which may negatively impact our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. The expectations related to ESG and sustainability matters are rapidly evolving, and from time to time, we announce certain initiatives and goals, related to these matters. We could fail, or be perceived to fail to act responsibly, in our efforts, or we could fail in accurately reporting our progress on such initiatives and goals. In addition, we could be criticized for the scope of such initiatives or goals. As a result, we could suffer negative publicity and our reputation could be adversely impacted, which in turn could have a negative impact on investor and customer perceptions.

We are subject to the tax laws and regulations of the U.S. and numerous other jurisdictions in which we do business. Many judgments are required in determining our worldwide provision for income taxes and other tax liabilities, and we are regularly under audit by the applicable tax authorities, which may not agree with our tax positions. In addition, our tax liabilities are subject to other significant risks and uncertainties, including those arising from potential changes in laws and regulations in the countries in which we do business, the possibility of adverse determinations with respect to the application of existing laws (in particular with respect to full realization of the incentives contemplated by the Inflation Reduction Act), changes in our business or structure and changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities. Any unfavorable resolution of these and other uncertainties may have a significant adverse impact on our tax rate and results of operations. If our tax expense were to increase, or if the ultimate determination of our taxes owed is for an amount in excess of amounts previously accrued, our operating results, cash flows and financial condition could be adversely affected.

Future transfers by holders of Class B common stock will generally result in those shares converting on a 1:1 basis to Class A common stock, which will have the effect, over time, of increasing the relative voting power of those holders of Class B common stock who retain their shares in the long-term, which may include our executive officers.

Our stock price is likely to continue to be volatile and subject to significant price and volume fluctuations in response to market and other factors, including the other factors discussed in this Risk Factors section. The sale of substantial amounts of our Class A common stock in the public market, or the perception that these sales might occur, could adversely affect the price of our Class A common stock.

In addition, stock markets have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have affected and continue to affect the market prices of equity securities of many technology companies, including e-commerce companies. Stock prices of many technology companies, including e-commerce companies, have fluctuated in a manner unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. Volatility in our stock price could adversely affect our business and financing opportunities and expose us to litigation. Securities litigation can subject us to substantial costs, divert resources and the attention of management from our business and materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.

We believe our Class A common stock has been the subject of significant short selling efforts by certain market participants. Short sales are transactions in which a market participant sells a security that it does not own. To complete the transaction, the market participant must borrow the security to make delivery to the buyer. The market participant is then obligated to replace the security borrowed by purchasing the security at the market price at the time of required replacement. If the price at the time of replacement is lower than the price at which the security was originally sold by the market participant, then the market participant will realize a gain on the transaction. Thus, it is in the market participant’s interest for the market price of the underlying security to decline as much as possible during the period prior to the time of replacement. Short selling may negatively affect the value of our stock to the detriment of our stockholders.

In addition, market participants with disclosed short positions in our stock have published, and may in the future continue to publish, negative information regarding us that we believe is inaccurate and misleading. We believe that the publication of this negative information may in the future lead to downward pressure on the price of our stock.

In connection with the issuance of each series of Non-Accreting Notes, we entered into capped calls with certain financial institutions, which we refer to as the option counterparties. The capped calls are expected generally to reduce the potential dilution upon conversion of the Notes and/or offset any cash payments we are required to make in excess of the principal amount of

In addition, the option counterparties are financial institutions, and we will be subject to the risk that one or more of the option counterparties may default or otherwise fail to perform, or may exercise certain rights to terminate, their obligations under the capped calls. Our exposure to the credit risk of the option counterparties will not be secured by any collateral. If an option counterparty becomes subject to insolvency proceedings, we will become an unsecured creditor in those proceedings with a claim equal to our exposure at the time under such transaction. Our exposure will depend on many factors but, generally, our exposure will increase if the market price or the volatility of our Class A common stock increases. In addition, upon a default or other failure to perform, or a termination of obligations, by an option counterparty, we may suffer more dilution than we currently anticipate with respect to our Class A common stock. We can provide no assurances as to the financial stability or viability of the option counterparties.

The trading market for our Class A common stock depends in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business, our market and our competitors. We do not have any control over these analysts. If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our shares or change their opinion of our shares, our share price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which could cause our share price or trading volume to decline.

Provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control or changes in our management. Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws include provisions that:

These provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management by making it more difficult for stockholders to replace members of the Board, which is responsible for appointing the members of our management. In addition, because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which generally prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any of a broad range of business combinations with any holder of at least 15% of our capital stock for a period of three years following the date on which the stockholder became a 15% stockholder.

None.

Our Class A common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the symbol “W”.

As of February 13, 2023, there were 224 holders of record of shares of our Class A common stock and 259 holders of record of shares of our Class B common stock. The actual number of stockholders is greater than the number of record holders, and includes stockholders who are beneficial owners, whose shares are held of record by banks, brokers and other financial institutions.

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our capital stock, and we do not currently anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future.

As of December 31, 2022, the approximate dollar value of shares that may yet be purchased under the authorized share repurchase programs is $1.1 billion. There were no repurchases made during the three months ended December 31, 2022.