Fitbit Posts Upbeat Q3 Results, Issues Strong Forecast

reported stronger-than-expected results for the third quarter on Monday. The company also announced a follow-on public offering of its common stock. The San Francisco, California-based company reported quarterly net income of $45.8 million, or $0.19 per share, compared to $68.9 million, or $0.34 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding items, the company's adjusted earnings came in at $0.24 per share. Its revenue climbed to $409.3 million from $152.9 million. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.10 per share on revenue of $359.2 million. Gross margin narrowed to 47.9 percent from 54.7 percent. During the quarter, Fitbit sold 4.8 million connected health and fitness devices. At September 30, 2015, the company had $575.5 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, versus $64.0 million at September 30, 2014. "Revenue of $409 million increased 168% year-over-year, exceeding the high end of our guidance, and adjusted EBITDA nearly doubled," said James Park, Fitbit co-founder and CEO. "Fitbit's third quarter results demonstrated the continued rapid growth of the Fitbit platform and our team's ability to execute on the tremendous opportunity we see globally, as we help people reach their health and fitness goals." Fitbit proposed the sale of 7 million shares and certain selling stockholders are also proposing to sell 14 million shares. For the fourth quarter, the company projects adjusted earnings of $0.20 to $0.25 per share, and revenue of $620 million to $650 million. Analysts projected earnings of $0.20 per share on revenue of $581 million. FitBit expects FY15 adjusted earnings of $0.92 to $0.96 per share, on revenue of $1.77 billion to $1.8 billion. Analysts projected earnings of $0.77 per share on revenue of $1.69 billion. Fitbit shares dipped 8.09 percent to $37.50 in the after-hours trading session.