• QxH Revenue: Decreased 6% due to lower unit volume and shipping and handling revenue.

• Home Revenue: Decreased 3%, driven by lower demand for culinary and finished products.

• Apparel Revenue: Declined 3%, despite gains in certain brands.

• Fashion Fee Revenue: Decreased 4%, driven by lower demand for Bath & Body.

• Electronics Revenue: Decreased 16%, primarily due to weaker computer sales.

• Adjusted EBITDA Margin: Dropped by 40 basis points.

• Gross Margin: Declined 10 basis points, with higher product margins mitigated by fulfillment pressure.

• Fulfillment Expenses: Increased approximately 35 basis points due to higher wage and freight rates.

• Operating Expenses: Decreased 6% due to lower commissions.

• SG&A Expenses: Reduced by 4% but unfavorable by 35 basis points due to deleveraging of administrative costs and increased marketing expense.

• QVC International Revenue: Decreased 1%, with a 3% decrease in average selling price.

• QVC International Adjusted EBITDA: Decreased 9%, with a margin contraction of 95 basis points.

• Cornerstone Revenue: Declined 12% due to soft demand across home brands.

• Cornerstone Gross Margin: Expanded 290 basis points due to lower supply chain costs.

• Free Cash Flow: $102 million for the first nine months of 2024, compared to $79 million last year.

• Net Debt: $4.7 billion as of September 30, 2024.

• Leverage Ratio: 3.1 times, compared to a maximum covenant threshold of 4.5 times.

• Warning! GuruFocus has detected 5 Warning Signs with QRTEA.

Release Date: November 07, 2024

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Positive Points

• Qurate Retail Inc (NASDAQ:QRTEA) has teamed up with celebrity chef Carla Hall and other notable figures to enhance brand building and customer engagement.

• The company experienced strong demand for certain brands and products, including leather jackets, e-bikes, and beauty devices.

• QVC's streaming business is seeing strong momentum with double-digit growth in revenue, total minutes viewed, and monthly average users.

• Qurate Retail Inc (NASDAQ:QRTEA) has implemented cost efficiencies, resulting in a more profitable and nimble organization.

• The company successfully extended its debt maturity profile by tendering 89% of its 2027 and 2028 notes for newly issued 2029 notes, improving its credit profile.

Negative Points

• Qurate Retail Inc (NASDAQ:QRTEA) reported a 6% decrease in QxH revenue due to lower unit volume and shipping and handling revenue.

• The apparel business experienced lower sales, and electronics sales decreased by 16%, primarily due to weaker computer sales.

• QVC International's adjusted EBITDA declined due to higher fulfillment costs and lower product margins.

• Cornerstone's revenue declined by 12% due to low demand and challenges in the housing sector.

• The company is facing challenges from cord-cutting, impacting its traditional viewership and necessitating a shift to new platforms.