Wix Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2016 Results

• Collections Growth Accelerates to 46% Y/Y in Q4’16, Revenue Accelerates to 48% Y/Y
  
  
• Free Cash Flow was a Record $18.7 million in Q4’16, up 122% Y/Y
  
  
• Delivered First Ever Quarter of Non-GAAP Profitability
  
  
• Grew Premium Subscriptions 39% Y/Y to 2.5 Million
  
  
• Initial 2017 Outlook Highlighted by Robust Top Line Growth and Strong Free Cash Flow

NEW YORK, Feb. 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --  Wix.com Ltd. (Nasdaq:WIX), a leading global software platform for small businesses to operate online, today reported another strong quarter of financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2016.  In addition, the Company provided its initial outlook and expectations for its financial performance in the first quarter and full year 2017. 

“Our focused investment in technology and our superior marketing execution continue to have a meaningful positive impact on our growth and financial results,” said Avishai Abrahami, Co-founder and CEO of Wix. “In the last twelve months, this strategy delivered innovative products such as Wix ADI and the mobile Wix App, as well as growth in our brand and successful marketing execution, highlighted by our Super Bowl LI campaign. This strategic approach will enable us to further extend our technology leadership, acquire subscriptions efficiently and grow our brand globally in 2017 and beyond.”

Lior Shemesh, CFO of Wix, commented, “The re-acceleration in top line growth this quarter was exceptional -- a direct result of the improvement in conversion of registered users to premium subscriptions and higher collections per new subscriptions due to record adoption of our vertical solutions. The stronger than expected inflection to Q4 non-GAAP profitability highlights the flexibility and scalability of our low, fixed-cost model. We expect to deliver continued top line growth and higher free cash flow in 2017 and beyond by further leveraging our investments in technology and marketing.”

Q4 2016 and Full Year 2016 Financial Summary

Q4 2016 Results and Highlights

• Revenue increased 48% to $84.2 million compared to $56.8 million for the fourth quarter last year 
  
  
• Collections increased 46% to $97.7 million compared to $66.9 million for the fourth quarter last year
  
  
• Gross margin on a GAAP basis was 85% compared to 83% in the fourth quarter of last year. Non-GAAP gross profit was 87% of collections compared to 85% in the fourth quarter of last year
  
  
• GAAP operating loss was $4.7 million compared to loss of $10.2 million in the fourth quarter a year ago. On a non-GAAP basis, operating income was $3.9 million compared to an operating loss of $4.4 million in the fourth quarter last year
  
  
• GAAP net loss was $6.2 million, or $(0.14) per share, compared to a net loss of $11.3 million, or $(0.28) per share for the fourth quarter of 2015
  
  
• Non-GAAP net income was $2.7 million, or $0.06 per share, compared to a non-GAAP net loss of $5.4 million, or $(0.13) per share for the fourth quarter of 2015
  
  
• Adjusted EBITDA was $17.9 million compared to $7.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2015
  
  
• Free cash flow was $18.7 million compared to $8.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2015
  
  
• Added 171,000 net premium subscriptions in the period to reach 2.5 million as of December 31, 2016, a 39% increase over the fourth quarter of 2015
  
  
• Added 5.0 million registered users in the fourth quarter. Registered users as of December 31, 2016 were 97.0 million, representing a 27% increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2015

Recent Business Highlights

• Acquired flok to Enhance CRM Technology: Wix acquired flok, a customer loyalty and engagement platform. flok's solutions are designed to increase customer value, generate organic referrals and boost small and medium businesses' online presence and reputation. The move supports Wix's strategic plan to increase its portfolio of business technology solutions providing small and medium businesses easy ways to engage and reward their customers.
   
• Announced Integration with Square: Wix announced a partnership with Square to give Wix merchants and entrepreneurs in North America a new way to transact. The Square integration improves payment processing and allows both online and in-person payments via a mobile device based POS. In addition, a user can create a stunning Wix Store and, with a few clicks, manage its store and its catalog on the Wix App with the ability to accept payments online or in-person with Square.
   
• Launched #DisruptiveWorld campaign around Super Bowl LI:  Wix launched its #DisruptiveWorld campaign in mid-January on YouTube and Facebook Live, the first company to launch a Super Bowl campaign using these live video platforms. The global campaign, starring Jason Statham and Gal Gadot, included numerous videos, user engagement opportunities, contests and social activations and was highlighted by a 30-second spot during the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LI.  According to Visible Measures, Wix videos garnered more views online than any other brand prior to the airing of the Super Bowl. 
   
• Wix Mobile Growth:  Wix users have created over 22 million mobile sites to date, making Wix one of the largest mobile site development platforms globally.
   
• Global E-commerce Platform: E-commerce subscriptions reached 332,000 during the quarter. Growth of e-commerce and transaction-enabled websites continues to exceed overall subscriptions growth, highlighting Wix’s broad reach with small businesses.
   
• Strong Platform Engagement: Continued engagement with the Wix ecosystem is illustrated by 480 million user contacts saved onto the Wix platform by users.  Leveraging Wix’s MyAccount CRM system, business owners track customer activity data, manage relationships and communicate using Wix ShoutOut, Wix’s email marketing solution.

Financial Outlook

The Company is introducing its outlook for the first quarter of 2017 and for full year 2017 as follows: 

• For the first quarter of 2017:
  
  

• For the full year 2017:
  
  

As previously announced, in response to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s May 2016 Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations on non-GAAP financial measures, beginning with our earnings release for Q1 2017, we do not intend to provide guidance for or report adjusted EBITDA.  We will continue to report free cash flow as a key non-GAAP financial measure of our business.  We believe this change will assist investors in evaluating our ongoing performance and increase the comparability of our results with those of our peer companies. Please refer to the Shareholder Update posted on our investor relations website for a reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA to free cash flow.

Conference Call and Webcast Information

Wix.com will host a conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, February 15, 2017 to answer questions about the financial and operational performance of the business during the fourth quarter 2016. The conference call will include a brief statement by management and will focus on answering questions about our results during the quarter. To enhance the Q&A portion of this call, the company has posted a shareholder update, supplemental data sheet and supporting slides to its Investor Relations website at https://investors.wix.com/results.cfm. These materials provide shareholders and analysts with additional detail for analyzing results in advance of the quarterly conference call.

To participate on the live call, analysts and investors should dial 866-393-4306 (US/Canada), 734-385-2616 (International) or 1-809-315-362 (Israel) at least ten minutes prior to the start time of the call.  A telephonic replay of the call will be available through February 22, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. ET by dialing 855-859-2056 (US/Canada) or 404-537-3406 (International) and providing Conference ID: 60437734.

Wix will also offer a live and archived webcast of the conference call, accessible from the “Investor Relations” section of the Company’s website at https://investors.wix.com/.

Upcoming Investor Conferences

Joe Pollaro, General Manager, US, will present at Cantor Fitzgerald’s 4^th Annual Internet & Technology Services Conference in New York on Thursday, February 23, 2017, at 9:50 a.m. EST and at the JMP Securities Technology Conference in San Francisco on Monday, February 27, 2017, at 3:00 p.m. PST.

Both events will be available via live audio webcast and archived on Wix's investor relations website at https://investors.wix.com/. 

About Wix.com Ltd.

Wix.com is a leading global software platform for small businesses to operate online with over 100 million registered users worldwide. Wix was founded on the belief that the Internet should be accessible to everyone to develop, create and contribute. Through free and premium subscriptions, Wix empowers millions of businesses, organizations, professionals and individuals to take their businesses, brands and workflow online. Wix ADI, the Wix Editor and a highly curated App Market enable users to build and manage a fully integrated and dynamic digital presence. Wix's headquarters are in Tel Aviv with offices in Be'er Sheva, San Francisco, New York, Miami, Berlin, Vilnius and Dnepropetrovsk.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement its consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, Wix uses the following non-GAAP financial measures: collections, collections and revenue on a constant currency basis, adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP operating loss, free cash flow, non-GAAP net loss and non-GAAP net loss per share (collectively the "Non-GAAP financial measures"). Collections represents the total cash collected by us from our customers in a given period and is calculated by adding the change in deferred revenues for a particular period to revenues for the same period. We adjust collections and revenue to measure them on a constant currency basis by assuming the same exchange rates as the prior period applied to the reported figures in the current period. Non-GAAP operating loss represents operating loss calculated in accordance with GAAP as adjusted for the impact of share-based compensation expense, amortization, and acquisition-related costs. Non-GAAP net loss represents net loss calculated in accordance with GAAP as adjusted for the impact of share-based compensation expense, amortization, and acquisition-related costs. Non-GAAP net loss per share represents non-GAAP net loss divided by the weighted average number of shares used in computing GAAP loss per share. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as cash flow from operations before changes in working capital, prepaid domain registration costs, interest, bank charges and other financial expenses (income), net unrealized losses (gains) on hedging transactions, other income (expenses), taxes on income, and other unusual or non-recurring expenses. Free cash flow is defined as net cash provided by (used in) operating activities less capital expenditures. Beginning with our Q1 2017 earnings release, we do not intend to report or provide guidance for Adjusted EBITDA going forward.  Adjusted EBITDA for 2016 and 2015 in this earnings release have been presented on the same basis.

The presentation of this financial information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. The Company uses these non-GAAP financial measures for financial and operational decision making and as a means to evaluate period-to-period comparisons. The Company believes that it provides useful information about operating results, enhance the overall understanding of past financial performance and future prospects, and allow for greater transparency with respect to key metrics used by management in its financial and operational decision making.

For more information on the non-GAAP financial measures, please see the "Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures" table in this press release. This accompanying table has more details on the GAAP financial measures that are most directly comparable to non-GAAP financial measures and the related reconciliations between these financial measures. The Company has not reconciled its guidance as to free cash flow to cash flow from operations because it does not provide guidance for cash flow from operations. As items that impact cash flow from operations are out of the Company's control and/or cannot be reasonably predicted, the Company is unable to provide such guidance. Accordingly, a reconciliation to cash flow from operations is not available without unreasonable effort.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements may include projections regarding our future performance and may be identified by words like “anticipate,” “assume,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “outlook,” “future,” “will,” “seek” and similar terms or phrases. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on management’s current expectations, which are subject to uncertainty, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. Important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, our ability to grow our user base and premium subscriptions; our ability to maintain and enhance our brand and reputation; our ability to manage the growth of our infrastructure effectively; changes to technologies used in our solutions or in global, national, regional or local economic, business, competitive, market, regulatory and other factors discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s 2015 annual report on Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 13, 2016. Any forward-looking statement made by us in this press release speaks only as of the date hereof. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.