iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ: IRBT), a leader in consumer robots, today announced its financial results for the third quarter ended October 2, 2021.

Colin Angle, chairman and chief executive officer of iRobot, stated, "We were pleased with our third-quarter financial results, especially considering the many challenges associated with an increasingly stressed and fragile supply chain environment. Our revenue performance benefited from the timing of orders that shifted into the third quarter. The combination of higher-than-anticipated revenue, better-than-expected gross margin and prudent spending enabled us to exceed our third-quarter operating profitability and EPS expectations."

Angle added, "We have continued to execute well on our strategy. Our recently launched Genius 3.0 Home Intelligence and Roomba j7+ showcase the many unique ways that our AI, machine vision and other software-centric innovations delight consumers and differentiate our robots in the marketplace. We were also pleased to see that our iRobot Select subscription service is building momentum in the U.S. and our connected customer base continues to expand globally."

Commenting on the company's 2021 outlook, Angle concluded, "As we entered the third quarter, we had already navigated through a range of supply chain issues that had impacted our ability to fulfill anticipated orders and substantially increased our cost base. As we continue to manage through component availability challenges and contend with protracted shipping timeframes, shipping delays and related logistical issues, we have refined our FY21 revenue outlook accordingly. While we have further adjusted our spending plans to mitigate against recent, sharp increases in our transportation costs, we have updated our FY21 operating profit and EPS outlook to reflect recent regulatory developments that indicate that tariff relief is now more likely to occur next year and, if granted, it will not be retroactive earlier than October 12, 2021. Had a tariff exclusion retroactive to January 1 been granted this year, our FY21 EPS would have remained within the expectations we set at the end of July."

Financial Performance Highlights

• Revenue for the third quarter of 2021 grew 7% to $440.7 million over $413.1 million in the third quarter of 2020. Revenue for the first nine months of 2021 of $1,109.5 million increased 25% from $885.6 million in the same period last year.
  • The third-quarter 2021 revenue performance was led by 15% growth in EMEA, 5% growth in the U.S., and 2% in Japan over the prior year period.
  • 14% revenue growth in mid-tier and premium robots, which accounted for 87% of total quarterly robot sales. 
  • We estimate that iRobot's third-quarter 2021 revenue to support e-commerce, which spans the company's own website and app, dedicated e-commerce websites and the online arms of traditional retailers, grew by 8% over the third quarter of 2020 and represented 60% of third-quarter 2021 revenue. iRobot's direct-to-consumer (DTC) revenue of $40 million grew 13% from the prior year's third quarter.
• The company's third-quarter 2021 GAAP operating income was $40.5 million, compared with GAAP operating income of $81.0 million in the third quarter of 2020. Third-quarter 2021 non-GAAP operating income of $48.0 million compared with non-GAAP operating income of $93.1 million in the same period one year ago. GAAP operating income for the first nine months of 2021 was $43.8 million, compared with GAAP operating income of $131.1 million in the first nine months of 2020. Non-GAAP operating income for the first nine months of 2021 was $71.9 million versus non-GAAP operating income of $119.3 million in the same period one year ago.
• iRobot's GAAP net income per share was $2.06 for the third quarter of 2021, compared with GAAP net income per share of $3.27 in the third quarter of 2020. Non-GAAP net income per share was $1.67 for the third quarter of 2021 versus non-GAAP third-quarter 2020 net income per share of $2.58. GAAP net income per share for the first nine months of 2021 was $2.17, compared with $4.69 in the first nine months of 2020. Non-GAAP net income per share for the first three quarters of 2021 was $2.32, compared with $3.31 in the same period of 2020.   
• As of October 2, 2021, the company's cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments were $247.9 million, compared with $415.8 million as of July 3, 2021 and $483.7 million at the end of 2020. The sequential decrease in iRobot's cash position was due primarily to using $100 million to repurchase its common stock through an accelerated share repurchase (ASR) program and operating cash outflows associated with changes in working capital. The company, which has no debt, also has access to an unsecured revolving line of credit of $150 million, with an additional $75 million accordion feature.

Third-Quarter and Recent Business Highlights

• In September 2021, iRobot introduced the Roomba® j7+ Robot Vacuum with Genius™ 3.0 Home Intelligence. Powered by iRobot Genius 3.0, and featuring PrecisionVision Navigation, the Roomba j7+ gets smarter with each use – learning how to best navigate floors, remembering specific rooms and certain furniture, cleaning where it is most needed and recognizing and avoiding objects like cords and pet waste that can derail a cleaning mission. iRobot's confidence in its PrecisionVision Navigation technology underpins its Pet Owner Official Promise (P.O.O.P.), under which the company will replace any Roomba j7+ that doesn't avoid solid pet waste.¹
  • The launches of Roomba j7+ and Genius 3.0 have received extensive favorable coverage across the U.S. and Europe, including Fast Company, Tech Crunch, CNET, Vacuum Wars, Frandroid, Stern and El Pais.
• In early October 2021, iRobot expanded its subscription-based iRobot Select membership program to include the recently announced Roomba® j7+ robot vacuum with Clean Base Automatic Dirt Disposal, along with benefits that provide customers with an entirely new and personalized ownership experience.
• Last week, iRobot announced an exclusive partnership with Bona US to provide customers with Bona® Hardwood Floor Cleaner and Bona® Hard-Surface Cleaner solutions, and the Bona® PowerPlus® Microfiber Deep Cleaning Pad that are custom designed and certified for the iRobot Braava® jet m6 robot mop. The co-branded cleaning solutions and microfiber pads will be sold at select retailers in the U.S. and Canada, as well as iRobot.com.
• The company's community of engaged, connected customers who have opted-in to its digital communications grew to 12.5 million, an increase of 60% from the third quarter of 2020.
• During the third quarter of 2021, the company executed a $100 million ASR program, repurchasing 1,198,218 shares of common stock at an average purchase price of $83.46 per share.
• iRobot is planning to hold an Investor Day on December 9, 2021. Additional details about this event, including registration information, will be made publicly available within the next several weeks.

Financial Expectations

iRobot has updated its full-year 2021 GAAP and non-GAAP financial expectations, all of which were most recently provided on July 28, 2021. The updated outlook reflects the company's results to date and anticipated performance during the fourth quarter of 2021 as well as our updated expectations regarding the timing of a potential tariffs exclusion and the impact of increased transportation costs. A detailed reconciliation between the company's GAAP and non-GAAP expectations is included in the attached financial tables.

The following table details the impact of Section 301 tariffs and other changes on the company's updated non-GAAP financial expectations.

Third-Quarter 2021 Results Conference Call

iRobot will host a conference call tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. ET to review its third-quarter 2021 financial results, and discuss its outlook going forward. Pertinent conference call details include:

A live webcast of the conference call, along with the conference call prepared remarks, will be accessible on the event section of the company's website at https://investor.irobot.com/events/event-details/q3-2021-irobot-corp-financial-results-conference-call. An archived version of the broadcast will be available on the same website shortly after the conclusion of the live event. A replay of the telephone conference call will be available through November 4, and can be accessed by dialing 404-537-3406, passcode 7455266.

About iRobot Corp.

iRobot®, the leading global consumer robot company, designs and builds robots that empower people to do more both inside and outside of the home. iRobot created the home robot cleaning category with the introduction of its Roomba® Robot Vacuum in 2002. Today, iRobot is a global enterprise that has sold more than 30 million robots worldwide. iRobot's product line, including the Roomba and the Braava® family of mopping robots, feature proprietary technologies and advanced concepts in cleaning, mapping and navigation. iRobot engineers are building an ecosystem of robots and technologies to enable the smart home. For more information about iRobot, please visit www.irobot.com.

For iRobot Investors 

Certain statements made in this press release that are not based on historical information are forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This press release contains express or implied forward-looking statements relating to, among other things, iRobot Corp.'s expectations regarding: future financial performance, including with respect to 2021 revenue, gross profit, operating income and EPS; successfully managing through component availability issues; the anticipated impact of higher transportation costs and Section 301 tariffs on operating profitability and EPS; and the expected reinstatement of a tariff exclusion at some point in 2022. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. In particular, the risks and uncertainties include, among other things: the impact of COVID-19 on our business, the industry and markets in which we operate, and the global economy; the limited number of manufacturers and suppliers of key components; our ability to operate in an emerging market; the financial strength of our customers and retailers; the impact of tariffs on goods imported into the United States and any exclusions therefrom; the impact of increases in transportation costs; general economic conditions; market acceptance of and adoption of our products; and competition. Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. iRobot Corp. undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise. For additional disclosure regarding these and other risks faced by iRobot Corp., see the disclosure contained in our public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

iRobot Corporation
Explanation of Non-GAAP Measures

In addition to disclosing financial results in accordance with U.S. GAAP, this earnings release contains references to the non-GAAP financial measures described below. We use non-GAAP measures to internally evaluate and analyze financial results. We believe these non-GAAP financial measures provide investors with useful supplemental information about the financial performance of our business, enable comparison of financial results between periods where certain items may vary independent of business performance, and enable comparison of our financial results with other public companies, many of which present similar non-GAAP financial measures.

Our non-GAAP financial measures reflect adjustments based on the following items. These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP, and the financial results calculated in accordance with GAAP and reconciliations from these results should be carefully evaluated.

Amortization of acquired intangible assets: Amortization of acquired intangible assets consists of amortization of intangible assets including completed technology, customer relationships, and reacquired distribution rights acquired in connection with business combinations. Amortization charges for our acquisition-related intangible assets are inconsistent in size and are significantly impacted by the timing and valuation of our acquisitions. We exclude these charges from our non-GAAP measures to facilitate an evaluation of our current operating performance and comparisons to our past operating performance.

Net Merger, Acquisition and Divestiture (Income) Expense: Net merger, acquisition and divestiture (income) expense primarily consists of transaction fees, professional fees, and transition and integration costs directly associated with mergers, acquisitions and divestitures. It also includes business combination adjustments including adjustments after the measurement period has ended. The occurrence and amount of these costs will vary depending on the timing and size of these transactions. We exclude these charges from our non-GAAP measures to facilitate an evaluation of our current operating performance and comparisons to our past operating performance.

Stock-Based Compensation: Stock-based compensation is a non-cash charge relating to stock-based awards. We exclude this expense as it is a non-cash expense, and we assess our internal operations excluding this expense and believe it facilitates comparisons to the performance of other companies.

IP Litigation Expense, Net: IP litigation expense, net relates to legal costs incurred to litigate patent, trademark, copyright and false advertising infringements, or to oppose or defend against interparty actions related to intellectual property. Any settlement payment or proceeds resulting from these infringements are included or netted against the costs. We exclude these costs from our non-GAAP measures as we do not believe these costs have a direct correlation to the operations of our business and may vary in size depending on the timing and results of such litigations and settlements.

Gain/Loss on Strategic Investments: Gain/loss on strategic investments includes fair value adjustments, realized gains and losses on the sales of these investments and losses on the impairment of these investments. We exclude these items from our non-GAAP measures because we do not believe they correlate to the performance of our core business and may vary in size based on market conditions and events. We believe that the exclusion of these gains or losses provides investors with a supplemental view of our operational performance.

Income tax adjustments: Income tax adjustments include the tax effect of the non-GAAP adjustments, calculated using the appropriate statutory tax rate for each adjustment. We reassess the need for any valuation allowance recorded based on the non-GAAP profitability and have eliminated the effect of the valuation allowance recorded in the U.S. jurisdiction. We also exclude certain tax items, including impact from stock-based compensation windfalls/shortfalls, that are not reflective of income tax expense incurred as a result of current period earnings. We believe disclosure of the income tax provision before the effect of such tax items is important to permit investors' consistent earnings comparison between periods.

¹ Offer valid for 1 year from purchase and covers replacement product only. Available in limited jurisdictions, additional terms and conditions apply.