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Etsy Inc.: Q2 FY2026 earnings call

What management said about Q2 FY2026, from the documents filed with the SEC on 5 August 2026: letter to shareholders. Guidance figures: 4 new. The quarter’s numbers.

Key takeaways

  • GMS growth accelerated for third consecutive quarter: Etsy marketplace GMS reached $2.6 billion, up 7.5 percent year-over-year, accelerating 360 basis points sequentially from first quarter, marking third consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth. Source
  • Revenue growth outpaced GMS on take rate expansion: Revenue of $668 million grew 9.3 percent year-over-year for Etsy marketplace, outpacing 7.5 percent GMS growth, driven by take rate expansion to 25.9 percent from 24.6 percent. Source
  • Adjusted EBITDA improved with healthy flow-through: Adjusted EBITDA reached $195 million, up 16.6 percent year-over-year for Etsy marketplace, with 29.2 percent margin. Nearly half of incremental revenue flowed through to Adjusted EBITDA. Source
  • Active buyers stabilized after periods of decline: Trailing twelve-month active buyers reached approximately 87 million, up roughly 350,000 sequentially and stable year-over-year. Gross buyer additions accelerated 7.1 percent year-over-year across new and reactivated buyers. Source
  • Highest-value buyer cohorts showing early growth signals: Habitual and repeat buyer cohorts each showed slight sequential gains for first time since 2023. Thirty-day repeat purchase rate improved, indicating cumulative impact of experience enhancements. Source
  • Mobile app GMS growth accelerated significantly: Mobile app GMS growth accelerated to 12.5 percent year-over-year, up from 11.2 percent in first quarter. Mobile app now represents approximately 47 percent of total GMS, up 210 basis points year-over-year. Source
  • Share repurchases accelerated reflecting improved confidence: Etsy repurchased approximately 3.9 million shares for aggregate cost of $250 million in second quarter, stepping up from recent quarters. Source
  • Cash position strengthened for strategic investments: Etsy held $1.3 billion in cash, cash equivalents and short- and long-term investments as of June 30. New $2 billion share repurchase authorization granted August 3. Source
  • Restructuring announced to accelerate growth execution: Etsy announced restructuring to reduce workforce by approximately 220 employees or roughly 12 percent, concentrated in Product and Engineering. Restructuring designed to accelerate growth, not reduce costs. Source
  • GMS growth inflected from decline to growth: Management inflected year-over-year growth trajectory from high-single-digit GMS declines in early 2025 to mid-single-digit growth anticipated for full year 2026, more than 10 percentage point improvement. Source

“From day one as CEO, I've been clear about three things: our differentiation as a human-centered marketplace is our greatest strength; we have a massive market opportunity ahead of us; and realizing that opportunity requires clear strategic focus and disciplined execution.”

Kruti Patel Goyal, Chief Executive Officer

Guidance

AreaPeriodFigureAgainst last quarter
Gross Merchandise Sales Sourcethird quarter 2026$2.53B to $2.58B
Revenue Take Rate Sourcethird quarter 2026approximately 26%
Share Repurchase Authorization Sourcenew authorization$2 billionNew
Depop Divestiture Proceeds Sourcethird quarter 2026approximately $1.4 billionNew
Workforce Reduction Sourceby end of third quarter 2026approximately 220 employees or 12%New
Restructuring Charges Sourceby end of third quarter 2026$35 millionNew

What changed from last quarter

  • New: New $2 billion share repurchase authorization announced on August 3, 2026, reflecting confidence in strategic execution. Source
  • New: Depop sale completed July 30, 2026, bringing $1.4 billion to accelerate share repurchase program. Source
  • New: Major organizational restructuring announced reducing workforce by approximately 12 percent with fewer silos and flatter teams. Source

Quarterly Results and Growth Acceleration

  • GMS growth accelerated for third consecutive quarter: Etsy marketplace GMS reached $2.6 billion, up 7.5 percent year-over-year, accelerating 360 basis points sequentially from first quarter, marking third consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth. Source
  • Revenue growth outpaced GMS on take rate expansion: Revenue of $668 million grew 9.3 percent year-over-year for Etsy marketplace, outpacing 7.5 percent GMS growth, driven by take rate expansion to 25.9 percent from 24.6 percent. Source
  • Adjusted EBITDA improved with healthy flow-through: Adjusted EBITDA reached $195 million, up 16.6 percent year-over-year for Etsy marketplace, with 29.2 percent margin. Nearly half of incremental revenue flowed through to Adjusted EBITDA. Source

Active Buyers and Purchase Frequency Trends

  • Active buyers stabilized after periods of decline: Trailing twelve-month active buyers reached approximately 87 million, up roughly 350,000 sequentially and stable year-over-year. Gross buyer additions accelerated 7.1 percent year-over-year across new and reactivated buyers. Source
  • Highest-value buyer cohorts showing early growth signals: Habitual and repeat buyer cohorts each showed slight sequential gains for first time since 2023. Thirty-day repeat purchase rate improved, indicating cumulative impact of experience enhancements. Source
  • GMS per buyer increased on higher average order value: Trailing twelve-month GMS per active buyer increased to $124, up 2.8 percent year-over-year, driven primarily by higher listing prices and effort to elevate higher-quality items. Source

“We have inflected Etsy's year-over-year growth trajectory from high-single-digit GMS declines in early 2025 to mid-single-digit growth anticipated for the full year 2026 - a more than 10 percentage point improvement in performance.”

Kruti Patel Goyal, Chief Executive Officer

Mobile App and Discovery Innovation

  • Mobile app GMS growth accelerated significantly: Mobile app GMS growth accelerated to 12.5 percent year-over-year, up from 11.2 percent in first quarter. Mobile app now represents approximately 47 percent of total GMS, up 210 basis points year-over-year. Source
  • Buyer profiles and personalization significantly improved: Richer buyer profiles now cover more than 65 million buyers with three times more signals than earlier in year, averaging about 30 interests and preferences per buyer, enabling more forward-looking recommendations. Source
  • Conversational shopping and Gifting Assistant launched: Beta version of Gifting Assistant launched in May to help buyers discover gift ideas through natural conversation. Early traction shows high-intent buyers and positive user feedback. Source

Strategic Focus on Human Connection

  • Craft Catalyst Initiative supporting American artisans: Etsy launched $10 million Craft Catalyst Initiative in partnership with Center for Craft to support American craft communities and ensure artisans have resources to grow. Source
  • Brand marketing targeting younger demographics with success: Shop Other Jeffs campaign designed for Gen Z and Millennials generated significant media coverage and organic celebrity endorsements. Visits from these demographics on YouTube and TikTok grew approximately 5X year-over-year. Source

“We believe that higher GMS and revenue growth - sustained over time - can create far greater absolute cash flow and shareholder value than can margin expansion alone.”

Lanny Baker, Chief Financial Officer

Seller Quality and Loyalty Development

  • Star Seller program evolving to include distinctive inventory: Company evolving Star Seller program to include recognition of distinctive inventory and proven buyer demand alongside service metrics. Making program more meaningful to sellers and impactful to business. Source
  • Star sellers demonstrate meaningfully higher buyer lifetime value: Analysis shows buyers purchasing from star seller cohort with distinctive inventory have meaningfully higher lifetime value. Company developing new approaches to support this cohort and help others reach excellence. Source

Operating Expenses and Profitability Management

  • Marketing spending increased strategically where returns justified: Marketing remained disciplined with near-flat year-over-year expense ratio despite GMS growth. Company increased investment where returns supported it, scaled back where they did not. Source
  • Product listing ads supported GMS growth efficiently: Product listing ad spending remained relatively stable as percentage of revenue while supporting GMS growth, aided by enhanced segmentation to direct spend toward higher-performing, higher-quality listings. Source
  • Product development expenses gained slight leverage: Product development gained slight year-over-year expense leverage as modestly higher employee costs were offset by savings in other areas with deliberate resource deployment. Source

Cash Generation and Capital Allocation

  • Share repurchases accelerated reflecting improved confidence: Etsy repurchased approximately 3.9 million shares for aggregate cost of $250 million in second quarter, stepping up from recent quarters. Source
  • Cash position strengthened for strategic investments: Etsy held $1.3 billion in cash, cash equivalents and short- and long-term investments as of June 30. New $2 billion share repurchase authorization granted August 3. Source

Organizational Restructuring and Strategic Investment

  • Restructuring announced to accelerate growth execution: Etsy announced restructuring to reduce workforce by approximately 220 employees or roughly 12 percent, concentrated in Product and Engineering. Restructuring designed to accelerate growth, not reduce costs. Source
  • Organizational structure flattened for faster decision-making: Company restructuring to reduce silos and handoffs with flatter, faster teams built to solve broader, more complex problems. Organization redesigned to accelerate customer frequency initiatives. Source
  • Planned investment in machine learning and AI: Company plans to deepen expertise in product, engineering, and customer operations with particular focus on expanding machine learning skills and exploring R&D in new product capabilities. Source

Growth Trajectory Inflection and Strategic Confidence

  • GMS growth inflected from decline to growth: Management inflected year-over-year growth trajectory from high-single-digit GMS declines in early 2025 to mid-single-digit growth anticipated for full year 2026, more than 10 percentage point improvement. Source
  • Strategic priorities translating to marketplace fundamentals: Four growth priorities of Discovery, Matching, Loyalty and Human Connection working together to build lasting buyer-seller relationships and strengthen marketplace fundamentals. Source

Coming up, as management said on 5 August 2026

  • Depop sale closing brings $1.4B to balance sheet: Depop sale to eBay completed July 30, 2026, bringing approximately $1.4 billion in cash to fund share repurchase program and strategic investments. Source
  • Restructuring execution completion expected by Q3 end: Workforce reduction and organizational restructuring expected to be substantially complete by end of third quarter with approximately $35 million in charges incurred. Source
  • New R&D investments planned in multiple areas: Company plans to explore additional R&D investment in new product capabilities, marketing initiatives, customer trust, and international growth to accelerate 2026 learnings. Source
  • Seller-forward shopping experience testing on Android: Company currently evaluating more comprehensive seller-forward shopping experiences on Android to understand how human connection ideas work across end-to-end shopping journey. Source

In management's words

“This is not a cost cutting move - it is meant to lean in during a period of strong momentum so that we can move faster and execute with even greater focus.”

Kruti Patel Goyal, Chief Executive Officer

Earlier plans management reported on

  • On track: Company expects restructuring execution to be substantially complete by end of third quarter 2026, reducing headcount to approximately 1,600 people. Source
  • On track: Four growth priorities designed to work together to build lasting buyer-seller relationships showing evidence through improving customer metrics and marketplace health. Source
  • On track: Company committed to deepening expertise in machine learning across product and engineering with particular focus on expanding team skills in strategic areas. Source

Other quarters

Summarised with AI from the documents the company filed with the SEC. Every point is checked against the filing before it is shown: management’s own words word for word, figures against the line or table row they come from. A point that fails the check is left out. Source opens the filing at that line.