LightInTheBox (LITB) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

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DATE

Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026 at 8:00 a.m. ET

CALL PARTICIPANTS

• Chairman and Chief Executive Officer - Jian He
• Chief Financial Officer - Wenyu Liu

TAKEAWAYS

• Revenue (Q2) -- $56.8 million, representing a 4% year-over-year decrease as the company optimized its product mix by phasing out long-tail products.
• Revenue (H1) -- $108.8 million, increasing 3% year over year from the same period in 2025.
• Gross Profit (Q2) -- $37.6 million, compared to $38.8 million in the prior-year period.
• Gross Margin (Q2) -- 66.1%, remaining stable relative to 65.9% in the second quarter of 2025.
• Net Income (Q2) -- $1.6 million, a decrease from $2.0 million in the same quarter last year.
• Net Income (H1) -- $2.7 million, representing a 28% increase from $2.1 million in the first half of 2025.
• Adjusted EBITDA (Q2) -- $1.9 million, compared to $2.3 million in the prior-year period.
• Adjusted EBITDA (H1) -- $3.3 million, an increase from $3.0 million in the first half of 2025.
• Total Operating Expenses (Q2) -- $35.5 million, a 4% decrease year over year from $36.9 million.
• Fulfillment Expenses (Q2) -- $4.2 million, decreasing 3% year over year from $4.4 million.
• Selling and Marketing Expenses (Q2) -- $26.7 million, a 4% decrease year over year from $27.8 million.
• General and Administrative Expenses (Q2) -- $4.6 million, decreasing 5% year over year from $4.9 million.
• Research and Development Expenses (Q2) -- $2.3 million, included within general and administrative expenses as part of the company's technology initiatives.
• Cash and Cash Equivalents -- $16.0 million as of June 30, 2026, compared to $23.6 million at the end of 2025.
• Private Placement Proceeds -- $5.49 million in gross proceeds raised on Aug. 10, 2026, to support strategic transformations and competitiveness.
• Share Repurchase Program -- $1.5 million in total aggregate value repurchased as of Aug. 21, 2026, out of a $3.0 million authorized program.
• Repurchased Shares -- 657,305 ADSs repurchased as of Aug. 21, 2026, under the board-authorized program.
• Total Assets -- $63.5 million as of June 30, 2026, a decrease from $72.0 million at the end of the previous fiscal year.
• Accounts Payable -- $8.8 million as of June 30, 2026, compared to $12.3 million on Dec. 31, 2025.
• Product Sales Revenue (Q2) -- $55.1 million, compared to $56.7 million in the same quarter last year.
• Services and Other Revenue (Q2) -- $1.8 million, a decrease from $2.2 million in the prior-year period.
• Weighted Average Ordinary Shares (Q2) -- 214.5 million basic shares used in calculating net income per share.

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RISKS

• Liu stated, "Geopolitical disruptions increased pressure on cross-border logistics and related costs, while the weaker U.S. dollar created additional foreign exchange headwinds for our global operations," noting that these factors affected second-quarter performance.

SUMMARY

LightInTheBox reported profitable operations for the second quarter and first half of 2026 despite facing a challenging external environment and a slight quarterly revenue decline. Management noted that the decrease in revenue was driven by a strategic decision to phase out long-tail products to prioritize higher-margin lifestyle categories. The company is currently executing an AI strategy to enhance consumer product discovery and personalization. Furthermore, a private placement financing was completed in August 2026 to provide capital for technological initiatives and strategic transformations.

• The company's AI strategy focuses on anticipating consumer needs and connecting them with personalized curation. CEO He stated, "Our transformation from the AI goes beyond adopting technology tools. It requires a deeper understanding of consumer intent."
• Management reported that proprietary brands Ador, Msglamor, and Skol are showing progress in both top-line and bottom-line performance, with increasing repeat purchase rates.
• CFO Liu indicated that the company is preparing to add one to two new brands per year to its brand matrix if appropriate market opportunities are identified.
• Management noted that previous investments in proprietary apparel brands during 2023 and 2024 have allowed for greater control over product differentiation and speed to market.
• The company extended its share repurchase program through Dec. 31, 2026, with the total authorized amount increased to $3.0 million.
• Total operating expenses as a percentage of revenue decreased from 63% to 62% in the second quarter, reflecting management's disciplined expense management.

INDUSTRY GLOSSARY

• ADS (American Depositary Share): An equity share of a non-U.S. company that is held by a U.S. depositary bank and is available for purchase on a U.S. stock exchange.
• Adjusted EBITDA: A non-GAAP financial measure that represents net income before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and share-based compensation expenses.
• Brand Matrix: A strategic approach of managing a portfolio of distinct brands to target different market segments or consumer preferences.
• Long-tail Products: Items that have a lower sales volume individually but can collectively represent a significant portion of a marketplace; the company is phasing these out to focus on core lifestyle products.
• Private Placement: The sale of securities to a limited number of sophisticated investors, such as institutional investors, rather than through a public offering on the open market.

Full Conference Call Transcript

Operator: Hello, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by for LightInTheBox's Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Today's conference call is being recorded. I will now turn the call over to your host, Ms. Serena Huang. Please go ahead, Serena.

Serena Huang: Thank you, operator. Hello, everyone, and welcome to LightInTheBox's Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. The company's earnings results were released by Newswire services earlier today and are available on the company's IR website at ir.ador.com. On the call from LightInTheBox today are Mr. Jian He, CEO; and Ms. Wenyu Liu, CFO. Mr. He will provide an overview ofthe company's Q2 highlights, followed by Mr. Liu, who will go over its financial results. Following our prepared remarks, we will open the call to questions. Before we proceed, please note that today's discussion may contain forward-looking statements made under the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from the company's current expectations. To understand the factors that could cause results to materially differ from those in forward-looking statements, please refer to the company's Form 20-F filed with the SEC -- the company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required under applicable law. Please also note that LightInTheBox's earnings press release and this conference call includes discussions of unaudited GAAP financial measures as well as unaudited non-GAAP financial measures. Please refer to the company's earnings press release, which contains a reconciliation of the unaudited non-GAAP measures to the unaudited GAAP measures.

Now I'd like to turn the call over to LightInTheBox CEO, Mr. He. Please go ahead.

Jian He: Good morning, and good evening, everyone. Thank you for joining LightInTheBox's Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. We are pleased to report excellent results for the first half and the second quarter of 2026. Our first half results provide a clear view of the progress we are making. Revenue increased 3% year-over-year to $108.8 million. Net income grew by approximately 28% to $2.7 million. Adjusted EBITDA also improved to $3.3 million. In the second quarter, revenue declined marginally as we phase out the long tail products despite a challenging external environment, gross margin remained resilient at 66%. Through its disciplined expense management we remain profitable, delivering net income of $1.6 million and adjusted EBITDA of $1.9 million.

Over the past several years, we have steadily reshaped LightInTheBox and laid the foundation for sustainable profitable growth. From 2023 to 2024, we invested in our property apparel brands and strengthened our in-house product development and the production capabilities. These investments gave us greater control over product differentiation, quality and speed to market. In 2025, we made meaningful progress in evolving the LightInTheBox online platform into a consumer lifestyle company by developing a deeper understanding of consumer preference and sentiment. We delivered a differentiated products. The force engagement and build a stronger emotional connection with consumers. This year, we are seeing another important shift. AI is rapidly becoming embedded in how people work, communicate, create and make the decisions.

We believe it will transform to owning core consumers discover, evaluate and purchase products, but also what the value and seeking the daily list. As technology becomes more deeply integrated into everyday life, we believe the design for emotional connection, self-expression, individuality, a better quality of life and memorable experiences will become even more important. As a lifestyle company, we are well positioned to address these evolving needs. Our transformation from the AI goes beyond adopting technology tools. It requires a deeper understanding of consumer intent. Through our AI strategy, we are focused on using technologies to anticipate evolving consumer needs and connect them more effectively with product discovery, personalization and curation.

At the same time, we will continue to evolve our product strategy around growing human aspiration for self-expression, emotional value, and memorable experience. With that, I will now hand the call over to Wenyu to go through our financial results.

Wenyu Liu: Thank you, Mr. He. Good morning and good evening, everyone. Before we go over our financials, please note that unless otherwise stated, all figures are presented in U.S. dollars. In the second quarter, our total revenues were $57 million, a modest 4% decrease year-over-year as we deliberately phased out long-tail products. This quarter was affected by a challenging external environment. Geopolitical disruptions increased pressure on cross-border logistics and related costs, while the weaker U.S. dollar created additional foreign exchange headwinds for our global operations. Despite these factors, gross margin remained very stable at 66.1% compared with 65.9% a year ago, reflecting our continued efforts on higher-margin lifestyle products.

Total operating expenses in the second quarter decreased by 4% year-over-year to $35 million, of which fulfillment expenses decreased by 3% to $4 million. Selling and marketing expenses decreased by 4% to $27 million, and G&A expenses decreased by 5% to $5 million. Total operating expenses as a percentage of revenue decreased from 63% to 62%. Our net income in the second quarter reached $1.6 million compared to $2 million in the same quarter last year. This concludes my remarks. We are now open to your questions. Operator, please continue.

Operator: [Operator Instructions] Your question comes from [indiscernible], a private investor.

Unknown Attendee: I have questions relating to 2 topics and 2 topics are insider ownership and your brand matrix strategy, and I'll start with the first topic. I would appreciate if you could provide an update on how many shares are in the public float, and how much do insiders own of the company.

Wenyu Liu: Thank you for your question. Related to insider share percentage, you may refer to our IR website for more details.

Unknown Attendee: My second question was concerning the brand matrix strategy. At an investor conference earlier this year, the company stated that its 3 brands are Ador, Msglamor and Skol. And I was wondering if you could provide any details about any of the brands. And also, you mentioned potentially adding maybe 1 to 2 brands a year if you find the right market? And just would appreciate any thoughts about plans for new brands in this year or the next.

Wenyu Liu: Thank you for your question. For these 3 brands, we do see good progress in terms of top line as well as bottom line, and we do see repeat purchase rates are increasing. So these brands are progressing really good. At the same time, we are preparing other brands as well to enhance the brand matrix.

Operator: Thank you. There are no further phone questions at this time, and that does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

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