Fitbit acquired Pebble late last year. At the time, no numbers regarding the deal were released however, guesses put the cost of the deal at somewhere around $40 million. Well, Fitbit’s financial filing puts the cost of the acquisition even lower — somewhere around $23 million.
As per the filing, Fitbit paid around $23 million to acquire all of Pebble’s assets and intellectual property. To put things in perspective, that is just a couple of million above the $20 million Pebble raised through its Kickstarter campaign.
With regards to the Fitbit’s own finances, the company reported revenue of $574 million, GAAP net loss per share of $0.65, non-GAAP basic net loss per share of $0.56 and a GAAP net loss of ($146.3) million. The adjusted EBITDA loss for the fourth quarter of 2016 was somewhere around $144.2 million.
Meanwhile, the company seems to have hit upon acquisition as the way forward. Apart from acquiring Coin and Vector Watch, the company had also attempted and failed to acquire Jawbone.
Speaking on the topic, CEO James Park had said:
We believe we are uniquely positioned to succeed in delivering what consumers are looking for in a smartwatch: stylish, well-designed devices that combine the right general purpose functionality with a focus on health and fitness. With the recent acquisition of assets from Pebble, Vector Watch and Coin, we are taking action to position the company for long-term success.
Meanwhile, here are some highlights from Fitbit’s financial report:
- Sold 6.5 million connected health and fitness devices.
- U.S. revenue contracted 28%, EMEA revenue grew 58%, APAC revenue contracted 56%, and Other Americas revenue contracted 12%.
- New products Fitbit Charge 2, Alta, Fitbit Blaze, and Fitbit Flex 2 represented 96% of revenue.
- GAAP gross margin was 22.1%, and non-GAAP gross margin was 22.4%.
- GAAP operating expenses represented 54.4% of revenue, non-GAAP operating expenses represented 49.6% of revenue.
So yes, not a particularly good year overall. Let’s see what 2017 brings for the wearable maker.
