Logitech CEO: 4 trends are driving our sales boost, not just the pandemic

Logitech shares are up 150% during the pandemic (since March 15), and it’s not difficult to imagine why: with so many people working from home, orders have surged for the company’s computer accessories, from keyboards to webcams to headsets.

The company smashed expectations with its Q2 earnings report this week: revenue grew 75% to $1.26 billion (the company’s first billion-dollar quarter), while profit spiked 300% to $270 million. Its webcam sales were up 258% in the quarter; “video collaboration kits” (webcam, microphone, headphones) were up 161%; tablets and other accessories were up 144%.

Logitech is seeing such a demand spike that shipping has been delayed on some items, including webcams.

But if you ask Logitech CEO Bracken Darrell, it isn’t just thanks to the pandemic.

Darrell says there are “four secular trends” driving Logitech’s business right now: “One is video going everywhere, whether it’s offices or webcams. The second one is the rise of gaming as a professional sport, and as a bigger and bigger spectator sport; it’ll be the biggest collection of sports in the world one day. The third one is working from anywhere. The fourth is everybody creating their own content and streaming it, which lends itself well to our microphones. All four of those are long-term secular trends. If you look over the long-term, we expect long-term growth in every one of those categories.”

Of course, all four of those trends have dramatically accelerated during the pandemic (much like e-commerce), but it’s true that those trends had begun before COVID-19 came along, particularly remote work and esports. Still, Logitech surely would not have seen gains like this without the pandemic creating need for its products.

And Darrell isn’t concerned about any “pull-forward in demand,” the phenomenon that analysts say has likely happened with some of the companies that have seen a huge boost during the pandemic. (Netflix this week acknowledged a “pull-forward effect” that hurt its Q3 subscriber additions.)

Quite the opposite: Logitech this week hiked up its guidance for 2020, projecting 35% to 40% sales growth. Depending on the timing of a COVID-19 vaccine and how quickly U.S. workers return to offices, it might be difficult for Logitech to deliver the same sales performance in 2021.

—

Daniel Roberts is an editor-at-large at Yahoo Finance and closely covers tech. Follow him on Twitter at @readDanwrite.

Read more:

Netflix's Q3 demonstrates the dreaded 'pandemic pull-forward in demand'

Amazon Prime Day will detract from Black Friday, Cyber Monday: Retail analyst

Walmart and Target huge e-commerce gains are a blaring siren to brick-and-mortar retail

2 key numbers show how quickly Nike is bouncing back from the pandemic

Why Restoration Hardware stock is up 270% during the pandemic

Why Wayfair stock is up 250% this year

Why Dick’s Sporting Goods is wildly outperforming amid the pandemic