Wayfair Updates Class A Share Count

January 5, 2015  by in Financial Reports, Industry   

The number of outstanding shares of class A common stock now stands at 37,002,874, an increase from the 12,650,000 previously reported in its quarterly report.

The increase in number of shares of class A common stock outstanding is reflective of share conversions by holders of class B common stock to class A common stock, primarily voluntary conversions by certain large investors.

“As a result of concerns we heard from public investors regarding the low number of shares in class A we asked our private equity investors to voluntarily convert their class B shares to class A shares,” said Michael Fleisher, CFO. “We believe this conversion addresses the concern that the artificially low class A share count relative to the total shares outstanding may be limiting additional investments by stockholders due to internal fund reporting requirements.”

By increasing the number of shares of class A common stock outstanding, it is expected that public investors who report their Wayfair holdings based on the percentage of shares of a class outstanding will now report a smaller percentage and not approach self-imposed guidelines based on the percentage of shares of a class outstanding.

Both classes of stock have identical rights with the exception of voting rights. Class B common stock is convertible at any time into class A common stock at the option of the holder.