iRobot, maker of the iconic Roomba robot vacuum, announced its second-quarter earnings late last week, and the numbers keep going down. Despite launching an entirely new product line, its revenue declined 23 percent to $127.6 million from the previous quarter, with the lucrative US and European markets being hit hardest.
iRobot’s future isn’t looking up
The robot vacuum maker is still stuck in debt.
The robot vacuum maker is still stuck in debt.
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge
is a senior reviewer with over twenty years of experience. She covers smart home, IoT, and connected tech, and has written previously for Wirecutter, Wired, Dwell, BBC, and US News.
The company has struggled in the face of increased competition from Chinese manufacturers and the collapse of a sale to Amazon, which left it deep in debt. Earlier this year, CEO Gary Cohen indicated iRobot could shut down within 12 months if something didn’t change. The clock is ticking.
Last week, Cohen said that while customer response to the new product line has been “encouraging,” iRobot didn’t meet its goals this quarter “due to persistent market headwinds and delays in scaling production and sales of our new products.” He confirmed the company is still looking at a potential sale or other “strategic alternatives” to get out of debt.
Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Most Popular
Most Popular
- Midjourney goes from generating cat images to full-body ultrasound scans
- Apple’s weird anti-nausea dots cured my car sickness
- Tim Cook says RAM expenses are ‘unsustainable’ and Apple is going to raise prices
- This Ghost in the Shell keyboard makes me want to activate the hundred spidery robot fingers inside my regular fingers
- Can anyone look cool wearing Snap’s $2,000 glasses?
