Quick Take

  • Online pet retailer Chewy Inc. said in a press release and securities filing on Monday that its Chief Financial Officer David Reeder will leave the company in a few months to takea CEO position in the semiconductor industry。
  • According to the company's filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Reeder will leave onan undetermined datefrom the pet retailer. However, in a statement in the press release, CEO Sumit Singh said Reeder will remain as finance chief until the company reports its first-quarter fiscal 2025 results in June. Singh also said Reeder will "assist in an orderly transition" while the company searches for a successor.
  • The Plantation, Florida-based company did not disclose the name of the semiconductor company where Reeder will become CEO. The move is a return to familiar territory for Reeder. Before becoming Chewy's CFO in February 2024, Reeder served as finance chief at semiconductor manufacturer GlobalFoundries. According to his LinkedIn profile, he has held CEO, CFO, and executive roles at companies such as Tower Hill Insurance, Lexmark, and EFI.

Deeper Dive

Reeder's departure comes after just over a year in the CFO role, following the company's report of growth in active customers and net sales for fiscal 2024, despite volatility in its stock price after receiving attention from "meme stock" trader Keith Gill. Gill (also known as Roaring Kitty)became Chewy's third-largest shareholder in July last year, holding a 6.6% stake, before selling all his shares in October, as reported by the Associated Press at the time.

Gill, a key figure in the 2021 GameStop short squeeze, had said he believed then-GameStop Chairman Ryan Cohen could modernize the company, the AP reported. Cohen, now GameStop's chairman and CEO, co-founded Chewy in 2011 and later sold the company for $3.3 billion in 2017before becoming GameStop's CEO, according to a 2023 Business Insider report.

Chewy reported fiscal 2024net sales up 6% year over year, reaching $11.8 billion, according to its earnings presentation. Sales growth was driven by strong growth in active customers, with Chewy ending the year with 20.5 million active customers, CEO Singh said on the company's earnings call,according to a transcript, marking the "first year-over-year increase in eight quarters."

In Monday's press release statement, Singh praised Reeder's "contributions during his time at Chewy" and thanked the CFO "for his leadership as we advance our strategic and long-term growth initiatives." Singh also said the company reaffirmed its first-quarter 2025 guidance, and Chewy expects to report results onJune 11.

According to the full-year 2024 earnings presentation released in March, the company expects net sales for the quarter to be between$3.06 billion and $3.09 billion, up 6% to 7% year over year.

Chewy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.