Fitbit Announces 17 Percent Decrease in Q1 Revenue, Collaboration with Google

Fitbit Inc., San Francisco, reported $247.9 million in 2018 first quarter revenue, a 17 percent decrease year-over-year.

The company reported a net loss of $80.9 million compared to a net loss of $60.1 million during the same period last year. Approximately 2.2 million devices were sold during the quarter, 800,000 fewer than in first quarter 2017. These results follow Fitbit's February report that 2017 was the company's lowest sales year since 2014, with $1.62 billion in year-end revenue.

Fitbit's latest products, the Ionic, Versa, Aria 2 and Flyer, accounted for 34 percent of the first quarter's revenue.

“We made important progress in the transformation of our business in the first quarter as we continue to adapt to the changing wearables market," CEO James Park said in a May 2 media release. "Early sell through of Fitbit Versa, our first true mass appeal smartwatch, has been the best in our company’s history, positioning us to expand our user base and capture greater share of the fast-growing smartwatch market. We continued to deepen our relationship with our users, investing in software and services that deliver on our promise of helping people achieve better health outcomes."

On April 30, Fitbit announced a new partnership with Google to "innovate and transform the future of digital health and wearables, leading to positive health outcomes for people around the world." This follows through on a promise Park made last year that Fitbit would refocus its efforts on smartwatches, technology and the healthcare sector.

"Working with Google gives us an opportunity to transform how we scale our business, allowing us to reach more people around the world faster, while also enhancing the experience we offer to our users and the healthcare system,” Park said. “This collaboration will accelerate the pace of innovation to define the next generation of healthcare and wearables.”

Fitbit will use Google's new Cloud Health interface to further integrate its services into the healthcare sector, such as connecting a user's data with electronic medial records. The companies are also leveraging Fitbit's recently acquired Twine Health platform to better address chronic conditions including diabetes and hypertension.

Additionally, Fitbit is transitioning its services to the Google Cloud Platform "to innovate and advance its products and services."

“At Google, our vision is to transform the way health information is organized and made useful,” Gregory Moore, vice president of healthcare at Google Cloud, said in the release. “By enabling Fitbit to connect and manage key health and fitness data using our Google Cloud Healthcare API, we are getting one step closer to this goal. Together, we have the opportunity to deliver up-to-date information to providers, enhancing their ability to follow and manage the health of their patients and guide their treatment.”

Fitbit is expecting $1.5 billion in 2018 year-end revenue, while growing the company's Fitbit Health Solutions arm, Park said.