Overstock Shares Rise Fivefold in a Year: Meet the CEO Rebuilding the Ecommerce Pioneer

It took several years for Overstock.com, a pioneer of online selling, to lose its way, as then-CEO Patrick Byrne diversified into blockchain investments and got sidetracked by conspiracy theories. But in just the past two years, since longtime executive Jonathan Johnson took the helm, the e-commerce business has begun growing again. His formula? Focusing on the nuts and bolts of retailing.

In an interview with The Information, Johnson said he focused on making it easier for customers to find things on the site, improving Overstock’s mobile app and expanding into Canada, which it had previously neglected. Combined with a surge in online shopping triggered by the pandemic, those efforts drove Overstock to a 94% year-over-year increase in revenue and a return to profits in the first quarter of the year. Investors have responded: Its stock price has soared to $94 from $22 last June, giving Overstock a market capitalization of about $4 billion.