Sustainable Luxury Demand And AI Will Drive Operational Efficiency

Key Takeaways

• Growing demand among younger consumers and expanded inventory sources are fueling higher transaction volumes, enhanced supply, and long-term revenue growth.
  
• Investments in AI-driven automation and omni-channel experiences are improving operational efficiency, lowering costs, increasing margins, and strengthening customer engagement and retention.
  
• Limited scalability, declining commission margins, slow tech-driven efficiencies, dependence on consistent supply growth, and vulnerability to product mix and luxury demand shifts threaten sustainable profitability.

Catalysts

Operates an online marketplace for resale luxury goods worldwide.

• Accelerating consumer demand for authenticated, sustainable luxury goods among Millennials and Gen Z – as evidenced by record growth in new consignors and a growing active buyer base – is expanding RealReal's addressable market and fueling higher transaction volumes, directly supporting future revenue growth.
  
• Continuous investment in AI-driven automation (Athena and other initiatives) is delivering ongoing reductions in processing costs per unit and streamlining authentication, enabling scalable operational efficiencies that lower unit costs and support sustained margin expansion and improved EBITDA.
  
• Expansion of drop ship capabilities to new categories (including fine jewelry) and upcoming partnerships with international vendors and aggregators will diversify inventory sources and increase supply, enhancing top line growth potential through higher GMV and revenue.
  
• The company's ability to raise prices in tandem with primary market luxury price hikes (e.g., due to tariffs or inflation) improves average order values and supports gross profit dollar growth, directly benefiting revenue and gross profit.
  
• Ongoing reinvestment in marketing, referral programs, and omni-channel experiences (such as pop-up events and new store openings) is successfully acquiring and re-engaging high-quality consignors, creating a flywheel effect that supports recurring supply, high customer retention, and long-term revenue expansion.

RealReal Future Earnings and Revenue Growth

Assumptions

• Analysts are assuming RealReal's revenue will grow by 11.3% annually over the next 3 years.
• Analysts are not forecasting that RealReal will become profitable in next 3 years. To represent the Analyst Price Target as a Future PE Valuation we will estimate RealReal's profit margin will increase from -5.6% to the average US Specialty Retail industry of 4.8% in 3 years.
• If RealReal's profit margin were to converge on the industry average, you could expect earnings to reach $42.1 million (and earnings per share of $0.31) by about August 2028, up from $-35.4 million today.
• In order for the above numbers to justify the analysts price target, the company would need to trade at a PE ratio of 38.4x on those 2028 earnings, up from -25.4x today. This future PE is greater than the current PE for the US Specialty Retail industry at 18.4x.
• Analysts expect the number of shares outstanding to grow by 6.21% per year for the next 3 years.
• To value all of this in today's terms, we will use a discount rate of 9.52%, as per the Simply Wall St company report.

RealReal Future Earnings Per Share Growth

Risks

• The company's long-term revenue growth rate is being managed for "profitable growth," with management explicitly stating their mid-term outlook remains at 8%–12% annually; this cautious target could indicate limited scalability or addressable market penetration, potentially capping top-line expansion and reducing future optimism for outsized revenue or profit growth.
  
• The platform's take rate (commission percentage) has begun to decline as average order values increase due to higher-ticket items; while higher dollar profit may be maintained for now, the lower take rate as a percentage presents risk to sustained margin expansion if the mix continues to skew toward categories with lower commission rates, which could pressure gross margins and EBITDA over time.
  
• Despite automation and AI initiatives (e.g., Athena), the company is still in early stages of rollout, with only 20% of items currently affected (~30-40% projected by year-end), and admits operational efficiency improvements from AI will take years to fully materialize; lag in full implementation-and ongoing cost of tech investment-could constrain near-to-medium-term reductions in processing costs, delaying stronger margin performance and free cash flow.
  
• There is heavy emphasis on supply-driven growth, reliant on continually unlocking inventory from domestic closets and new consignors, but with little discussion of potential saturation or the possibility that the "flywheel" of increasing supply and buyer activity could slow or reverse-any stagnation in supply growth or decreased consumer willingness to resell could directly impact revenue, active user growth, and long-term earnings visibility.
  
• The business faces potential gross margin volatility and pressure from shifts in product category mix (e.g., watches vs. handbags), as well as broader economic risks (slowdown in luxury demand or shifts away from luxury resale during downturns), both of which could reduce gross profits, introduce cyclical unpredictability to earnings, and make forecasts of sustained profitability and operating leverage less certain.

Valuation

• The analysts have a consensus price target of $8.914 for RealReal based on their expectations of its future earnings growth, profit margins and other risk factors. However, there is a degree of disagreement amongst analysts, with the most bullish reporting a price target of $15.0, and the most bearish reporting a price target of just $2.4.
  
• In order for you to agree with the analyst's consensus, you'd need to believe that by 2028, revenues will be $878.9 million, earnings will come to $42.1 million, and it would be trading on a PE ratio of 38.4x, assuming you use a discount rate of 9.5%.
  
• Given the current share price of $7.8, the analyst price target of $8.91 is 12.5% higher.
  
• We always encourage you to reach your own conclusions though. So sense check these analyst numbers against your own assumptions and expectations based on your understanding of the business and what you believe is probable.