In 2011, Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) was one of the most anticipated IPOs of the year. Shares originally opened north of $20 each before spending five painful years sliding lower and lower.
Groupon’s problems essentially came down to two things. It couldn’t grow the top line as much as investors wanted, and profits continually disappointed analysts. The company has lost money in each of its last five fiscal years, except for 2015, when it eked out a small $0.03 per share profit.
These weak results continued Wednesday when the company reported its first quarter results. Revenue came in at $673.6 million, versus analyst estimates of $722 million. Breaking it down by category, Groupon’s Local segment was the only bright spot, which reported a 1.2% revenue gain. Travel was down 5.7% and Goods was down 6.4%.
Gross profit declined 3.3% on a year-over-year basis to $309.5 million. EBITDA came in at $44.8 million, and the company couldn’t muster a quarterly profit. It lost $0.04 per share on an adjusted basis.
There was at least a small portion of good news. The company reiterated its full-year outlook, saying 2017’s gross profit would be between $1.3 and $1.35 billion, with EBITDA between $200 and $240 million. It also added some 500,000 new customers in North America, while international customers were flat.
Groupon shares tanked on the disappointing news, falling $0.55 each or 13.75% to $3.45 on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange. Shares are close to their 2017 lows.
Tech Insider
