Kayak Turns in a Mixed First Earnings Report as Public Company

Kayak Software Corporation (NASDAQ: KYAK) has not exactly been immune to controversy, and its first public earnings report is going to keep the term ';controversy' alive in its shares. The online travel company priced its IPO at $26, and that was above the $22 to $25 price indicated. Shares closed at $30.80 on Wednesday and its post-IPO range is $26.02 to $35.35.

The earnings report had shares down about 4% last night and this is going to sour the mood for investors if nothing changes. While this is not a rule, there is generally an underlying expectation that fresh IPOs of hot companies are expected to beat their earnings estimates on their first public announcement.

Kayak's second quarter earnings of $0.19 per share fell short of the $0.24 per share estimate from Thomson Reuters, while revenue was $76.9 million versus a consensus estimate of $75.2 million. What was so interesting is that shares were up by double-digit percentage gains ahead of the report as its shares gained over 11 percent in regular trading Wednesday. There were 46,000 shares traded in the after-hours session and shares were down 4% at $29.55 last night.

The company did say that it is growing quickly and Bloomberg noted that the FactSet Research consensus was actually beat by one-cent per share. We will see how the opening bell treats this one, but we have some concern over what was a mixed earnings report for its first earnings report as a public company.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Earnings, Internet Tagged: KYAK