Groupon Misses Where it Counts

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Groupon (NAS: GRPN) reported earnings on Feb. 27. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Groupon met expectations on revenues and missed expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue expanded significantly. Non-GAAP loss per share grew. GAAP loss per share didn't move.


Gross margins shrank, operating margins increased, net margins increased.

Revenue details
 Groupon reported revenue of $638.3 million. The 20 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted a top line of $640.4 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 30% higher than the prior-year quarter's $492.2 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
 EPS came in at -$0.08. The 23 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.03 per share. Non-GAAP EPS were -$0.08 for Q4 compared to -$0.02 per share for the prior-year quarter. GAAP EPS of -$0.12 were the same as the prior-year quarter.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
 For the quarter, gross margin was 55.7%, much worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -2.0%, 100 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -12.7%, 50 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $605.4 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.03.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.63 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.22.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a one-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 159 members out of 794 rating the stock outperform, and 635 members rating it underperform. Among 268 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 37 give Groupon a green thumbs-up, and 231 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Groupon is hold, with an average price target of $4.83.

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The article Groupon Misses Where it Counts originally appeared on Fool.com.

Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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