Pandora Reports Slowing User Growth, Much-Improved Mobile Sales
Shares of Pandora Media are trading modestly lower in after-hours action after reporting solid third-quarter results. The stock has more than quadrupled over the last 52 weeks, making a 1.6% off-hours drop look small by comparison.
Pandora's sales increased 50% year over year to $180 million, ahead of the $176 million analyst target. Non-GAAP earnings edged of from $0.06 to $0.07 per share. Wall Street was looking for another performance at the $0.06 level.
The digital radio service's growth drew more strength from improved monetization strategies than from increased market reach. Listening hours grew just 17% year over year on 20% higher user counts; both figures were far below the top-line revenue boost.
Advertising sales held steady year over year on Pandora's traditional computer platform, hovering between $56 and $58 per thousand ad displays, an industry standard metric also known as RPMs. Operating efficiencies increased dramatically on mobile platforms as advertising RPMs surged 47% higher.
In the year-ago quarter, desktop RPMs were more than twice as wide as their mobile counterparts. The gap has narrowed from 110% to 44%. Mobile ad revenue now accounts for more than half of Pandora's total sales. CEO Brian McAndrews gave credit to new or redesigned Pandora apps for iPads and Android tablets.
The article Pandora Reports Slowing User Growth, Much-Improved Mobile Sales originally appeared on Fool.com.
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