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Groupon Surprises With a First-Quarter Revenue Beat

Groupon Surprises With a First-Quarter Revenue Beat

(Bloomberg) -- Hedge Fund managers are cheering as Groupon Inc. reported a robust EPS and revenue beat after the market closed Tuesday. The coupon company boasts 23 percent of its shares held by hedge fund managers according to data compiled by Bloomberg -- up from 10 percent a year ago.

Groupon posted first-quarter adjusted EPS of 3 cents, better than the consensus estimate of break even, revenue of $578.4 million -- beating the highest estimate by $18.4 million, according to Bloomberg data. Shares in Chicago-based Groupon rose 8.5 percent intraday Wednesday, extending Tuesday’s post-market gains. Trading volume is more than 4 times the 20-day average for this time of day.

Figures on active customers were muted, however, with Cowen analyst Thomas Champion saying in a note that year-over-year losses came to 1.1 million, worse than Cowen’s estimated 700,000 loss. Cowen wants to understand “the source of the beat and how these gains will be re-invested.”

Groupon’s conference call began at 10 a.m. ET.

Groupon Surprises With a First-Quarter Revenue Beat

“We’re not happy with the traffic headwinds we’re facing, but we understand them -- in fact we believe many of the headwinds we’re facing are part and parcel of the traditional voucher business from which we’re moving away,” said CEO Rich Williams.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rebecca Choong Wilkins in New York at rchoongwilki@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Courtney Dentch at cdentch1@bloomberg.net, Brad Olesen

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