Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P) released its earnings numbers for the three months through March 31st 2014 on Thursday afternoon after traders on Wall Street called it a day. The company showed a loss of $0.13 per share for the period. Revenue in the three months, which Pandora records as its first of fiscal year 2014, came in at $180.1. On Thursday’s market shares in the company trended downward and finished the day trading at $28.20.
In the run-up to the release of its first quarter results, analysts following Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P) were looking for the company to show a loss of $0.14 per share. Revenue in the period was expected to $175 million.
Pandora stock dives after earnings disappoint
The performance of Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P) stock in the immediate wake of this afternoon’s earnings report might be enough to turn some traders off of the stock for good. The company’s shares immediately lost more than 7% of their value and appear to have found some kind of support at that low level. The firm’s growth prospects are in immediate doubt on the back of today’s report, and investors are running.
The massive growth that has followed Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P) through most of 2014 means that today’s huge losses aren’t enough to erase the gains of recent months, but the trade clearly didn’t work out for some of those involved.
Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P) shares have more than doubled in value in the last twelve months, and that growth adds the weight of expectation to a company’s earnings report. Pandora did not hit the notes that investors would have liked on Thursday afternoon, and the company’s value suffered massively as a result.
Pandora still growing
Despite the reactions of investors after Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P) released this earnings report, the company is still growing. This afternoon’s numbers showed listening hours, a key metric for the firm, were up by 12% year on year in the first quarter. That growth is clearly not enough to pacify those interested in investing in the company.
With a valuation of $5.57 billion and no profits to show for its investments, Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P) is the kind of risk that most investors would rather stay away from. The company is facing huge competition for listeners and its future is anything but secure given the nature of its industry.
Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P) shareholders were shaken this afternoon, and the company’s stock may not recover from the shock for some time. Whether the pessimism continues through to trading on Friday or becomes less extreme in the coming hours remains to be seen, but it’s unlikely that investors are going to change their minds about Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P) massively before tomorrow morning.
