Groupon Inc (GRPN) Crushed By Pressure As Earnings Loom

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Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) has never been consistently recorded as a healthy or a safe investment. the social deals company is often a boon to consumers, but it has almost as often been a pox on investors. Since going public the company has lost more than 70% of its value, and 2014 hasn’t exactly been a year of growth and rejuvenation for the company.

Since January 1 shares in Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) have lost close to 40%. The losses wiped out almost all of the gains made by investors in 2013’s rally. Social and we based companies have had their stocks compressed by market dynamics in the first half of 2014. The company’s earnings, which are expected to surface next week, show little to be excited about.

Groupon earnings leave little to treasure

The artificial intelligence that authors earnings previews over at Forbes reckons that Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) reckons that the company’s earnings are going to show a wider loss than last year. The AI, which gathers its earnings estimates from a Zacks database, says that the analysts are expecting a loss of seven cents per share in the quarter. Revenue is expected come in at $738.4 million.

The revenue story is perhaps the one that optimistic investors will be following at Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN). The company managed to lose just one cent in the first quarter of 2013, but it brought in only $601.4 million in revenue for the three months. The company’s revenues are still growing at an appreciable rate, even if it finds it difficult to turn a profit on those takings.

When is Groupon a value buy?

The Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) story has ha its share of negativity attached to it since the company went public at the end of 2011. The firm has had to respond to criticisms questioning the flimsiness of its business model, the integrity of its accounts and the place of its company in a world where people don’t read emails. The firm has, in spite of all of the criticism levelled at it, managed to survive. It’s even managed to show potential on some fronts.

Groupon, which started off offering digital coupons to its users, now offers saver’s club like discounts on many different products. The company has manager to continue growing its revenue despite its lack of consistent earnings, and the tech industry has become more comfortable with the idea of a Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) that could actually spin success out of its business.

That doesn’t offer much to investors, however, who have their money in a company valued at less than twice 2014 revenue. Tuesday afternoon is the noted time for the company’s delivery of earnings for the three months through March. The stock is certainly risky to hold through that kind of headline pressure, but those still holding onto the company’s shares are surely well used to taking risks.

 

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