Groupon Is Getting Crushed

Adjusted for nonrecurring items, the company earned $0.04 per share, the company said in its Thursday afternoon Q4 earnings announcement. This was stronger than the $0.02 expected by analysts.

Revenue of $768.4 million smashed expectations for $718.0 million.

Management's guidance was mixed. It forecasts Q1 revenue of $710-$760 million, which is much higher than the $685.4 million estimated by analysts. However, that's expected to come with an adjusted net loss of $0.02-$0.04 cents per share.

Morgan Stanley's Scott Devitt wasn't too discouraged by the report.

"[T]here are positives which suggest Groupon remains on a promising path - local billings and customer growth improved in EMEA (15% vs. 13% in Q3), units remained strong at 12%, deal count expanded (80,000 in NA and 60,000 internationally), mobile penetration increased (50% worldwide in December), and the company decided to exit the China market to focus on more core markets." said Devitt in a research note today.

Devitt has a $14 price target on the stock.