Groupon Inc (GRPN) Tanks 15 Percent; 2Q Revenues Miss Street Estimate

Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) released its second-quarter financial results with non-GAAP earnings of $0.01 per share on $751.6 million in revenues. The company said its revenue increased 23% during the quarter.

The Chicago-based daily deals company’s earnings were in line with the $0.01 per share expected by Wall Street analysts, but its revenues were lower than the $762.07 million consensus estimate.

The stock price of Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) tumbled more than 15% to $5.97 per share after-hours in New York.

Details of quarterly financial results

During the quarter, Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) said its gross billings increased 29% globally to $1.82 billion from $1.42 billion the same period a year ago. Gross billings represent the total dollar value of customer purchases of goods and services excluding applicable taxes and net of estimated refunds.

According to the company, its gross billings in North America rose 12% while flat in the EMEA region. Groupon’s gross billings in Rest of the World grew 145% due to its acquisition of Ticket Monster in the first-quarter.

Its gross profit was $389.9 million, up from $384.2 million in the year-ago quarter. Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) said its free cash flow was negative $53.8 million during the quarter. The daily deals company ended the second-quarter with $868.1 million in cash and equivalents.

In a statement, Eric Lefkofsky, CEO of Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) said, “Our marketplace continues to gain traction and add to our growth; we reached another all-time high in mobile, and with the launch of Gnome, we believe we’re making great strides in connecting local commerce.”

Business outlook

Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) expected to deliver revenue in the range of $720 million to $770 million for the third quarter. The company estimated to achieve non-GAAP earnings between $0.00 and $0.02 per share.

Its guidance was lower than the $0.03 in earnings per share on $760 million in revenues estimated by Wall Street analysts for the third quarter.

Stock buyback

During the second-quarter, Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) repurchased more than 17 million shares of its Class A common stock at an average price of $6.15 per share. The total cost of the shares bought back was $106 million.