Groupon Inc Beats Q3 Views; Cuts Outlook

Groupon Inc.

beat third-quarter expectations Thursday on a wider net loss and said the roll-out of its revamped business strategy showed signs of success. Citing a stronger dollar, the company cut its fourth-quarter outlook and now sees adjusted earnings of $0.02 cents to $0.04 cents a share, on revenue between $875 million and $925 million. Analysts expect fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.07 cents a share, on revenue of $926.27 million. In the extended session Thursday, Groupon was recently nearly unchanged at $6 a share. Chicago-based Groupon seeks to shift from a reliance on sending customers "daily deal" emails to offering a list of coupon-based promotions. Roll-out of the new business model "continued to gain traction" in the third quarter, with 10 percent of total traffic in North America based on the new format, Chief Executive Eric Lefkofsky said. Gross billings increased 39 percent in the third quarter to $1.86 billion, while gross profit increased 5.7 percent to $380.1 million. The company's third-quarter loss widened to $21.2million, or three cents a share, from a year-earlier loss of $2.6 million, or break-even per share, a year earlier. Adjusted earnings for the recent period were $0.03 cents a share, while revenue grew 27 percent to $757 million, from $595 million last year. Wall Street expected adjusted earnings of $0.01 cent a share on revenue of $748.8 million.