Groupon (GRPN) Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Down Y/Y
Groupon GRPN reported non-GAAP earnings of 30 cents per share in fourth-quarter 2023, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 11 cents per share. The company reported a non-GAAP loss of 38 cents per share in the year-ago quarter.
Revenues of $137.72 million beat the consensus estimate of $135 million. The figure declined 7% on a year-over-year basis (down 8%, excluding the foreign exchange effect).
Region-wise, North America revenues of $99.9 million beat the consensus mark by 2.9% but slumped 6% year over year. International revenues of $37.8 million beat the consensus mark by 8.3% but fell 10% year over year (down 15%, excluding the foreign exchange effect).
Groupon, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Groupon, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Groupon, Inc. Quote
Quarterly Details
Local revenues of $123.6 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 6.3% but declined 2.8% year over year (down 4% excluding the foreign exchange effect). North America Local revenues declined 2.8% while International Local revenues fell 2.9% year over year.
Consolidated Travel revenues of $5.4 million missed the consensus mark by 8.1% and decreased 8.3% year over year. North America Travel revenues rose 0.4% year over year. International Travel revenues declined 21.4% in the reported quarter.
On a consolidated basis, Goods revenues of $8.7 million missed the consensus mark by 11.4% and declined 42.1% year over year. North America Goods revenues declined 42.4% while International Goods revenues fell 44.8%, excluding the foreign exchange effect, on a year-over-year basis.
Customer Metrics
At the end of the fourth quarter, Groupon had approximately 16.5 million active customers compared with 18.8 million at the end of the year-ago quarter. The metric beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 6.1%.
At the end of the fourth quarter, the company had approximately 10.3 million active customers based in North America, beating the consensus mark by 14.1%, and 6.2 million active international customers, missing the consensus mark by 4.8%.
Operating Details
In the fourth quarter, gross profit was $122.3 million, down 5% year over year.
Selling, general and administrative expenses fell 35% year over year to $72.5 million in the reported quarter. Marketing expenses declined 18.8% to $34.5 million.
The company reported a GAAP operating income of $17.65 million against a loss of $32.8 million in the year-ago quarter.
Balance Sheet & Cash Flow
Groupon exited the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $141.6 million, up from $86.1 million as of Sep 30, 2023.
In the fourth quarter, the company generated $54.5 million in operating cash flow against the operating cash outflow of $13.85 million in the prior quarter.
Groupon reported a free cash flow of $51.1 million against $17.97 million of free cash outflow reported in the previous quarter.
Guidance
For first-quarter 2024, the company expects revenues in the band of $113-$118 million, indicating a 7-3% year-over-year decline.
Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $7 million and $12 million.
Groupon expects a free cash outflow for the first quarter.
For 2024, the company expects revenues between $489 million and $515 million, indicating a year-over- year change in the band of (5%)-0%.
Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $80 million and $100 million.
Groupon expects a positive free cash flow for 2024.
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Groupon currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the retail-wholesale sector are American Eagle Outfitters AEO, eBay EBAY and Amazon AMZN. While American Eagle Outfitters currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Best Buy and Amazon carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
American Eagle Outfitters shares have gained 9.5% year to date. It has a long-term earnings growth rate of 12.53%.
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