Groupon misses by $0.03, beats on revs; issues light FY19 EBITDA guidance
- Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.10 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 worse than the S&P Capital IQ Consensus of $0.13; revenues fell 8.4% year/year to $799.93 mln vs the $782.54 mln S&P Capital IQ Consensus.
- Adjusted EBITDA was $269.8 million in 2018 vs. guidance for $280-290 mln
- Global units sold declined 8% to 50.5 million in the fourth quarter 2018 as a result of lower traffic and the co's continued focus on maximizing long-term gross profit, which resulted in fewer units. Units in North America were down 13%, while International units were up 3%.
- Highlights from Shareholder Letter:
- Unfortunately, the operating environment grew increasingly challenging in the second half of the year when accelerating headwinds from email and changes in Google search reduced traffic and engagement for the business. Those headwinds persisted in Q4 and as we entered the new year. We don't expect the headwinds to worsen in 2019, nor do we expect them to abate. We have to assume the changes in search and the challenges for email are the new normal and adapt as we always have.
- Importantly, we anticipate that the investments we're making now, along with continued cost discipline, will put us on the path to achieving $300 million or more of Adjusted EBITDA in 2020 -- with significant upside potential over time should our initiatives on voucherless and conversion drive purchase frequency higher, as we have seen in early testing.
- Outlook: For the full year 2019, Groupon expects Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $270 million (vs. estimates of ~$297 mln); Projects 2020 Adjusted EBITDA of $300 million or more
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