Groupon Slammed on Earnings Miss

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Groupon (GRPN) are plunging in after-hours trading after the daily deals company posted weaker-than-expected third-quarter results.

Groupon reported break-even earnings on $568.8 million in revenue. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were looking for earnings of 3 cents a share on $590.12 million in revenue. Revenue rose 32% year-over-year, but Wall Street was looking for more.

"Our solid performance in North America was offset by continued challenges in Europe," said Groupon CEO Andrew Mason in the press release. "Groupon Goods has evolved into a second major category that our customers clearly love. With deals on everything from designer sunglasses to big-screen televisions to most-wanted toys, we think it will be a great gifting destination this holiday season."

Groupon, which competes in the daily deals space alongside LivingSocial and Google (GOOG), has been stung by worries over accounting and the long-term viability of the business. LivingSocial is partly owned by Amazon (AMZN), which also offers its own daily deals.

Operating cash flow decreased 35% year-over-year to $42.1 million. As of the end of the quarter, the company had $1.2 billion in cash and cash equivalents.

Groupon provided fourth-quarter revenue guidance, that at the midpoint, is better than Wall Street is expecting. Analysts expect Groupon will generate $633.87 million in revenue, earning 4 cents a share. Groupon expects revenue to be between $625 million and $675 million.

Shares of Groupon rose 4.26% today to close at $3.92. Groupon is moving lower in exended-hours trading, down 15.31% to $3.32, according to Nasdaq.com.

Interested in more on Groupon? See TheStreet Ratings' report card for this stock.

--Written by Chris Ciaccia in New York

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