Groupon (GRPN) reported Q4 earnings Thursday 20 February 2014

Ticker: GRPN

• Beat quarterly EPS by $0.02 ($0.04 ex items vs $0.02 estimate), revs rose 20.4% yoy to $768.4 mln vs $718.73 mln estimate; sees Q1 EPS of -$0.04 to $0.02 ex items vs $0.06 estimate, revs of $710-760 mln vs $681.81 mln estimate; downgraded at RBC Capital Markets.
• Two acquisitions last month will hurt profit by $20 million this quarter, Groupon said yesterday after the markets closed. That impact, plus $25 million in additional expenses for marketing and growth initiatives, will lead to adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $20 million to $40 million, Groupon said. Analysts had estimated $96 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Daily deals company Groupon's (GRPN) Q1 sales guidance blew away analyst expectations, but the company said its full-year earnings would be only "slightly above" 2013 levels, sending the stock plummeting Friday.

The Chicago-based company late Thursday said it expects current-quarter sales of $710 million to $760 million, or $735 million at the midpoint. Analysts had been modeling $669 million, according to Thomson Reuters.

But the company says EBITDA — or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization — will suffer as the company integrates recent acquisitions and boosts marketing spending.

Groupon late Thursday said Q4 sales rose 20% from the year-earlier quarter, to $768.4 million, beating views of $718 million.

EPS ex items was 4 cents, swinging from a 1-cent loss and beating expectations for 2 cents.