Groupon plunges after issuing weak outlook, naming new CEO

Groupon Inc. shares plunged more than 25 percent in after-hours trading Tuesday after the company gave weak profit and revenue guidance for the current quarter.

The online daily deal service also named a new CEO.

For the current quarter ending in December, Groupon said Tuesday it expects its adjusted results to range from a loss of 1 cent per share to earnings of 1 cent per share.

Analysts had been expecting adjusted earnings of 7 cents a share during the period, according to FactSet.

The company said it expects revenue in the range of $815 million to $865 million for the fiscal fourth quarter. Analysts surveyed by Zacks had expected revenue of $950 million.

Separately the company announced Rich Williams would succeed co-founder Eric Lefkofsky as CEO. Williams has been Groupon’s chief operating officer since June. Before that, he served as president of North America. Lefkofsky will stay on as chairman of the board and replace Ted Leonsis, who becomes lead independent director.

Groupon on Tuesday reported a loss of $27.6 million, or 4 cents per share, in its third quarter. The Chicago-based company said earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to 5 cents per share.

The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 11 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 1 cent per share.

Revenue totaled $713.6 million in the period, which did not meet Street forecasts. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $729.7 million.

A year earlier the company posted a loss of $21.2 million, or 3 cents per share, on revenue of $714.3 million.

The company said it spent $192.9 million repurchasing 44.1 million shares of stock during the quarter.

After the release of the report, shares fell $1.03 to $3.