» New tech behind improved standing: Despite the company having a fairly mature North American market, Groupon still managed to have a 33 percent increase in its business in the region, thanks in large part to a push to in the direction of mobile apps and the use of relevance-boosting techniques like SmartDeals. Still, $16.3 million in profit (2 cents a share) seems kinda low when we’re talking revenue of $559.3 million, though it beat investor estimates. Their stock price is still far below its $20 IPO, even with the boost due to the good news from these results.
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» It was supposed to be way higher than this: Back when Groupon first floated the idea of their IPO, the expected valuation was $15 to $20 billion, a number which threw investors off and led to allegations that 1) they were overhyped, 2) Groupon was an elaborate ponzi scheme and 3) their IPO is a sign that a fresh tech bubble is on the way. They backed off some of the higher valuations, but then set the price at $20 per share, instead of the expected $16-18. When it finally hits, it’s going to be an interesting ride, to say the least.
I think investors will go for this one. Whether or not it’s worth the valuation it comes at is still an open question.Jacob Funds chairman Ryan Jacob • Asking a fair question about Groupon’s IPO, which the company expects to raise three quarters of a billion dollars, and could put the company’s valuation in the tens of billions. Are we in another tech bubble? Probably. If it pops, will it pop on the day Groupon hits the stock exchange? Probably not. Still though — Groupon has only been around for a little over two years (yet it feels like much longer), so they’re the ones who’ll probably get more scrutiny than anyone else here. source (via • follow)
I wanted to dig into the whole group buying daily-deal craze and see if it’s as much of a win for merchants as it is for consumers. To test this out, I took one of my outlets and did a Groupon for it, and then did a deal through rival site LivingSocial. Let me tell you right now: It was night and day. Working with one company was a great experience. With the other, it was a mess.Entrepreneur Romil Patel • Introing a piece he wrote comparing the two most-popular deals services from a businessperson’s perspective. To put it simply, one had kinda-rough customer service and deals that confused consumers. The other was a pleasure to work with. Can you figure out which one he liked better? source (via • follow)
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