Groupon IPO - Priced at $20 a share...going public today.

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Dr. Detroit

Diamond Member
Sep 25, 2004
8,251
703
126
$70 can be counted as COG purchased from merchent - but the funny thing is Groupon Goods never takes ownership of the product and is more like a drop ship thingy... but they are correct in stating it is "Gross Revenue" but it will be wrong if they counted it as "Net Revenue" or "Operating Revenue."

Its a EITF-99-19 issue - you can read the literature here: http://www.fasb.org/pdf/abs99-19.pdf

It would be surprising if the SEC does not call them out on this but I suspect GRPN and their auditors EY successfully argued this with the SEC earlier this year when they had to change their "gross vs net" accounting and restate earnings.
 

DrPizza

Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
Mar 5, 2001
49,601
166
111
www.slatebrookfarm.com
They seem to get nothing but negative press too. For every 1 company that's happy with them, there are dozens who regret using them for advertising.

I wonder if Google might consider picking it up for cheap now & re-inventing it?
 

DrPizza

Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
Mar 5, 2001
49,601
166
111
www.slatebrookfarm.com
Well, let's see. Originally weren't the valued at double what Google offered? Now they're at one fifth the stock price; so maybe worth 2 billionish, on paper? Yeah, that $200 to $800 million range sounds reasonable. It's a household name; but Google would really have to do something innovative to change the way they're viewed by businesses.

Edit: roughly 650M shares; a little over $4 a share, so current value is roughly 2.7 billion. I think they'll have to let them tank a little while longer to get a controlling interest for that range.
 
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jhu

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
11,918
9
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It's likely Google looked at their books, said "no", then let Groupon save face by having them back away.
 

DrPizza

Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
Mar 5, 2001
49,601
166
111
www.slatebrookfarm.com
It's likely Google looked at their books, said "no", then let Groupon save face by having them back away.
Google offered them 6 billion. Now, I'm pretty much a noob at the stock market, but there were 650 million shares originally at $20 per share. That adds up to more than double what Google offered them.
 

Miramonti

Lifer
Aug 26, 2000
28,651
100
91
Profit was $0.00 per share ($.03 expected), with revenues of $568m.

They really seemed to be pushing for profit lately too. Their best deals were invitation only (more attractive to marketers) or cash only (no groupon bucks etc.)

That said, they aren't running at a loss. This might be worth buying some dead cats.
 

PottedMeat

Lifer
Apr 17, 2002
12,363
475
126
lolololol

CEO Fired after Ridiculously Poor Earnings
http://arstechnica.com/business/201...mason-fired-after-ridiculously-poor-earnings/


this is what happens when you spend all your time on 4chan

Mason likened his time at Groupon to a 1991 video game, Battletoads.

“If Groupon was Battletoads, it would be like I made it all the way to the Terra Tubes without dying on my first ever playthrough. I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to take the company this far with all of you. I’ll now take some time to decompress (FYI I’m looking for a good fat camp to lose my Groupon 40, if anyone has a suggestion), and then maybe I’ll figure out how to channel this experience into something productive.”
 

Imp

Lifer
Feb 8, 2000
18,828
184
106
Meh, he probably got a huge severance package and made more than a killing during his stint there.

CEO: The job where you win no matter how poorly you do.
 

Markbnj

Elite Member <br>Moderator Emeritus
Moderator
Sep 16, 2005
15,682
14
81
www.markbetz.net
Meh, he probably got a huge severance package and made more than a killing during his stint there.

CEO: The job where you win no matter how poorly you do.

Well, he presumably had a bunch of founders stock and sold a big chunk of it in the IPO. That's usually how these things go. So yeah, he will have done fine.
 

Hugo Drax

Diamond Member
Nov 20, 2011
5,647
47
91
The Joke is on Joe Sixpack, funds stuff retirement portfolios with crap like GRPN.
 

QueBert

Lifer
Jan 6, 2002
22,546
832
126
Groupon is turning into trash. Every offer is for some shitty hair salon or massage spa.

Maybe in your area, out here it's all sorts of awesome shit. Kart racing, in door rock climbing, in door huuuuge ass trampoline thingy you play this sport I have no idea what it's called on. And what's wrong with Spa coupons? A good numbers of females love to go to day spas, sending your lady to one for half off is never a bad thing.