Groupon posts a Q4 2012 loss, and shares dive 28% — February 27, 2013

Groupon reported its fourth quarter 2012 earnings today almost exactly where analysts had expected: with $638 million in revenue, up 30 percent over last year

The problem was that analysts wanted a profit.

“Record billings growth this quarter is a clear signal that customers love Groupons,” said Andrew Mason, CEO of Groupon, focusing on the positive. “We will continue to invest in growth through 2013 as we see new opportunities to give our customers what they want.”

But analysts had expected Groupon to earn $638 million — almost exactly what the company did record for revenue — and to make $0.03 per share of profit. Instead, the company lost 12 cents per share, posting a loss of $12.9 million, up from 2011′s $15 million, but not yet in the black.

And while billings were up 24 percent to $1.52 billion in the quarter, and 35 percent to $5.38 billion for the full year, operating cash flow decreased 61% year-over-year to $65.7 million, and free cash flow decreased 83% year-over-year to $25.7 million.

Last quarter was a disaster for Groupon, driving its stock down nearly 20 percent on missed revenue and poor international performance, although it had grown subscribers 37 percent year-over-year to 200 million. This quarter is looking much the same for the Chicago based daily deals frontrunner.

More coming soon, this is a breaking story.

Disclosure: I am a partner in a coworking space, SwitchCube, which will shortly be running a Groupon campaign.

Image credit: Groupon

Filed under: VentureBeat