Online coupons site Groupon lost about a quarter of its value in a matter of minutes on Wednesday after the company reported disappointing earnings.
The loss of 12 cents per share was worse than Wall Street estimates, and the forecast for the future wasn’t any better. Groupon estimated that the next quarter’s revenues would come out to a maximum of $610 million, also below analyst predictions.
This puts Groupon founder and CEO Andrew Mason on shakier ground after media reports surfaced last year suggesting that the board may fire him. Shares falling more than 24% on Wednesday in after-market trading gives the board more reason to let him go.
Seems like it was another era when Mason was reveling in his goofiness before Groupon went public in 2011, when it was still an internet darling. Like Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Mason made it clear he wasn’t the Wall Street type. But Zuckerberg’s worst sin was wearing a hoodie; Mason, on the other hand, posted videos of himself dancing in his underwear and doing yoga in that same outfit, if you can call it that.
That raised questions about his maturity, which he dismissed. Critics also questioned the viability of Groupon’s business given the easy entrance of new competitors, like Living Social and Amazon’s local deals.
Lately, though, he’s been looking a bit more like a serious businessman and appears in interviews with a sports coat and button down shirt. But it may be too late.