Groupon's revenue for 2010 was two times lower than declared

For quite some time, rumors have been circulating that the discount company Groupon will soon enter the IPO. Many experts who monitor the activities of the company believe that this is another “bubble” that grows only due to the desire of investors to invest in a company that is showing constant growth. The Groupon management tried to refute such suspicions, showing a significant profit. So, in 2010, according to one of the reports, Groupon's revenue amounted to 713.4 million dollars. But it turned out that the real revenue is half that shown.

In addition, experts are also suspicious of the departure of the second COO this year. Earlier, Groupon also announced its desire to enter an IPO with a capitalization of about $ 20 billion. Immediately before the planned listing, a financial report was shown that did not satisfy US regulators. Experts felt that this report does not correspond to the real state of affairs. For example, it is estimated that by June of this year, Groupon’s total losses were about $ 400 million.

In a preliminary report, Groupon also showed an overestimated rate of profit. So, if the company managed to sell the coupon to the buyer, then the entire amount received from the user was counted as Groupon revenue. But you should also take into account the fact that deductions are made from this amount to the partner. In a new report, where partnership contributions have already been taken into account, the company's total revenue for 2010 was slightly different - $ 312.9 million. This is two and a half times less than previously stated.

As a result, the company’s IPO release date is constantly being postponed, and it becomes unclear what will happen next. In principle, it may well happen that the entry to the exchange will be canceled altogether, although so far the probability of this event (cancellation) is not so great. But the company's capitalization certainly does not amount to 20 billion, this can already be said with confidence.

Via CNET