Groupon stumbles on earnings report

Groupon, which misstepped with a President's Day promotion honoring "President" Andrew Hamilton, hit stride on Wall Street Thursday, then stumbled again after reporting higher fourth-quarter revenue but said 2014 earnings would be only slightly above 2013 levels.

The discount coupon giant posted fourth-quarter revenue of $768.4 million, up 20% from the year-ago quarter. Full year revenue rose 10% to $2.6 billion. But the company posted losses of amounting to 12 cents a share for the quarter, unchanged from 2012. But the company said investments in recent acquisitions such as Ticket Monster would increase 2014 costs and curb full year earnings.

Groupon shares, which closed up 2.6% to $10.28, surged more than 15% to $11.88 in after hours trading following the company's earnings 4 p.m. earnings release. But shares quickly reversed, trading off over 5% at $9.73.

CEO Eric Lefkofsky said the company had gained momentum from holiday shoppers. Nearly 50% of December customer deals were made on mobile devices.

Groupon shares had been down more than 10% since the start of the year. The President's Day marketing gaffe didn't help its image. Hamilton, the face on $10 bills and the nation's first Treasury Secretary, was featured in $10 discount promotion that fast became a joke, gaining derision from middle school history teachers to Madison Avenue.

Groupon did not comment for several days, then claimed the marketing effort featuring Hamilton as "undeniably one of our greatest presidents,'' was an intentional, attention-getting stunt.

The Chicago-based company is known for quirkiness. A 2011 Super Bowl ad, intended to parody celebrity charity endorsements, was widely criticized. Then founder and CEO Andrew Mason didn't apologize.

"Our ads highlight the often trivial nature of stuff on Groupon when juxtaposed against bigger world issues, making fun of Groupon, then founder and CEO Andrew Mason said in post Super Bowl blog post. "Why make fun of ourselves? Because it's d! ifferent - ads are traditionally about shameless self-promotion, and we've always strived to have a more honest and respectful conversation with our customers."

Mason was ousted in February 2013, famously tweeting in uncharacteristic CEO fashion; "I was fired today."

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