Wall Street Takes Break From Hating Groupon After Better-Than-Expected Q4

Groupon’s stock rose more than 14 percent in after-market trading on Thursday, as the struggling e-commerce deals company recorded a better holiday season than analysts expected on the back of strong North America results.

Groupon earned four cents a share, excluding some items, on $917 million in revenue. Analysts were expecting Groupon to break even on about $846 million in revenue.

Groupon CEO Rich Williams told Re/code that the company’s focus on deals resonated with shoppers during a holiday season where some full-price retailers hit headwinds. North America revenue grew 13 percent year over year in the fourth quarter to $623 million.

“The Groupon brand is so rooted in value and savings and that performed really well,” he said.

The one-time e-commerce darling still faces big challenges. Even with the after-market stock price increase, Groupon’s stock is trading at just $2.56 a share. The company was trading at $4 a share as recently as November 3, but was hammered after new CEO Rich Williams slashed expectations and announced the company would spend an additional $150 million to $200 million on marketing in the next year.

The company began supplementing digital advertising with billboards and radio ads in some cities, Williams told Re/code, and the company plans to increase its new advertising spending in this quarter.

Groupon exited from 17 of the 45 countries it operated in last year, in an effort to focus on its best markets.

Correction: An earlier version of this story erroneously reported North America gross billings results as revenue results.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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