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Groupon Investors Lose Faith, Bail Quickly

How about $10 for $20 worth of Groupon stock?
How about $10 for $20 worth of Groupon stock? Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Ever since going public last November, Groupon hasn’t had the easiest go of it — the stock is worth about a quarter of its IPO price, clocking in at $4.75 as of today. Alongside the slipping stock price of Zynga and the lackluster IPO of Facebook, it’s considered one harbinger of a tech bust like the one we saw twelve years ago. In fact, today MarketWatch reports that several of Groupon’s big early investors dumped their stock as soon as they were allowed to.

Groupon’s early investors managed to walk away with tidy profits, but probably did so just in time given how far the stock has slipped.

It doesn’t help that consumers and small businesses alike are tiring of the whole social couponing thing just as hundreds of imitators have cropped up all over — the Times just published another piece about “deal fatigue,” citing the 798 deal sites that have shut down in the second half of last year. Also, Groupon’s stock price has dipped further since last week’s announcement of dismal second-quarter sales numbers, and there has been further news of Groupon losing sales staff in droves to competitors. CEO Andrew Mason announced some new hires of frontline sales staff, which has made investors even more nervous.

And when it all comes down to it, how many flower-arranging lessons and half-price cupcakes does one person really need?

Early Groupon Investors Throwing in the Towel [MarketWatch]
Earlier: New Start-up Treatful Aims to Be the Kinder, Gentler Groupon
Partnering With Groupon Shown to Hurt a Restaurant’s Reputation

Groupon Investors Lose Faith, Bail Quickly