Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What's happening: Shares of Rosetta Stone (RST) were down 14% as of 1:45 p.m. Thursday after the language software specialist reported weaker than expected fourth-quarter results.
Quarterly revenue climbed 2% year over year to $79.3 million, hurt by an 11% drop in sales to consumers in both North America (to $48 million) and the rest of the world (to $6.4 million), and helped by a 51% jump in Global Enterprise and Education (E&E) sales to $24.9 million. That translated to a net loss of $21.5 million, or $1.01 per share. Adjusted for noncash goodwill impairment costs of $18 million associated with the North American Consumer segment, losses were $0.17 per share. Meanwhile, bookings climbed 15% to $96.6 million. Analysts, on average, were expecting a narrower $0.13-per-share adjusted loss on higher sales of $81.3 million.
Why it's happening: "Today I am announcing an acceleration of our strategy and a prioritized focus on our Global E&E segment," explained Rosetta Stone CEO Steve Swad. "Going forward, we will concentrate on addressing the needs of educators and corporations where we expect to see the most profitable long-term growth potential, recurring revenues from our customer base, and the attractive scale economics of a SaaS enterprise."
To focus on that opportunity, Swad says, requires "taking immediate action to reorganize our business and lower our cost structure to reflect these changes."
In the end, while it's hard to blame the market for its negative reaction given today's miss, I think long-term investors should applaud Rosetta Stone's decision to take action to focus on its greatest growth opportunity given the relative weakness in its current core business.
