What happened
Shares of internet hotspot specialist Boingo Wireless (WIFI) crashed on Friday, down 11.1% at the close. Though that sounds like bad news, it is, in my view, more the consequence of much better news that Boingo investors got on Thursday.
Specifically, Boingo stock bounced more than 40% on Thursday in response to an earnings report that featured 22% sales growth and a swing from net losses a year ago to a $0.05-per-share profit in this year's second quarter.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
So what news drained the enthusiasm over those fantastic results and sent Boingo stock plummeting today?
Actually, nothing. As far as I can tell, there was no bad news at all affecting Boingo stock today -- no downgrades, no bombshells revealed in after-earnings conference calls with analysts, nothing. Rather, today's sell-off looks to me like nothing more than investors cashing in their chips and taking profits on a bet that paid off big-time.
Now what
Whether Boingo stock continues to pay off in the future may depend largely on whether it can keep the profits coming in future quarters. In that regard, in its Q2 report on Wednesday evening, Boingo promised investors continued sales growth to $60 million to $64 million in Q3 (about 15% growth from Q3 last year). Sales should keep climbing through the end of the year, with Boingo ending with full-year revenue of between $243 million and $250 million, according to management -- 21% growth from 2017.
However, Boingo did not promise any profits in Q3 -- or for full-year 2018, for that matter. Then again, it may just surprise us -- just like it did last quarter.
