What happened
Shares of Eventbrite (EB -1.14%), an event-management and ticket company, fell today as news of a slowing U.S. economy spurred investors to sell the stock. As of 2:45 p.m. EDT, the company's share price was down 12.4%.
So what
Investors were already growing pessimistic about Eventbrite's stock after the company released its first-quarter financial results on Monday. Net revenue decreased 39% to $49.1 million, as in-person events across the country were canceled due to COVID-19. Eventbrite said that the "pandemic-related impact" cost the company $19.1 million in revenue during the quarter.
Additionally, the company's loss per share of $1.71 was far worse than analysts' consensus estimate loss of $0.24 per share.
Image source: Getty Images.
But investors continued to drive Eventbrite's stock down today, likely because Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that the U.S. economy will probably need more stimulus and that the outlook for the economy is "highly uncertain and subject to significant downside risks."
That news scared investors across nearly every sector and sent the S&P 500 down about 2% by midday.
Now what
Investors who were already concerned about Eventbrite's ticket and event-management business during the pandemic clearly didn't feel comforted by Powell's comments today. As investors continue to process economic news related to COVID-19, Eventbrite's stock will likely remain volatile.
