What happened
Shares of online advertising outfit Cardlytics (CDLX +9.79%) are down 24.9% headed into the middle of Wednesday's trading action following a disappointing Q2 earnings report.
So what
For the three-month stretch ending in June, Cardlytics posted a per-share operating loss of $0.39 on revenue of $58.9 million. The top line was up 109% year over year, but it fell short of consensus estimates of $62.9 million. The bottom line was better than the expected loss of $0.65 per share, but had still worsened by a penny compared to the year-ago figure.
Image source: Getty Images.
The company is also guiding for revenue of between $57 million and $66 million for the quarter currently underway, although analysts had collectively been modeling a top line of $71.0 million. Any of those figures would be a marked slowdown from last quarter's triple-digit growth pace.
Now what
Had shares taken today's tumble immediately following a run-up to frothy, record-breaking prices, it would be easy to suspect more downside in store. That's not the case, though. Shares were already down 26% from February's high headed into Tuesday's post-close announcement, suggesting investors already knew second-quarter numbers weren't going to be thrilling. With Wednesday's drubbing, the stock's not only down 44% for the past six months but may well be descending as you read this.
It's still a risky name to be sure, and not appropriate for many investors. The company's fundamental story hasn't changed, though, and its growth trajectory isn't dramatically different from what it appeared to be before Tuesday. If it was ownable then, this new lower price makes Cardlytics even more ownable now.
