NIQ Global Intelligence (NIQ 14.34%) stock is getting hit hard in Thursday's trading. The company's share price had fallen 11.6% as of 12:35 p.m. ET.
NIQ published its first-quarter results after the market closed yesterday, reporting a wider-than-expected loss and sales that topped the average Wall Street analyst estimate. As of this writing, the stock is now down roughly 45% year to date.
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NIQ stock slips on mixed Q1 results
NIQ posted a loss of $0.31 per share on sales of $1.07 billion in the first quarter. The company's per-share loss in the quarter came in $0.06 higher than anticipated, but sales topped the average analyst estimate by roughly $20 million. The Nielsen data-services company saw sales increase 11.1% year over year in the quarter, but it looks like investors were betting that the company would post stronger margins and guide for stronger sales performance for this year.
NYSE: NIQ
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What's next for NIQ Global Intelligence?
With its Q1 report, NIQ issued guidance for sales between $4.466 billion and $4.479 billion -- suggesting annual growth between 6.4% and 6.7%. On an organic constant-currency basis, the company is targeting growth between 5% and 5.3%.
While the company's forward guidance wasn't terrible, it appears that some investors are banking on a stronger outlook. While the company is taking steps to bolster its positioning in artificial intelligence (AI), there could be meaningful risks of disruption from emerging AI-focused rivals in the data-tracking and analytics space.
