NIQ Global Intelligence (NIQ -1.80%) 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.

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.