Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of TrueCar Inc (TRUE +0.00%) were down roughly 12% as of 1:30 p.m. Friday despite the company's earlier reporting better-than-expected fourth-quarter results and solid forward guidance.
So what: Quarterly revenue climbed 38% year over year to $55.5 million, which translated to adjusted net income of $300,000, or roughly break-even on a per-share basis. Meanwhile, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization rose to $4.3 million, compared to a loss of $300,000 in the year-ago period. Analysts, on average, were expecting roughly the same sales to result in a $0.01 per share adjusted net loss.
For the current quarter, TrueCar expects revenue of approximately $59 million, with adjusted EBITDA of $3.5 million-$3.8 million. For the full year, it sees revenue of $280 million-$290 million, with adjusted EBITDA of $26.6 million-$29.0 million. Both revenue ranges came in slightly ahead of Wall Street's models.
Now what: As fellow Fool Daniel Miller pointed out, however, investors were likely spooked by the fact TrueCar suffered a sequential decline in both unique visitors and units sold in the fourth quarter -- something TrueCar management noted during the subsequent conference call was merely the result of regular seasonality. Based on a more appropriate year-over-year comparison, TrueCar is still growing both metrics at a healthy clip.
In any case, I agree with my Foolish colleague that TrueCar's drop Friday appears to be unmerited in light of its solid results. At the same time, I think this could be a perfect opportunity for patient, long-term investors to add to or start a new position.
