We knew Groupon was growing fast, but we didn't know how fast.
Figures the company disclosed in its IPO filing yesterday detail Groupon's astonishing rise. They also reveal how much the company has been spending to fuel its growth.
Groupon brought in more than half a billion dollars in the first three months of this year. But it spent even more than that, reporting a net loss of nearly $150 million.
This pattern of a growing company showing big losses is a throwback to the dot com boom, when the goal for many companies was to "get big fast," whatever the cost.
But many of the companies that failed back then never had much in the way of revenues, while Groupon is on track to bring in well over $2 billion this year.
For More: See our story, "Groupon's Secret: Everybody Has A Price"
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.