Score one, but only one, for Groupon.

Revenue growth at the Internet's daily-deal leader reaccelerated in the fourth quarter to 18%, compared with the third quarter. That was up from a quarter-on-quarter growth rate of 10% in the prior period. The most recent growth uptick came despite continuing cuts to Groupon's marketing budget.

That is good news for investors since it is the first indication that Groupon's business isn't totally reliant on blanketing the Internet with ads. Trouble is, that growth isn't strong enough to justify the company's huge valuation, considering its operating profit remains negligible.

Even though Groupon cut its marketing budget, the huge cost of new employees -- the company added more than 1,000 in the fourth quarter -- was a big reason earnings missed expectations.

Also, revenueguidance implies growth could slow in the current quarter. Shares fell as much as 15% after Wednesday's close. Another worrying sign is poor disclosure regarding the company's customers.

Notably, the company didn't disclose the number of email subscribers it had at the end of the quarter, as it has in the past. Groupon would prefer that investors focus on measures of 'engagement.' Its new measure is 'active customer base,' but 'active' means anyone who has purchased a Groupon coupon in the past year.

Confusing investors won't win them over.

Rolfe Winkler

• despite [di´spait] prep.尽管 (初中英语单词)
• indication [,indi´keiʃən] n.指示；征兆，迹象 (初中英语单词)
• measure [´meʒə] n.量度；范围 vt.测量 (初中英语单词)
• customer [´kʌstəmə] n.顾客，买主，主顾 (初中英语单词)
• budget [´bʌdʒit] n.&vi.(做)预算；安排 (高中英语单词)
• revenue [´revinju:] n.税收；收入 (高中英语单词)
• regarding [ri´gɑ:diŋ] prep.关于 (高中英语单词)
• disclose [dis´kləuz] vt.揭露；透露；泄露 (高中英语单词)
• totally [´təutəli] ad.统统，完全 (英语四级单词)
• considering [kən´sidəriŋ] prep.就...而论 (英语四级单词)
• guidance [´gaidəns] n.向导，指导，领导 (英语四级单词)
• valuation [,vælju´eiʃən] n.估价；价值；重要性 (英语六级单词)
• earnings [´ə:niŋz] n.收益；报酬；获得 (英语六级单词)