GRPN Stock Heads For Best Day In A Year Despite Earnings Miss — Here’s Why CEO Senkypl Is Confident About ‘Stronger Performance Ahead’

• The company reaffirmed its fiscal year 2026 guidance, expecting 2026 revenue to come in between $513 million and $523 million.
• At a midpoint of $518 million, it is ahead of an estimated $517.8 million and implies a 4% growth over the previous year’s revenue.
• The company also expects 2026 billings to grow between 3% to 5%, higher than the 1% gains registered in Q1.

Groupon Inc. (GRPN) missed Wall Street estimates with its first-quarter (Q1) results, but the company’s stock is on track for its best single-day gains in a year.

Groupon reported a loss of $0.32 per share on revenue of $117.2 million, while the Wall Street consensus estimate was for a loss of $0.04 per share on revenue of $117.7 million, according to Fiscal.ai data.

However, Groupon shares were up more than 21% in Friday morning’s trade. GRPN was among the top trending tickers on Stocktwits at the time of writing.

What’s Fueling The Rally In GRPN?

The company reaffirmed its fiscal year 2026 guidance. Groupon expects 2026 revenue to come in between $513 million and $523 million. At a midpoint of $518 million, it is ahead of an estimated $517.8 million and implies a 4% growth over the previous year’s revenue.

The company also expects 2026 billings to grow between 3% to 5%, higher than the 1% gains registered in Q1.

Groupon CEO Dusan Senkypl stated that the company is being rebuilt as an AI-native one to adapt its operations to the needs of agentic commerce. “Q1 results do not yet reflect this work, but the pace of AI adoption across every team gives me confidence in stronger performance ahead,” Senkypl added.

GRPN Doubles Down On AI

Senkypl said that Groupon is piloting AI voice agents for outreach to small and medium-sized merchants, aiming to have most new merchant meetings booked by AI by the end of 2026.

Meanwhile, its marketing teams are using AI-driven tools to optimize campaigns and generate creatives, while product teams are increasingly building and launching features directly from AI-generated demos.

“Groupon IQ, our AI deal creation platform, is in production. AI-generated review summaries are live across the marketplace. By the end of Q2, we expect every leader at Groupon to be using AI agents in where they work,” Senkypl added.

The company’s AI focus has also led to a 5% reduction in headcount in Q1, and Senkypl stated that Groupon is evaluating further cuts that would reduce headcount by 15% globally in Q2.

“The purpose is straightforward, to enable Groupon to operate at the speed required to win in an AI native world,” Senkypl added.

How Did Retail Traders React To GRPN?

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around Groupon trended in the ‘extremely bullish’ territory with message volumes at ‘extremely high’ levels.

One bullish user on the platform stated that AI will completely change the company.

Another user highlighted the cost savings and speed-to-market for sales using AI.

GRPN stock is up 4% year-to-date, but down 24% over the past 12 months. The iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO) is up 40% over the past 12 months, while the State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) is up 19%.

Also See: CoreWeave CEO Downplays Higher-Than-Expected Q1 Loss — Urges Investors To ‘Look At What We’re Building’

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