Pandora Earnings Fall Flat

October 22, 2015 by Chris Lange

Music onlinePandora Media, Inc. (NYSE: P) reported its third quarter financial results after the markets closed on Thursday. The company had a net loss of $0.40 per share on $311.6 million in revenue compared to Thomson Reuters consensus estimates that called for $0.10 in earnings per share (EPS) on $312.97 million in revenue. The same period from the previous year had $0.09 in EPS on $239.59 million in revenue.

The revenue breakdown was: $254.7 million in advertising revenue, up 31% year over year; total mobile revenue was $255.2 million, up 36%; and local advertising revenue was $63.5 million, up 52%. Subscription and other revenue totaled $56.9 million.

Total listener hours grew 3% to 5.14 billion for the third quarter of 2015, compared to 4.99 billion last year. At the same time, active listeners totaled 78.1 million, compared to 76.5 million for the same period of the prior year.

As for guidance, Pandora expects to have revenue in the range of $325 million to $330 million in the fourth quarter compared to the consensus estimate of $312.97 million.

Brian McAndrews, CEO of Pandora, commented on earnings:

Pandora exited Q3 with strong financial results. In a quarter where a large new entrant came into the music streaming landscape and over a hundred million dollars in combined marketing was spent across the sector to drive awareness of a multitude of offerings, Pandora more than held its own for users and hours growth. We aggressively invested to deliver long-term growth and cement Pandora’s leadership in music. Our acquisition of Ticketfly will be truly transformative, extending our long-standing strength in music discovery to the large and fast-growing world of live events. Additionally, with our pre-1972 settlement, we are continuing to strengthen our relationships across the music landscape by resolving an historic source of tension. This progress points to a greater opportunity to work collaboratively toward a bright future for music in a digital era, those who make it, and the fans who love it.

On the books, the company had cash and investments totaling $442.6 million to end the quarter compared to $461.5 million at the end of the prior quarter.

Shares of Pandora closed Thursday down 0.4% at $19.19, with a consensus analyst price target of $22.96 and a 52-week trading range of $13.30 to $23.60. Following the release of the earnings report, shares were down 15% at $16.32 in the after-hours trading session.

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