Tech companies that have had initial public offerings of stock since last year have released their quarterly earnings reports. Here are highlights from some of them. The companies are all loosely Internet-related, though their businesses vary widely.
- July 25: Zynga Inc. says it lost money and received less revenue than anticipated in the second quarter because "CityVille," "'FarmVille" and other games are not attracting as many paying players as they should. Its stock tanked and dragged Facebook's shares as well because the social networking icon relies on Zynga for a good chunk of its revenue - 12 percent last year. Revenue fell below Wall Street forecast, while expenses grew. The company says the number of players increased only because it got more players from its acquisition of OMGPop, the maker of the mobile game "Draw Something." Zynga began trading on Dec. 16, 2011.
Angie's List Inc. reports that its losses are still piling up as the company spends more to lure people to its online business-review service and persuade them to pay to see ratings on everything from plastic surgeons to sewer cleaners. Angie's List began trading on Nov. 17, 2011.
- July 26: Facebook Inc. says revenue grew 32 percent to $1.18 billion in the second quarter, slightly above analyst expectations. It had a net loss of 8 cents per share, mainly due to stock compensation expenses following its IPO. Adjusted earnings of 12 cents per share matched Wall Street's expectations. Investors weren't impressed and after a brief spike, Facebook's stock tumbled. It was Facebook's first quarterly earnings report since public trading began on May 18, 2012. Facebook now has 955 million users, up about 50 million during the quarter.
- Aug. 1: Online review site Yelp Inc. reports a smaller net loss and sharply higher revenue than Wall Street expected, surpassing analysts at a time when many of its fellow freshly public Internet companies are taking a beating from investors. Its outlook was also better than anticipated. Yelp began trading publicly on March 2, 2012.
- Aug. 2: LinkedIn Corp.'s net income fell in the latest quarter as the professional networking site spent more money to grow its business. But revenue grew faster than expected, and the company raised its forecast for the year. LinkedIn began trading publicly on May 19, 2011.
- Aug. 7: Jive Software Inc., which makes Facebook-type social networks for businesses, reports a smaller loss and higher revenue. But the midpoint of its full-year guidance falls below analysts' expectations. It began trading on Dec. 13, 2011.
- Aug. 13: Online deals website Groupon Inc. says its quarterly earnings beat Wall Street's profit estimates, but it underwhelmed analysts with sales growth hurt by unfavorable currency movements. A weaker euro and U.K. pound meant that sales made in Europe got converted back into fewer U.S. dollars. Groupon began trading publicly on Nov. 4, 2011.
- Aug. 14: Shares of Angie's List suffers the biggest one-day drop and closes at a new low following the expiration of a ban that had prevented some investors from dumping millions of additional shares. The price dropped, even though there was no word on whether any of the major investors had dumped their shares.
- Aug. 16: Facebook's stock hits all-time low after the expiration of a similar ban.
- Aug. 20: Facebook's stock trades below $19 - half its IPO price - for the first time, though it bounces back to close at $20.01. It's disclosed that Peter Thiel, one of Facebook's earliest investors and a member of its board, was among the insiders selling stock after a lockup expired a few days earlier.
- Aug. 29: Pandora Media Inc. reported results that resonated well on Wall Street, even though the Internet radio service's losses widened. The setback was offset by evidence that Pandora's efforts to attract more listeners and sell more advertising on mobile devices are paying off. Pandora's management predicted the company's performance in the current quarter will be better than analysts had expected. Pandora began trading publicly on June 15, 2011.
- Wednesday: Zynga releases a "FarmVille" sequel, something it hopes will reverse a slowdown in revenue growth and a slide in its stock price.