Shares of LendingClub fell in after-hours trading Wednesday after posting weaker-than-expected revenue outlook, despite reporting strong results. The fall below $20 wiped out almost all the gains the company saw in a rally that ran from July to November as its neobank strategy showed strength, taking shares from around $16 to as high as $49. With inflation on the rise and other threats looming, that strategy's freshly in question.
LendingClub’s stock tumbled about 14% in trades after the market closed, following a trading session that saw its shares rise 4.5% in anticipation of its earnings. The company reported a profit of 27 cents a share on revenue of $262.2 million in the fourth quarter. Analysts expected LendingClub to post earnings of 22 cents a share on revenue of $245.7 million.
The company said it expects first-quarter revenue of $255 million to $265 million. Analysts were expecting revenue of $257 million.
Analyst Michele Alt, a partner at Klaros Group, attributed the stock fall to “market jitters.”
LendingClub CEO Scott Sanborn agreed, telling Protocol, “There's just a lot of volatility out there and a lot of anxiety and a lot of sharp movements happening.”