Pandora Posts 3Q Loss, Revenue Up 50 Percent

Shares of Pandora Media Inc. slipped Thursday after the internet radio leader gave an outlook for the three months through January that was short of Wall Street’s forecast.

However, CFO Mike Herring said that the impact from the Sept. 18 launch of Apple Inc.’s rival iTunes Radio was “modest.” Pandora noticed a quick dip in users, followed by stabilization and recovery in October, he said.

The company, based in Oakland, Calif., posted a loss in the quarter through Oct. 31 of $1.7 million, or a penny per share. Excluding stock-based compensation and other items, earnings came to 6 cents per share, matching the forecast of analysts polled by FactSet.

Revenue rose 50 percent to $180.4 million, beating the $177 million expected by analysts. Mobile advertising revenue grew 58 percent to $104.9 million, crossing nine figures for the first time.

Pandora says it had 70.9 million active listeners in the quarter, up 20 percent from a year ago, but down slightly from the 71.2 million in the preceding quarter.

Pandora shares fell 38 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $29.30 in after-hours trading, after having risen $1.24 to close up 4.4 percent, at $29.68, in the regular session. The stock has more than tripled this year.