What happened to Phunware Inc?

The shares of the Trump-affiliated software company is now down about 70% from its 52-week peak.

What is Phunware Inc

Phunware, Inc. and its subsidiaries provide an integrated software platform that provides enterprises with the tools, solutions, and services they need to engage, manage, and monetize their mobile application portfolios in the United States and around the world. Cloud-based mobile software that licenses in software development kits (SDKs) form and is used inside mobile applications, as well as analytics that give statistics on application use and engagement, are among the company’s goods and services.

Company’s Financial Summary

Phunware, Inc. has announced profits for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2022. The company reported sales of USD 4.76 million in the third quarter, up from USD 2.16 million the previous year. The net loss was USD 8.02 million, compared to a net income of USD 0.372 million the previous year. Basic loss per share from continuing operations was USD 0.08 compared to basic earnings per share from continuing operations of USD 0.01 a year earlier. Diluted loss per share from continuing operations was USD 0.08. For the nine months, sales was USD 17.02 million compared to USD 5.24 million a year ago. The net loss was USD 40.01 million, compared to USD 21.71 million the previous year.

What happened

Phunware (NASDAQ: PHUN) shares are down significantly in today’s session. The stock price of the software company was down 7.9% as of 11:15 a.m. ET Thursday, and had dropped as much as 14.9% during the day.

After the market closed on Wednesday, Phunware released its full-year profits results, and profitability fell short of market forecasts despite sales exceeding the objective. Last year, the firm lost $0.71 per share on $10.64 million in revenue, compared to the average analyst expectation of $0.32 per share on $10.27 million in revenue.

What to expect

Phunware assisted with the development of Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign mobile app and supplied additional data-analytics services, and the company appears to be anticipating a substantial increase in sales from the 2022 election cycle.

CEO Alan Knitowski expects the company’s sales to increase by more than 250% in the first half of this year, thanks to a combination of internal initiatives and potential acquisitions. Knitowski further stated that the company intends to boost its Bitcoin holdings.

Phunware presently has a market valuation of nearly $252 million and is valued at approximately 10 times this year’s estimated sales.

Conclusion

While the firm initially showed promise with its revolutionary mobile application development platform, it finally succumbed to a mix of mismanagement, financial challenges, and legal issues. Despite the challenges faced by Phunware, it’s important to remember that failure is a common occurrence in the business world, and that valuable lessons can be learned from even the most difficult experiences. By taking a critical look at what went wrong with Phunware, we can gain insights into how to avoid similar pitfalls and increase the likelihood of success in future ventures.

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