The old economics.

Well, well, will you look at that: Long-suffering Groupon finally had a good day. Q1 results are in, and the AP reports that revenues are up and losses slimming. Of course, after that mortifying Q4 earnings revision, the company badly needed things to go well. Maybe they're getting better at being a public company, after all.

Revenues were up 89 percent year-over-year, from $295.5 million to $559.3 million. That number also beat expectations: Groupon had forecast somewhere between $510 million and $550 million, whereas analysts averaged out at $530.5 million. The company was also losing less money: Just $11.7 million this quarter, as opposed to $146.5 million in Q1 of 2011. There's something to be said for moving in the right direction, at least. 

“We are pleased to report a record quarter that demonstrates our progress in unlocking the opportunity in local commerce for merchants and customers worldwide,” the chief executive, Andrew Mason, said. He said the company had started to see the benefits of new technologies, such as its “SmartDeals” program, which aims to make deals more relevant to users depending on where they are and who they are, for example.

Maybe "not taking stupid risks" is a better strategy than we gave him credit for.