Groupon Inc lost a quarter of its market value on Wednesday after the largest daily deal company reported disappointing quarterly results and issued a weak forecast.

Fourth-quarter revenue was $638.3 million, compared with $492.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2011. The company also reported a net loss and an operating loss in the latest period.

Groupon was expected to make 3 cents a share on revenue of $638 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company said it expected first-quarter revenue to be between $560 million and $610 million. Doug Anmuth, an analyst at J.P. Morgan, was looking for first-quarter revenue of $630 million.

Groupon shares fell 24 percent to $4.52 in after hours trading on Wednesday.

"This raises questions about how these guys are going to be able to scale the business," said Tom White, an analyst at Macquarie. "The forecast is underwhelming."

(Reporting By Alistair Barr; Editing by David Gregorio)