How Yelp Won Big in Q1

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 11, 11:47PM EST · Published May 10, 4:27PM EDT

Follow 24/7 Wall St. on Google

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP) released its most recent quarterly report after markets closed Thursday. The online restaurant reviewer said that it had a net loss of $0.03 per share on $223.07 million in revenue, compared with consensus estimates that called for a net loss of $0.04 per share on $220.14 million in revenue. The first quarter from last year had a net loss of $0.06 per share on $197.32 million in revenue.

During this quarter, paying advertising accounts increased sequentially by 14,000 to 177,000, up 27% year to year.

In terms of its segments, the company reported:

Advertising revenue of $214 million in the first quarter of 2018, reflected a 20% increase over first quarter 2017, driven by strong sales productivity and a 29% increase in the size of the local salesforce. The strength in advertising revenue in the first quarter also reflects a record increase in advertising customers during the quarter.

Transactions revenue totaled $4 million in the first quarter of 2018 compared to $18 million in the same period a year earlier. The decrease in transactions revenue reflects the absence of revenue from Eat24, which we sold in October 2017 and which generated $17 million in revenue in the first quarter of 2017.

[nativounit]

Looking ahead to the second quarter, the company expects to see net revenues in the range of $230 million to $233 million, with adjusted EBITDA in the range of $39 million to $42 million. There are consensus estimates calling for $0.07 in EPS on $230.99 million in revenue for the coming quarter.

On the books, cash, cash equivalents and Investments totaled $830 million in on its balance sheet, with no debt at the end of the quarter.

Jeremy Stoppelman, Co-founder and CEO, commented:

We had a great start to 2018, accelerating advertising revenue growth and attracting a record number of new advertisers in the first quarter. The expansion of our non-term advertising product is showing promising results and we are raising our full-year revenue and adjusted EBITDA outlook.

Shares of Yelp closed Thursday at $47.65, with a consensus analyst price target of $47.30 and a 52-week range of $27.11 to $48.40. Following the announcement, the stock was up about 8.5% at $51.68 in the after-hours session.

[wallst_email_signup]

About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.