Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.14 EPS

by · The Markets Daily

Yelp (NYSE:YELP – Get Free Report) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The local business review company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.14, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $359.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $358.70 million. Yelp had a net margin of 9.94% and a return on equity of 19.79%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.62 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Yelp’s conference call:

  • Yelp reported strong full‑year results with $1.46 billion net revenue (+4% YoY), $146 million net income (+10%), $2.24 diluted EPS (+19%), and $369 million Adjusted EBITDA (25% margin).
  • Momentum in services and AI products drove performance — advertising revenue in services rose 8% to $948M, other revenue grew 17%, average revenue per location hit a record, and Yelp Assistant submissions rose >400% (≈5% of request‑to‑quote projects).
  • Core restaurant, retail & other (RR&O) categories remain weak, with RR&O revenue down 6% in 2025 ($444M) and 12% in Q4, contributing to a 3% decline in paying advertising locations for the year.
  • Management is accelerating its AI strategy (full cross‑category Yelp Assistant rollout, Yelp Host upgrades, Hatch acquisition, OpenAI licensing) and expects 2026 net revenue of $1.455–$1.475B but lower full‑year Adjusted EBITDA of $310–$330M due to increased investments.

Yelp Stock Down 8.2%

YELP stock traded down $1.87 during trading on Friday, reaching $20.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,608,774 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,278,995. The company’s fifty day moving average is $28.55 and its 200-day moving average is $30.43. The company has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.55. Yelp has a 1 year low of $20.03 and a 1 year high of $41.22.

Insider Activity

In other Yelp news, CEO Jeremy Stoppelman sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.39, for a total value of $821,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 756,458 shares in the company, valued at $20,719,384.62. This represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 13,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.41, for a total transaction of $410,535.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 127,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,881,137.07. This trade represents a 9.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 261,106 shares of company stock worth $7,260,184 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 8.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yelp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Yelp by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,226,666 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $67,666,000 after acquiring an additional 156,430 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Yelp by 8.3% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,976,150 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $61,656,000 after purchasing an additional 151,354 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Yelp by 7.0% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,501,764 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $51,458,000 after purchasing an additional 98,303 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc lifted its position in shares of Yelp by 48.5% in the second quarter. Man Group plc now owns 741,747 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $25,420,000 after buying an additional 242,213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in Yelp by 399.0% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 725,214 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $24,853,000 after buying an additional 579,894 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on YELP. UBS Group set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Yelp in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Yelp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Yelp from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Evercore decreased their target price on Yelp from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $25.00 price target on Yelp in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.50.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Yelp

Key Yelp News

Here are the key news stories impacting Yelp this week:

  • Positive Sentiment: Yelp beat Wall Street on Q4 earnings and reported record net revenue for 2025, showing profitability (Q4 EPS $0.61 vs. $0.47 consensus) and a solid full‑year performance. Business Wire: Yelp Delivers Record Net Revenue
  • Neutral Sentiment: The company posted its earnings materials and call transcript (slides and management remarks provide the detail behind results and the investment plan). Investors can review the transcript/slide deck for management’s commentary on AI strategy and product rollouts. Earnings Call Transcript
  • Negative Sentiment: Yelp gave tepid near‑term sales guidance (Q1 / FY2026 revenue range viewed as conservative), and analysts flagged light first‑quarter revenue outlook as the primary reason shares fell despite the beat. Zacks: Stock Dips on Tepid Sales Guidance
  • Negative Sentiment: Management is accelerating AI investments, which the company says are strategic but which analysts warn will pressure margins and raise near‑term expenses — a concern for investors focused on margin durability. MSN: Q4 Deep Dive — AI Investments and Margin Pressures
  • Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CEO Jeremy Stoppelman sold about $1.7M of stock in early February, which can amplify negative sentiment when investors are already uncertain about guidance and margins. Fool: CEO Sold $1.7M of Shares

Yelp Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Yelp is a digital platform that connects consumers with local businesses through user-generated reviews, ratings and multimedia content. The company’s flagship offerings include the Yelp website and mobile applications for iOS and Android, where users can search for and discover restaurants, shops, service providers and other points of interest. In addition to crowd-sourced reviews and photographs, Yelp provides business profile pages featuring hours, contact information, menus and direct messaging capabilities.

Yelp generates revenue primarily through advertising services sold to small and medium-sized enterprises.

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