Yelp Inc. produced record revenue for a third consecutive quarter to start 2022, despite economic clouds that have darkened the online-advertising sector.
Yelp
YELP,
-5.04%
on Thursday posted a first-quarter net loss of $1 million, or a penny a share, compared with a net loss of $6 million, or 8 cents a share, in the same quarter a year ago. Yelp does not break out adjusted EPS. Revenue was $277 million, up 19% from $232 million last year.
Analysts polled by FactSet expected a net loss of 9 cents a share on revenue of $267 million. Yelp shares gained more than 4% in after-hours trading im
mediately following the release of the results, after falling 5.1% to $32.23 in regular trading.
“We were obviously pleased with strong advertising demand against the backdrop of a very complex macro environment,” Yelp Chief Financial Officer David Schwarzbach told MarketWatch. He said advertisers were drawn toward Yelp’s customers — half of whom have household incomes of more than $100,000 annually — and their reliance on the service for consumer advice during inflationary times.
Record advertising revenue from Yelp’s Services businesses ($160.3 million), as well as a year-over-year rebound in revenue from Restaurants, Retail & Other businesses ($102.9 million) led the quarterly results.
Yelp also forecast annual net revenue guidance of between $1.16 billion and $1.18 billion in 2022. Analysts were forecasting $1.17 billion, according to FactSet.
The results offered a contrast to disappointing financial numbers that punished the stocks of Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc.
FB,
-6.77%
and Snap Inc.
SNAP,
-9.58%.
Those companies, who are also dependent on advertising, blamed a toxic mix of inflation, supply-chain constraints, the war in Ukraine and rising commodity prices for weaker-than-expected numbers.
Yelp’s stock has tumbled 11% so far in 2022; the broader S&P 500 index
SPX,
-3.56%
is down 13%.
