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

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The local business review company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.14, FiscalAI reports. Yelp had a return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 10.23%.The firm had revenue of $359.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $358.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.62 earnings per share. Yelp’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis.

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 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE YELP traded down $2.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $20.52. 411,066 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,173,283. The company has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 9.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 0.55. Yelp has a twelve month low of $20.70 and a twelve month high of $41.22. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.52.

Key Headlines Impacting Yelp

Here are the key news stories impacting Yelp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — Yelp reported $0.61 EPS vs. $0.47 consensus and revenue of $359.99M, narrowly topping estimates, signaling continued profitability leverage. Yelp Q4 Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Full‑year performance and strategic positioning — Yelp said it delivered record net revenue for 2025 and is accelerating AI investments and new product features, which management frames as a growth/efficiency lever. BusinessWire: Record Net Revenue & AI Plans
• Neutral Sentiment: Guidance largely in line at the FY level — the company provided FY2026 revenue guidance roughly in line with consensus (~$1.5B), reducing upside surprise risk but setting clearer expectations. Zacks: Key Metrics vs. Street
• Neutral Sentiment: Call materials available — investors can review the earnings slide deck and full transcript for color on product rollouts, margin drivers and cadence of AI investments. Earnings Presentation Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Tepid near‑term revenue guidance drove the share decline — management’s Q1 2026 revenue outlook was weaker than investors hoped, and that guidance commentary is the main reason shares dropped despite the beat. Zacks: Guidance Reaction
• Negative Sentiment: Signs of revenue pressure and competitive risk — Q4 revenue was slightly down year‑over‑year (~0.5% decline) and analysts/coverage note intensified competition from AI tools could pressure local advertising monetization and future growth. Investing.com: Revenue Decline & AI Competition

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jeremy Stoppelman sold 6,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.20, for a total value of $150,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 964,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,348,813.40. This represents a 0.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.40, for a total transaction of $32,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 190,879 shares in the company, valued at $5,230,084.60. This trade represents a 0.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 261,106 shares of company stock worth $7,260,184 over the last three months. Insiders own 8.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yelp

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Martingale Asset Management L P raised its position in shares of Yelp by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 68,279 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $2,075,000 after purchasing an additional 2,534 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in shares of Yelp by 68.3% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 80,213 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $2,438,000 after acquiring an additional 32,557 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Yelp by 7.6% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 156,430 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Yelp by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC now owns 61,386 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $1,866,000 after purchasing an additional 6,532 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in Yelp by 99.9% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 47,268 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 23,626 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on YELP. UBS Group set a $28.00 price target on shares of Yelp in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Wall Street Zen raised Yelp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Yelp from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 10th. Zacks Research raised shares of Yelp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Yelp from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.29.

Yelp Company Profile

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.