Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Announces Earnings Results

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The local business review company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.04, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $361.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.47 million. Yelp had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 9.47%.The business’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.36 earnings per share.

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

• Yelp accelerated its AI transformation, rolling out more than 35 new features including a new Yelp Assistant across all categories, which now accounts for roughly 15% of request‑to‑quote projects.
• Advertising demand remains soft: RR&O ad revenue declined 11% year‑over‑year, paying advertising locations fell 6% to 485,000, and ad clicks were down 10%, factors that helped management maintain its full‑year outlook amid March weakness.
• Other revenue hit a record $29 million, up 75% y/y driven by food ordering (+88% via the DoorDash partnership), data licensing (deals with OpenAI and others), and Hatch (March ARR >$34M, +92%); management is targeting a $250 million other‑revenue run rate by end of 2028.
• Q1 financials showed modest top‑line growth with net revenue +1% to $361M while net income fell 27% to $18M (5% margin) and adjusted EBITDA was $79M (22% margin), with both revenue and EBITDA beating the high end of guidance.
• Management is prioritizing AI investments while returning capital to shareholders, repurchasing $125M of stock in Q1 (reducing diluted shares ~12% y/y) and aiming to cut stock‑based comp to <6% of revenue by end of 2027 to help expand adjusted EBITDA margins over time.

Yelp Trading Down 5.1%

Shares of YELP traded down $1.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $27.04. 2,020,121 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 931,805. The business has a fifty day moving average of $25.55 and a 200-day moving average of $27.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of 12.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.53. Yelp has a 1-year low of $19.60 and a 1-year high of $41.22.

Insider Activity at Yelp

In related news, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.72, for a total value of $29,664.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 267,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,620,881.20. This represents a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Dan Jedda sold 1,464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.02, for a total value of $30,773.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 17,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $359,442. This represents a 7.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 28,864 shares of company stock worth $723,573. 8.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yelp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Yelp by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,302 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the period. Smith Thomas W acquired a new stake in shares of Yelp during the fourth quarter worth about $243,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Yelp during the fourth quarter worth about $244,000. Abel Hall LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yelp during the fourth quarter worth about $213,000. Finally, Mariner LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yelp during the fourth quarter worth about $266,000. Institutional investors own 90.11% of the company’s stock.

More Yelp News

Here are the key news stories impacting Yelp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Yelp beat Q1 expectations, reporting $0.30 EPS versus $0.26 expected and $361.46 million in revenue versus $353.47 million estimated, helped by stronger other revenue and broader adoption of its Assistant tools. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Yelp said it is advancing its AI transformation, which may support future product improvements and monetization if adoption continues. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on Yelp to $26 from $22 but kept a neutral rating, suggesting the stock may still have limited upside from current levels. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s Q1 earnings call transcript and related coverage indicate investors are focusing on whether revenue growth can outpace expense pressure in coming quarters. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat, Q1 EPS declined from a year ago and costs rose, which may be pressuring sentiment around profitability. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Yelp’s FY2026 revenue guidance appears roughly in line with consensus, but the lack of a clearly stronger outlook may be limiting enthusiasm for the stock. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on YELP. UBS Group set a $28.00 price objective on Yelp in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Yelp from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird set a $28.00 price objective on Yelp in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings lowered Yelp from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Yelp from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Yelp has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $29.38.

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.