Shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) surged up Wednesday following Tuesday news that the online-reviews site reported a surprise quarterly profit. Yelp reported net income of $400,000, about a penny per share, on revenue of $173.4 million. Analysts on average expected a loss of 7 cents a share on sales of $169.8 million, according to FactSet; Yelp had forecast quarterly revenue of $167 million to $171 million (Market Watch).
CEO Comments
We had a great second quarter with local revenue growth accelerating to 41% year over year,” said Jeremy Stoppelman, Yelp’s co-founder and chief executive officer. “Our mission is to connect people with great local businesses and we did that through more than 300 million connections in the second quarter – which include mobile calls, clicks for map views and directions, food orders, restaurant reservations, and new reviews, among other actions. In the second half of the year, we look to execute against our three strategic priorities of growing the core local advertising business, boosting awareness of Yelp and driving transactions.
YELP gapped up in price today 12.84% to $36.83, a $4.19 increase from the previous day’s close. Looking at the chart, we see that it has not traded near this range in just over a year. Volume today was massive as well, surging up to 14.9 million compared to an average volume of 2.1 million. The stock played both sides of its 9 EMA today, dipping below it in the morning, then crossing over and above during lunchtime, and eventually settling right along this key technical indicator.
Yelp Recent Financials
Quarterly profits were released Tuesday, August 9. GAAP net income in the second quarter of 2016 was $0.4 million, or $0.01 per share, compared to a GAAP net loss of ($1.3) million, or ($0.02) per share, in the second quarter of 2015. Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter of 2016 was $28.1 million compared to $22.7 million in the second quarter of 2015. Non-GAAP net income, which consists of net income excluding stock-based compensation and amortization, was $12.5 million for the second quarter, or $0.16 per share, compared to $9.4 million, or $0.12 per share, in the second quarter of 2015.
Company Profile
Yelp Inc., incorporated on September 03, 2004, connects people with local businesses by bringing word of mouth online and providing a platform for businesses and consumers to engage and transact. The Company provides local business review sites. Yelp provides a platform for consumers to share their everyday local business experiences, through reviews, tips, photos and videos, and engages directly with businesses, through reviews, phone calls and its Message the Business feature. Its platform also provides businesses of all sizes with a range of free and paid services that help them engage with consumers. The Company has a range of communities of contributors across the world that contributes the content on its platform. These contributors provide firsthand information about local businesses in the form of reviews and ratings, tips, photos and videos (Reuters.).