Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.21 EPS

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The local business review company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.21, Briefing.com reports. Yelp had a return on equity of 19.19% and a net margin of 8.59%.The firm had revenue of $375.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $366.89 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.67 EPS. Yelp’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis.

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

• Q2 revenue rose 1% to $376 million, exceeding the high end of guidance, but advertising remained pressured: services ad revenue was flat, RR&O ad revenue fell 10%, and paying advertising locations declined 1% year over year.
• AI-driven revenue streams gained momentum, with other revenue increasing 98% to a record $33 million, supported by Hatch, data licensing, and food orders. Yelp is targeting a $250 million annual run rate in other revenue by the end of 2028.
• Yelp reported encouraging product and traffic trends, including improved app installs and page views, approximately 10% growth in services project submissions, and Yelp Host reaching a 2.4 million annual call-handling run rate. Partnerships with OpenAI, including upcoming Request a Quote functionality, could expand Yelp’s distribution over time.
• Near-term profitability is expected to weaken as investments increase in AI, Hatch, and consumer marketing; Q3 adjusted EBITDA guidance is $70 million to $75 million. Full-year revenue guidance was narrowed to $1.460 billion–$1.470 billion and adjusted EBITDA to $315 million–$325 million, while share repurchases are paused until the company pays down its revolving credit facility.

Yelp Price Performance

YELP traded up $0.63 during trading on Friday, reaching $25.67. 2,133,590 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 945,540. The company has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.28, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.74. Yelp has a 12-month low of $19.60 and a 12-month high of $34.49. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.86.

Trending Headlines about Yelp

Here are the key news stories impacting Yelp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 earnings and revenue exceeded expectations. Yelp reported adjusted earnings of $0.62 per share, well above the $0.32–$0.36 analyst estimates, while revenue of $375.5 million surpassed expectations of approximately $367 million. Revenue increased 1.4% year over year, supporting the positive investor reaction. Yelp Surpasses Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Results beat consensus despite a year-over-year EPS decline. The earnings outperformance suggests effective cost management and stronger-than-anticipated profitability, even though EPS declined from $0.67 in the prior-year quarter. Yelp Quarterly Earnings Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management’s full-year revenue outlook is broadly in line with Wall Street expectations. Yelp provided fiscal 2026 revenue guidance of approximately $1.5 billion, matching consensus and reducing the risk of a major forecast shortfall. Yelp Shares Rise on Strong Q2

Insider Activity at Yelp

In related news, Director Christine Barone sold 15,507 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.95, for a total transaction of $355,885.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 15,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $365,547.60. This represents a 49.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 17,507 shares of company stock valued at $402,481 over the last quarter. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yelp

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in YELP. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Yelp by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Yelp during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yelp in the third quarter valued at $84,000. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yelp in the third quarter valued at $174,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can bought a new stake in Yelp in the fourth quarter worth $202,000. 90.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on YELP. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Yelp in a report on Monday, May 11th. Evercore set a $30.00 price objective on Yelp in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research raised Yelp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Yelp from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $28.00 target price on shares of Yelp in a report on Friday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $27.57.

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.