Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) will report its first quarter results on Wednesday, April 30 after the market close. After the results, a conference call will take place starting at 4:30 pm EDT. Yelp connects people with great local businesses. Analysts polled by FactSet expect the San Francisco-based company to post $75.06 million in revenues and $9.4 million in EBITDA. However, the company is expected to stay in the red with a loss of 6 cents per share.
Yelp’s branded advertising revenue expected to jump 49%
Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) has exceeded the Wall Street expectations for seven consecutive quarters since going public in 2012. And experts say that the company will extend that streak to eight with another beat. Yelp’s own guidance calls for the revenues of $73.5-$74.5 million and EBITDA of $8-$9 million. Yesterday, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Youssef Squali said in a research note to clients that local ad revenues are in focus. The research firm has a Buy rating on Yelp with $84 price target.
Cantor Fitzgerald expects Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP)’s Q1 revenues to surge 64.7% to $76 million, slightly higher than the Wall Street consensus. Squali said the company’s local advertising revenue is estimated to grow 69% to $65.9 million, accounting for about 87% of the company’s total revenue. The average revenue per local business would go up slightly to $940. The number of active business is expected to rise from 67,500 in Q1, 2013 to 73,000 in the latest quarter. Branded advertising revenue is also expected to grow 40% to $6.7 million.
Yelp’s recent decline a good buying opportunity?
As the number of mobile users continues to go up, Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) has placed more ads on mobile devices. In Q4, the company showed 47% of local ads on mobile devices, compared to 40% in Q2, 2013. Though Yelp doesn’t specify mobile revenues separately, analysts expect mobile contribution to grow further. Wall Street expects the company’s revenue to grow 55% in FY2014 and 40%-45% in 2015.
Since March 1, 2014, Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) stock has plunged more than 37% after approaching $100. Experts say that it’s a good buying opportunity. The stock fell 1.90% in pre-market trading Wednesday to $57.80 after rising more than 6% on Tuesday.
