Yelp shares sink 5% after Q4 results come in mixed

Faith Merino · February 7, 2013 · Short URL: https://vator.tv/n/2d6e

Yelp revealed higher-than-expected revenues, but a bigger loss in 2012

Yelp isn't having a good Thursday. After posting mixed Q4 results Wednesday evening, shares were down more than 5.5% Thursday morning to $21.15.

While analysts like Doug Anmuth of J.P. Morgan were expecting $40.5 million in revenue—at the high end of Yelp’s guidance of $40-40.5 million, the company surprised with $41.2 million, a 65% increase over Q4 2011. But Yelp suffered a net loss of $5.3 million, which is an improvement over Q4 2011 when the company lost $9.1 million. But translated to the full year, Yelp lost $19.1 million, compared to $16.9 million in 2011.

Yelp brought in $137.6 million in revenue for 2012, an increase of 65% over 2011, when it took home $83.3 million in revenue.

Yelp may be losing money, but it’s not losing users. Unique monthly visitors grew 31% in 2012 to approximately 86 million, while cumulative reviews grew by 45% to more than 36 million. Meanwhile, active local business accounts grew 68% year over year to some 39,800.

“We believe 2013 will be a tipping point for our brand in Europe as Yelp continues to become a trusted local resource,” said Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman, in a statement. “Our mobile strategy will remain a top priority as engagement increases, and we will continue to focus on the business owner, creating more ways to measure the value of Yelp leads."

Yelp is ramping up its international presence. The company opened its first international sales office in London last year, and it launched in Poland and Turkey, bringing its total number of Yelp countries to 20.

2012 was also a big year for mobile. Some 25% of Yelp’s local ads were viewed on mobile devices in Q4, and the Yelp app itself was used on over 9.2 million different devices on a monthly basis.

The company also made a few noteworthy partnerships to distribute its branded content, such as via Apple Maps for iOS 6, as well as Bing, Mercedes, and Lexus.

Yelp provided Q1 guidance of $44-44.5 million, and $210-212 million for the full year of 2013.

Faith Merino

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Yelp is the fun and easy way to find, review and talk about what's great (and not so great) in your world. You already know that asking friends is the best way to find restaurants, dentists, hairstylists, and anything local. Yelp makes it fast and easy by collecting and organizing your friends' recommendations in one convenient place.

Yelp is...

...the ultimate city guide that taps into the community's voice and reveals honest and current insights on local businesses and services on everything from martinis to mechanics.

...just real people, writing real reviews, and that's the real deal.

...a fun and engaging place for passionate and opinionated influencers to share the experiences they've had with local businesses and services.

...the definitive local guide in the San Francisco Bay Area and a force to be reckoned with in Chicago, New York, Boston, Los Angeles and Seattle. But really, we're everywhere. From Austin to Madison and everywhere in between, reviews are coming in from all over the country!

...word of mouth marketing - amplified. Savvy local marketers now have a great channel to effectively target local consumers.

Since July 2004, co-founders Jeremy Stoppelman (CEO) and Russel Simmons (CTO) and their Yelp crew have been striving to make life better for people who love to patronize great local businesses. Discovering accurate information on local establishments has never been this entertaining. Writing reviews has never been this fun, easy and addictive!