EX-99.1 2 yelpq4-24ex991pressrelease.htm EX-99.1 Document

EXHIBIT 99.1

Growth in Services Drove Yelp’s 2024 Results

2024 Net Revenue reached a record high of $1.41 billion
2024 Net Income up 34% to a strong $133 million
2024 Adjusted EBITDA increased 8% to a record $358 million
Expects 2025 Net Revenue in the range of $1.470 billion to $1.485 billion and Adjusted EBITDA1 in
the range of $345 million to $360 million

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 13, 2025--Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP), the company that connects people with great local businesses, today posted its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended Dec. 31, 2024 in the Q4 and Full Year 2024 Shareholder Letter available on its Investor Relations website at yelp-ir.com.

“Yelp's 2024 results reflect the strong execution on our services roadmap” said Jeremy Stoppelman, Yelp’s co-founder and chief executive officer. “In the fourth quarter, we delivered our 15th consecutive quarter of double-digit year-over-year growth in services revenue, contributing to Yelp's record net revenue and strong profitability in the full year. Our product-led strategy continued to drive the growth of our business. We introduced more than 80 new features and updates as we leveraged AI to drive more connections between consumers and service pros. Looking ahead, we remain confident in the opportunities across services categories to drive long-term profitable growth.”

“Services drove our business performance, with advertising revenue from these categories up 11% year over year to a record $879 million, offsetting a challenging environment for restaurant, retail and other categories,” said David Schwarzbach, Yelp’s chief financial officer. “We achieved strong overall profitability, while decreasing our share count resulting in a 40% year-over-year increase in diluted earnings per share. Our focus remains on investing in our strategic initiatives to deliver shareholder value over the long term.”

2024 Key Business Highlights
Yelp’s focus on its services roadmap drove 2024 results:

•Net revenue increased by 6% year over year to a record $1.41 billion, $13 million above the midpoint of the updated range Yelp provided in November 2024 and $18 million below the midpoint of the initial range we provided in February 2024.
•Net income increased by 34% year over year to $133 million, representing a 9% net income margin.
•Adjusted EBITDA grew by 8% year over year to $358 million, $15 million above the midpoint of the updated range the company provided in November 2024 and $33 million above the midpoint of the initial range provided in February 2024, representing a 25% adjusted EBITDA margin.
•In Services, advertising revenue increased 11% year over year to a record $879 million.
1 Yelp has not reconciled its Adjusted EBITDA outlook to GAAP Net income (loss) because it does not provide an outlook for GAAP Net income (loss) due to the uncertainty and potential variability of Other income, net and Provision for (benefit from) income taxes, which are reconciling items between Adjusted EBITDA and GAAP Net income (loss). Because Yelp cannot reasonably predict such items, a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measure outlook to the corresponding GAAP measure is not available without unreasonable effort. We caution, however, that such items could have a significant impact on the calculation of GAAP Net income (loss). For more information regarding the non-GAAP financial measures discussed in this release, please see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below.


•Advertising revenue from Restaurants, Retail & Other (RR&O) businesses decreased by 3% year over year to $470 million.
•With a decrease in RR&O paying advertising locations offsetting growth in Services paying advertising locations, total paying advertising locations for the year decreased by 5%, while average revenue per location reached an annual record.
•Ad clicks for the year increased by 6%, while average cost-per-click was flat, in each case driven by improvements to our advertising technology and, to a lesser extent, our acquisition of Services projects through paid search.
•On the consumer side of our business, Yelp continued to grow our trusted review content through contributions from our large user base. Yelp users contributed 21 million new reviews in 2024, resulting in 308 million cumulative reviews, up 7% from the prior year.

Outlook
The company expects 2025 Net Revenue will be in the range of $1.470 billion to $1.485 billion as Yelp continues working to deliver the leading product experience in Services for consumers and service pros. The company also expects 2025 Adjusted EBITDA1 will be in the range of $345 million to $360 million.

Quarterly Conference Call
Yelp will host a live webcast today at 2 p.m. Pacific Time to discuss the fourth quarter and full year 2024 financial results and outlook for the first quarter and full year 2025. The webcast of the Q&A can be accessed on the Yelp Investor Relations website at yelp-ir.com. A replay of the webcast will be available at the same website.

About Yelp
Yelp Inc. (yelp.com) is a community-driven platform that connects people with great local businesses. Millions of people rely on Yelp for useful and trusted local business information, reviews and photos to help inform their spending decisions. As a one-stop local platform, Yelp helps consumers easily discover, connect and transact with businesses across a broad range of categories by making it easy to request a quote for a service, book a table at a restaurant, and more. Yelp was founded in San Francisco in 2004.

Yelp intends to make future announcements of material financial and other information through its Investor Relations website. Yelp will also, from time to time, disclose this information through press releases, filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, conference calls, or webcasts, as required by applicable law.

Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to, among other things, Yelp’s future performance, including its expected financial results for 2025, and its ability to drive shareholder value over the long term, that are based on its current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties.

Yelp’s actual results could differ materially from those predicted or implied and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to:
•macroeconomic uncertainty — including related to inflation, interest rates, tariffs, labor and supply chain issues, as well as severe weather events and the prevalence of seasonal respiratory illnesses — and its effect on consumer behavior, user activity and advertiser spending;
•Yelp’s ability to maintain and expand its base of advertisers, particularly if advertiser turnover substantially worsens and/or consumer demand significantly degrades;
•Yelp’s ability to drive continued growth through its strategic initiatives;


•Yelp’s ability to continue to operate effectively with a primarily remote work force and attract and retain key talent;
•Yelp’s limited operating history in an evolving industry; and
•Yelp’s ability to generate and maintain sufficient high-quality content from its users.

Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences also include, but are not limited to, those factors that could affect Yelp’s business, operating results and stock price included under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Yelp’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K or Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q at yelp-ir.com or the SEC’s website at sec.gov.


Investor Relations Contact:
Kate Krieger
ir@yelp.com

Press Contact:
Amber Albrecht
press@yelp.com




YELP INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
December 31,
2024		December 31,
2023
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents$217,325 $313,911 
Short-term marketable securities100,581 127,485 
Accounts receivable, net155,325 146,147 
Prepaid expenses and other current assets43,648 36,673 
Total current assets516,879 624,216 
Property, equipment and software, net75,669 68,684 
Operating lease right-of-use assets24,112 48,573 
Goodwill130,980 103,886 
Intangibles, net58,787 7,638 
Other non-current assets177,140 161,726 
Total assets$983,567 $1,014,723 
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities$131,322 $132,809 
Operating lease liabilities — current20,679 39,234 
Deferred revenue2,973 3,821 
Total current liabilities154,974 175,864 
Operating lease liabilities — long-term22,470 48,065 
Other long-term liabilities62,154 41,260 
Total liabilities239,598 265,189 
Stockholders’ equity:
Common stock— — 
Additional paid-in capital1,903,598 1,786,667 
Treasury stock(3,909)(282)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss(15,431)(12,202)
Accumulated deficit(1,140,289)(1,024,649)
Total stockholders’ equity743,969 749,534 
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity$983,567 $1,014,723 





YELP INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(In thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended
December 31,		Year Ended
December 31,
2024202320242023
Net revenue$361,952 $342,376 $1,412,064 $1,337,062 
Costs and expenses:
Cost of revenue(1)
33,270 29,616 123,684 114,229 
Sales and marketing(1)
143,263 132,297 585,978 556,605 
Product development(1)
74,937 78,323 325,992 332,570 
General and administrative(1)
45,487 66,822 184,958 212,431 
Depreciation and amortization11,566 10,303 40,407 42,184 
Total costs and expenses308,523 317,361 1,261,019 1,258,019 
Income from operations53,429 25,015 151,045 79,043 
Other income, net6,638 8,775 31,915 26,039 
Income before income taxes60,067 33,790 182,960 105,082 
Provision for income taxes
17,847 6,384 50,110 5,909 
Net income attributable to common stockholders$42,220 $27,406 $132,850 $99,173 
Net income per share attributable to common stockholders
Basic$0.64 $0.40 $1.97 $1.43 
Diluted$0.62 $0.37 $1.88 $1.35 
Weighted-average shares used to compute net income per share attributable to common stockholders
Basic66,083 68,790 67,415 69,221 
Diluted67,989 73,159 70,611 73,596 
(1) Includes stock-based compensation expense as follows:
Three Months Ended
December 31,		Year Ended
December 31,
2024202320242023
Cost of revenue$1,110 $1,248 $5,209 $5,274 
Sales and marketing7,531 8,266 33,436 35,187 
Product development18,436 22,627 85,510 97,515 
General and administrative7,720 8,006 34,038 35,475 
Total stock-based compensation$34,797 $40,147 $158,193 $173,451 












YELP INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
Year Ended December 31,
20242023
Operating Activities
Net income$132,850 $99,173 
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization40,407 42,184 
Provision for doubtful accounts45,614 40,702 
Stock-based compensation158,193 173,451 
Amortization of right-of-use assets15,094 28,084 
Deferred income taxes(24,920)(22,150)
Amortization of deferred contract cost24,854 24,035 
Asset impairment5,914 23,563 
Other adjustments, net(2,412)(410)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable(51,033)(54,947)
Prepaid expenses and other assets(24,314)(5,123)
Operating lease liabilities(39,230)(39,734)
Accounts payable, accrued liabilities and other liabilities4,798 (2,548)
Net cash provided by operating activities285,815 306,280 
Investing Activities
Purchases of marketable securities — available-for-sale(94,304)(148,448)
Sales and maturities of marketable securities — available-for-sale123,094 117,916 
Purchases of other investments(2,500)— 
Maturities of other investments— 2,500 
Acquisition, net of cash received(66,199)— 
Purchases of property, equipment and software(37,347)(26,847)
Other investing activities(10)195 
Net cash used in investing activities(77,266)(54,684)
Financing Activities
Proceeds from issuance of common stock for employee stock-based plans20,790 39,510 
Taxes paid related to the net share settlement of equity awards(73,411)(85,180)
Repurchases of common stock, including excise tax(251,181)(199,999)
Payment of issuance costs for credit facility— (1,109)
Net cash used in financing activities(303,802)(246,778)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash(1,067)2,046 
Change in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash(96,320)6,864 
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash — Beginning of period314,002 307,138 
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash — End of period$217,682 $314,002 



Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release and statements made during the above referenced webcast may include information relating to Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin and Free cash flow, each of which the Securities and Exchange Commission has defined as a “non-GAAP financial measure.”

We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss), adjusted to exclude: provision for (benefit from) income taxes; other income, net; depreciation and amortization; stock-based compensation expense; and, in certain periods, certain other income and expense items, such as material litigation settlements, impairment charges, acquisition and integration costs and fees related to shareholder activism that we deem not to be indicative of our ongoing operating performance. We define Adjusted EBITDA margin as Adjusted EBITDA divided by net revenue. We define Free cash flow as net cash provided by (used in) operating activities, less cash used for purchases of property, equipment and software.

Adjusted EBITDA and Free cash flow, which are not prepared under any comprehensive set of accounting rules or principles, have limitations as analytical tools and you should not consider them in isolation or as substitutes for analysis of Yelp’s financial results as reported in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”). In particular, Adjusted EBITDA and Free cash flow should not be viewed as substitutes for, or superior to, net income (loss) or net cash provided by (used in) operating activities prepared in accordance with GAAP as measures of profitability or liquidity. Some of these limitations are:

•although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized may have to be replaced in the future, and Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect all cash capital expenditure requirements for such replacements or for new capital expenditure requirements;
•Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, Yelp’s working capital needs;
•Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the impact of the recording or release of valuation allowances or tax payments that may represent a reduction in cash available to Yelp;
•Adjusted EBITDA does not consider the potentially dilutive impact of equity-based compensation;
•Adjusted EBITDA does not take into account any income or costs that management determines are not indicative of ongoing operating performance, such as material litigation settlements, impairment charges, acquisition and integration costs and fees related to shareholder activism;
•Free cash flow does not represent the total residual cash flow available for discretionary purposes because it does not reflect our contractual commitments or obligations; and
•other companies, including those in Yelp’s industry, may calculate Adjusted EBITDA and Free cash flow differently, which reduces their usefulness as comparative measures.

Because of these limitations, you should consider Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin and Free cash flow alongside other financial performance measures, including net income (loss), net cash provided by (used in) operating activities and Yelp’s other GAAP results.




The following is a reconciliation of net income to Adjusted EBITDA, as well as the calculation of net income margin and Adjusted EBITDA margin, for each of the periods indicated (in thousands, except percentages; unaudited):
Three Months Ended
December 31,		Year Ended
December 31,
2024202320242023
Reconciliation of Net Income to Adjusted EBITDA:
Net income$42,220 $27,406 $132,850 $99,173 
Provision for income taxes
17,847 6,384 50,110 5,909 
Other income, net(1)
(6,638)(8,775)(31,915)(26,039)
Depreciation and amortization11,566 10,303 40,407 42,184 
Stock-based compensation34,797 40,147 158,193 173,451 
Litigation settlement(2)(3)
— — — 11,000 
Asset impairment(2)
— 20,008 5,914 23,563 
Acquisition and integration costs(2)
1,266 — 1,266 — 
Fees related to shareholder activism(2)
— 581 1,168 1,252 
Adjusted EBITDA$101,058 $96,054 $357,993 $330,493 
Net revenue$361,952 $342,376 $1,412,064 $1,337,062 
Net income margin12 %8 %9 %7 %
Adjusted EBITDA margin28 %28 %25 %25 %
(1) Includes the release of a $3.1 million reserve related to a one-time payroll tax credit in the year ended December 31, 2024.
(2) Recorded within general and administrative expenses on our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.
(3) Represents the loss contingency recorded in connection with the settlement of a putative class action lawsuit asserting claims under the California Invasion of Privacy Act. For additional information, see our most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
The following is a reconciliation of net cash provided by operating activities to Free cash flow for each of the periods indicated (in thousands; unaudited):
Three Months Ended
December 31,		Year Ended
December 31,
2024202320242023
Reconciliation of Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities to Free Cash Flow:
Net cash provided by operating activities$70,973 $79,170 $285,815 $306,280 
Purchases of property, equipment and software(11,010)(5,997)(37,347)(26,847)
Free cash flow
$59,963 $73,173 $248,468 $279,433 
Net cash used in investing activities$(42,826)$(8,219)$(77,266)$(54,684)
Net cash used in financing activities$(70,795)$(63,546)$(303,802)$(246,778)