Yelp Shares Rise in Extended Trade on 4Q Results

Yelp Inc.’s shares rose in extended trading Wednesday, after the online-review provider reported better-than-expected revenue in the fourth quarter.

The San Francisco-based company posted a loss of $2.1 million, or 3 cents per share, for the period that ended Dec. 31. That’s compared with a loss of $5.3 million, or 8 cents per share, in the prior year. Its revenue surged 72 percent, to $70.7 million from $41.2 million.

On average, analysts surveyed by FactSet forecast a quarterly loss of 2 cents per share on revenue of $67.3 million.

Yelp said there were more businesses, visitors and reviews for the quarter, but the company was weighed down by higher expenses, including stock-based compensation.

For the full year, Yelp posted a loss of $10.1 million, or 15 cents per share, on revenue of $233 million.

The company said it expects revenue of $73.5 million to $74.5 million for its first quarter, and $353 million to $358 million for the full year. Analysts expect first-quarter revenue of $73.2 million and 2014 revenue of $347.8 million.

Shares of Yelp rose $5.57, or 7.4 percent, to $80.80 in after-hours trading following the announcement. Its shares had fallen $2.56 to close regular trading at $75.23.

This article appeared in print in the February 6th, 2014 edition of Hamodia.