Zillow shares extend rally after hours on 4Q beat
Zillow 4Q beats market expectations, as revenue soars and pushes shares higher
SEATTLE (AP) -- Zillow Inc. reported Wednesday that its fourth-quarter financial performance exceeded market expectations as revenue surged. That sent shares of the online real estate information company soaring in after-hours trading, extending gains from earlier in the day.
The Seattle-based company said after the market closed that it earned $549,000, or 2 cents per share, for the quarter that ended Dec. 31. That compares with $922,000, or 3 cents per share, in the fourth quarter of the prior year. Revenue soared 73 percent to $34.3 million, driven largely by gains in its marketplace division.
Analysts polled by FactSet expected a break-even quarter on revenue of $31.3 million.
Zillow said the number of unique users on its site jumped 47 percent from a year ago, to 34.5 million, helped by recent acquisitions.
"The quarter capped off a pivotal year of tremendous growth and we're looking forward to 2013," CEO Spencer Rascoff said in a statement.
He said the company will focus on attracting more users, growing its premier agent business and accelerating its emerging mortgage, rental and home improvement marketplaces.
Zillow's results follow a report by competitor Trulia earlier Wednesday of a narrower fourth-quarter loss on more traffic and subscriptions.
Zillow rose $2.82, or 7.8 percent, to close at $38.97. The stock jumped another $2.53, or 6.5 percent, to $41.50 in after-hours trading. Its stock has climbed more than 74 percent since hitting $22.36 in November, its lowest closing price in the past 52 weeks.
