Upcoming AWS Coverage on VeriSign Post-Earnings Results

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / February 13, 2017 / Active Wall St. announces its post-earnings coverage on Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z). The Company released its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2016 results on February 07, 2017. The real estate website surpassed top- and bottom-line market estimates. Register with us now for your free membership at:

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One of Zillow Group's competitors within the Internet Information Providers space, VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN), reported its Q4 and full year 2016 earnings results on Thursday, February 09, 2017. AWS will be initiating a research report on VeriSign in the coming days.

Today, AWS is promoting its earnings coverage on Z; touching on VRSN. Get our free coverage by signing up to:

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Earnings Reviewed

For the period ended December 31, 2016, Zillow reported that revenue increased 34% to $227.6 million from $169.4 million in Q4 2015. The Company's reported numbers surpassed analysts' consensus estimates of $227.6 million. For FY16, Zillow's revenue increased 31% to $846.6 million from $644.7 million in FY15.

During Q4 2016, Zillow stated that Marketplace's revenue, which includes Premier Agent, other real estate, and mortgages revenue, surged 42% to $210.6 million from $148.3 million in Q4 2015. Marketplace's revenue accounted for 93% of its total revenue in the reported quarter compared to 88% during the same period last year. For FY16, Marketplace's revenue increased 40% to $778.1 million from $555.9 million in FY15.

For the reported quarter, the Company's Other Real Estate's revenue more than doubled by 145% to $29.8 million from $12.2 million in Q4 2015. Mortgages' revenue increased 41% to $16.5 million from $11.7 million in the year earlier same period. Zillow's Q4 2016 Display's revenue decreased 20% to $17.0 million from $21.1 million in Q4 2015. The Company stated that the decrease is primarily a result of its strategy to deemphasize display advertising and improve the user experience. For FY16, Display's revenue was down 23% on a y-o-y basis to $68.5 million.

During Q4 2016, Zillow's GAAP net loss was $23.5 million, or 10% of revenue, compared to GAAP net loss of $25.7 million, or 15% of revenue, in the same period last year. On an adjusted basis, Zillow reported net income of $27.06 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, surpassing market forecasts of $0.11 per share. For FY16, Zillow's GAAP net loss was $220.4 million, or 26% of revenue, which includes the impact of a $130.0 million litigation settlement compared to GAAP net loss of $148.9 million, or 23% of revenue, in FY15.

Zillow's adjusted EBITDA was $54.7 million in Q4 2016, or 24% of revenue, which was an increase from $20.4 million, or 12% of revenue, in Q4 2015. The Company's adjusted EBITDA was $14.8 million in FY16, or 2% of Revenue, which included the impact of a $130.0 million litigation settlement compared to adjusted EBITDA of $87.6 million, or 14% of revenue, in FY15. Excluding the impact of the litigation settlement, Zillow's adjusted EBITDA in FY16 would have been $144.8 million, or 17% of revenue.

Operating and Business Highlights

Zillow noted that during Q4 2016, more than 140 million average monthly unique users visited Zillow Group consumer brands, an increase of 13% on a y-o-y basis. Leads to Zillow Group Premier Agent Advertisers for Q4 2016 grew nearly 33% y-o-y to 3.9 million. For FY16, leads to Zillow Group Premier Agent Advertisers grew 44% on a y-o-y basis to 16.9 million.

For Q4 2016, Zillow's average revenue per advertiser, or ARPA, was $632 increasing 44% on a y-o-y basis. During Q4 2016, Premier Agent Advertisers who spend more than $5,000 per month increased 95% y-o-y on a total dollar basis and increased 100% y-o-y in the number of agent advertisers. During Q4 2016, Zillow's total sales to Premier Agent Advertisers who have been customers for more than one year increased 58% y-o-y. The Company's sales to existing Premier Agent Advertisers accounted for 63% of total bookings for Q4 2016.

Zillow ended the year with nearly 2,800 employees and approximately $506.4 million in cash and investments.

Outlook

Zillow expects to exceed the $1 billion annual revenue mark in 2017. For FY17, the Company's is expecting revenue to be in the range of $1.03 billion to $1.05 billion, which represents an increase of 23% at the midpoint. FY17 adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $190 million to $210 million, and net loss in the band of $20.2 million to $40.2 million. For Q1 2017, Zillow is forecasting revenue in the range of $232 million to $237 million and net loss in the band of $14.1 million to $19.1 million.

Stock Performance

Zillow Group's share price finished last Friday's trading session at $34.42, climbing 1.21%. A total volume of 1.71 million shares exchanged hands, which was higher than the 3 months average volume of 1.67 million shares. The stock has advanced 91.54% past twelve months. Considering its last closing price on Friday, February 10, 2017, the stock's net capitalization stands at $4.11 billion.

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