Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z ) Q3 2024 Earnings Conference Call November 6, 2024 5:00 PM ET Company Participants Bradley Berning - VP, Strategic Affairs & IR Richard Barton - Co-Founder & CEO Jeremy Wacksman - COO Jeremy Hofmann - CFO Conference Call Participants John Colantuoni - Jefferies Bradley Erickson - RBC Ronald Josey - Citigroup Mark Mahaney - Evercore ISI Nicholas Jones - Citizens JMP Chris Kuntarich - UBS Michael Ng - Goldman Sachs John Campbell - Stephens Ryan McKeveny - Zelman & Associates Operator Hello, and welcome to Zillow's Third Quarter 2024 Financial Results Call. We ask that you please hold all questions until the completion of the formal remarks, at which time you will be given instructions for the question-and-answer session.
Zillow (Z) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.35 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.32 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.33 per share a year ago.
Zillow Group beat estimates for its third quarter, reporting revenue of $581 million and adjusted earnings of $127 million.
As home sales have sputtered, the home listings portal has pushed ahead on expanding its services.
Shares of real estate stocks seem to be on thin ice right now, but there are signs of a potential recovery coming first to those at the top of the value chain. While real estate investment trusts (REITs) see their prices underperform the S&P 500, investors will be surprised to see that they will be among the last to see a recovery.
The heavy selling pressure might have exhausted for Zillow (Z) as it is technically in oversold territory now. In addition to this technical measure, strong agreement among Wall Street analysts in revising earnings estimates higher indicates that the stock is ripe for a trend reversal.
Zillow's adjusted EBITDA margin is expected to expand to 23% this year and potentially reach 25% by 2025. Assuming a 12% topline growth next year, Zillow's EBITDA could hit $650 million, making its stock priced at 22x forward EBITDA. This valuation presents a fair entry point for new investors, though it's not the most attractive investment currently available.
In a bid to help real estate agents make their online listings more appealing, Zillow Group announced the acquisition of Virtual Staging AI, a startup founded last year that uses AI to create virtual furniture and decorations.
First Street just launched a suite of climate risk data for every for-sale property listed on Zillow. Each for-sale listing on Zillow now displays First Street risk scores for flood, fire, wind, air and heat.
Lower interest rates gave a boost to the real estate platform.
The housing market could be in for a recovery, and this is one of the biggest beneficiaries.