Analysts Issue Forecasts for Yelp’s Q1 Earnings (NYSE:YELP)

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q1 2026 EPS estimates for shares of Yelp in a note issued to investors on Thursday, March 5th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the local business review company will post earnings of $0.27 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $0.38. Zacks Research has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Yelp’s current full-year earnings is $2.22 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Yelp’s Q2 2026 earnings at $0.55 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.58 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.53 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $1.94 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $0.49 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $0.58 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $0.60 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $0.59 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $2.27 EPS.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The local business review company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $359.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $358.70 million. Yelp had a return on equity of 19.96% and a net margin of 9.94%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Yelp from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Yelp from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Yelp in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore cut their target price on shares of Yelp from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Yelp currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $28.50.

Yelp Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:YELP opened at $24.54 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $26.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.91, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.56. Yelp has a 1-year low of $19.60 and a 1-year high of $41.22.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bfsg LLC boosted its holdings in Yelp by 110.3% during the third quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 839 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Yelp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Yelp by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Yelp by 70.4% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,159 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 479 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Yelp by 181.3% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,297 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 836 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Yelp

In related news, insider Carmen Amara sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.69, for a total value of $46,035.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 74,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,282,660.82. The trade was a 1.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 13,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.41, for a total value of $410,535.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 127,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,881,137.07. The trade was a 9.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 236,264 shares of company stock valued at $6,501,015. Corporate insiders own 8.00% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Yelp

Here are the key news stories impacting Yelp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 highlights show Yelp delivered near‑term operating strength (a slight revenue decline but an EPS beat and solid margins), which supports the company’s current valuation and likely underpins some buying interest. Social networking stocks Q4 highlights: Yelp
• Neutral Sentiment: Local consumer momentum: a New Jersey restaurant was named to Yelp’s Top 100 for 2026 — a positive brand/engagement datapoint but with limited direct impact on Yelp’s top‑line or near‑term financials. This NJ restaurant made Yelp’s list of top 100 for 2026
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research cut earnings estimates across multiple quarters and trimmed FY2026 and FY2027 EPS forecasts (several Q1–Q4 2026 and Q1–Q4 2027 revisions), and kept a “Hold” rating — these downgrades lower analyst expectations and could pressure the stock if others follow or if management’s guidance disappoints. Yelp (YELP) analyst estimate updates

Yelp Company Profile

Yelp is a digital platform that connects consumers with local businesses through user-generated reviews, ratings and multimedia content. The company’s flagship offerings include the Yelp website and mobile applications for iOS and Android, where users can search for and discover restaurants, shops, service providers and other points of interest. In addition to crowd-sourced reviews and photographs, Yelp provides business profile pages featuring hours, contact information, menus and direct messaging capabilities.

Yelp generates revenue primarily through advertising services sold to small and medium-sized enterprises.