Yelp reports record revenue of $1.41 billion in 2024
Local platform delivers 34% net income growth and 8% adjusted EBITDA increase amid mixed business performance.
According to the earnings report released by Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP) on February 13, 2025, the company posted record net revenue of $1.41 billion for 2024, representing a 6% increase from 2023. The results came $13 million above the midpoint of the updated guidance range provided in November 2024.
With disciplined expense management, net income increased by 34% year-over-year to $133 million in 2024, representing a 9% net income margin, up from 7% in 2023. According to financial statements, adjusted EBITDA grew by 8% year-over-year to $358 million, with margin expanding by one percentage point to 25%.
Services categories drove Yelp's performance in 2024, achieving the 15th consecutive quarter of double-digit year-over-year revenue growth in Q4. According to CEO Jeremy Stoppelman, advertising revenue from services businesses increased by 11% year-over-year to a record $879 million, with home services showing particularly strong results with approximately 15% annual growth.
The company faced challenges in its Restaurants, Retail & Other (RR&O) categories throughout the year. According to CFO David Schwarzbach, RR&O advertising revenue decreased by 3% year-over-year to $470 million, driven by lower advertiser demand amid a difficult operating environment for these businesses.
Yelp's innovative product development accelerated in 2024, with the introduction of more than 80 new features and updates. The company leveraged artificial intelligence to enhance both consumer and advertiser experiences. According to Stoppelman, Yelp Assistant, an AI chatbot, saw project submissions increase by more than 50% from Q3 to Q4.
In November 2024, Yelp acquired RepairPal for approximately $80 million in cash, strengthening its position in auto services, which became the company's second-largest services category. According to the earnings call transcript, management expects this acquisition to accelerate growth in the auto category in 2025.
On the consumer side, Yelp's trusted review content continued to grow. According to operational metrics, users contributed 21 million new reviews in 2024, bringing the total to 308 million cumulative reviews, a 7% increase from the prior year.
Looking ahead to 2025, Yelp provided revenue guidance of $1.470 billion to $1.485 billion and adjusted EBITDA guidance of $345 million to $360 million. According to Schwarzbach, the company expects services categories to continue driving business performance while RR&O categories remain pressured.
For the first quarter of 2025, Yelp expects net revenue between $350 million and $355 million, reflecting typical seasonality. The company plans to maintain its headcount approximately flat in 2025 to drive leverage through its product-led strategy.