The online review site Yelp announced on Wednesday something it hasn’t since going public in 2012 – it turned a profit. Yelp reported a $2.7 million gain for the quarter, or 4 cents per share.
It’s a big milestone for a company that has been a consistent money loser. Whether it can keep up the momentum, of course, is another matter.
Analysts had expected a loss of 3 cents per share for the company, which makes most of its money through online ad deals with small and medium-sized businesses. Business turned out to be more brisk that predicted, listing the company to its profit.
Average monthly users during the quarter rose 27% from the year-ago period to 138 million. Sales grew 61% to $88.8 million, up from analysts expectations of $86.3 million.
“We delivered great results this quarter,” Jeremy Stoppelman, Yelp’s CEO, said in a release. “While this is an important milestone, we still have a large local opportunity ahead of us.”
After news of the better-than-expected results, Yelp’s stocks rose 8% in after-hours trading to $75.60.