Yelp (YELP) is getting a fresh look from investors after Amazon announced that Alexa+ will plug directly into Yelp’s local reviews and booking tools, representing a material expansion of Yelp’s distribution footprint.
See our latest analysis for Yelp.
The market has started to notice, with a 1 month share price return of 5.96 percent from a latest share price of 30.77 dollars. However, the year to date share price return of negative 21.24 percent and 1 year total shareholder return of negative 20.76 percent show that sentiment is only just beginning to recover, despite steady revenue and net income growth and the recent upsizing of Yelp’s 325 million dollars revolving credit facility.
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With shares still trading well below most estimates of intrinsic value and only a modest discount to Wall Street targets, the question now is whether Yelp is quietly undervalued or if the market is already pricing in Alexa powered growth.
At a last close of 30.77 dollars against a narrative fair value of 34.44 dollars, the story leans toward mispricing rather than perfection.
The rapid adoption and expansion of AI powered features like Yelp Assistant and the rollout of new entry points (including to logged out users) are expected to boost overall user engagement and the stickiness of the platform, which should contribute to increased lead generation and higher advertising revenues over time. Strong momentum in AI search API usage and data licensing revenue demonstrates Yelp's growing value as a data partner for emerging AI powered search players, with a 10 million dollars annual run rate already achieved and significant upside potential for diversifying and expanding revenue streams.
Curious how modest top line growth, rising margins, and shrinking share count can still justify a higher value than today? The narrative connects these levers in a way the market might be missing. Want to see exactly how those moving parts stack up over the next few years?
Result: Fair Value of $34.44 (UNDERVALUED)
Have a read of the narrative in full and understand what's behind the forecasts.
However, structural weakness in core restaurant and retail advertisers, alongside intensifying competition from larger digital platforms, could quickly derail this quietly undervalued thesis.
Find out about the key risks to this Yelp narrative.
If you see the story differently or simply want to dig into the numbers yourself, you can build a personalized view in minutes: Do it your way.
A good starting point is our analysis highlighting 4 key rewards investors are optimistic about regarding Yelp.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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