Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) Issues Earnings Results

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.03), FiscalAI reports. Zillow Group had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 2.32%. The firm had revenue of $724.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $753.55 million.

Here are the key takeaways from Zillow Group’s conference call:

• Zillow’s Q3 revenue rose 7% year over year to $724 million, while EBITDA reached $182 million and margin expanded 70 basis points to 25%, despite a difficult housing market. Adjusted diluted EPS was $0.55, compared with $0.44 a year earlier.
• Rentals revenue grew 26% to $220 million, led by 35% growth in multifamily; advertised multifamily properties reached a record 81,000, up 17%. Management sees a path for Rentals to exceed $1 billion in annual revenue.
• Zillow said its Preferred transition is on track to cover more than 75% of connections by year-end and all connections in the first half of 2027; Preferred connections generate 35% more revenue per connection than the legacy model. Zillow Home Loans originations grew 55% in Q3, though executives said higher rates weakened the pipeline and expect the mortgage market to remain pressured.
• AI Mode is now available to all signed-in users; more than 2.5 million people used it from March through September, and users showed deeper engagement, including more home views and tour requests. Management framed AI as a way to strengthen Zillow’s consumer experience and help agents work more efficiently.
• Q4 guidance reflects a tougher outlook: total revenue is expected to be roughly flat year over year, with for-sale and residential revenue down about 9%–15% and EBITDA of $100 million–$135 million. Zillow expects purchase mortgage originations for the industry to decline 10%–15%, citing the sharp rise in mortgage rates and continued affordability pressure.

Zillow Group Trading Up 9.4%

Z opened at $33.90 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $31.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.63. The firm has a market cap of $7.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 154.10, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.98. Zillow Group has a 12-month low of $26.67 and a 12-month high of $77.07.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jeremy Wacksman sold 9,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total value of $319,207.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 138,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,736,459.32. This trade represents a 6.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Jeremy Hofmann sold 5,661 shares of Zillow Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total transaction of $193,492.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,021,541.92. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 38,539 shares of company stock valued at $1,323,800. 25.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on Z. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Zillow Group from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Zillow Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Zillow Group from $60.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered Zillow Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Zillow Group from $76.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Zillow Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.71.

Zillow Group Company Profile

Zillow Group, Inc (NASDAQ: Z) operates a digital real estate marketplace in the United States. Its platforms help consumers search for homes, research neighborhoods and market conditions, connect with real estate professionals, and manage various steps in the home-buying, selling, renting and financing processes.

The company’s portfolio includes Zillow, Trulia, StreetEasy and HotPads, which provide property listings and real estate information. Zillow Group also offers services for real estate professionals, including marketing, lead generation, transaction management and showing coordination through products such as Zillow Premier Agent and ShowingTime+.

Through Zillow Home Loans and other affiliated services, the company provides or facilitates mortgage and closing-related solutions.