What's in the Offing for Zillow Group's (ZG) Q3 Earnings?

Zillow Group ZG is set to release third-quarter 2021 results on Nov 2.

For the quarter, the company projects revenues between $1.927 billion and $2.047 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $1.99 billion, which suggests an improvement of 202.6% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.

For the third quarter, the consensus mark for earnings is pegged at 13 cents per share, having moved south by a penny over the past 30 days. This indicates a decline of 64.9% from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter.

Zillow’ earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all of the trailing four quarters, delivering an earnings surprise of 90.7%, on average.

Let’s see how things have shaped up for Zillow prior to this announcement.

Zillow Group, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Zillow Group, Inc. price-eps-surprise | Zillow Group, Inc. Quote

Factors at Play

Zillow’s digital capabilities (like Zillow 3D Home technology) that facilitate virtual home tours for Zillow-owned homes and virtual consultations from the company’s broker and Premier Agents are likely to have positively impacted the top line in the third quarter.

The company’s third-quarter performance is likely to reflect continued strength in the Internet, Media & Technology (“IMT”) and Mortgage segments. Increasing customer traffic and connections in premier agents, along with healthy partner retention and improving partner demand across the company’s marketplace businesses, are likely to have driven the IMT segment top line.

For the IMT segment, Zillow expects third-quarter revenues in the range of $472-$485 million. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the IMT segment revenues is pegged at $482 million, which suggests a 16.1% increase on a year-over-year basis.

Within the IMT segment, the Premier Agent revenues are expected in the range of $352-$360 million. The consensus estimates for the same is pegged at $356 million, which calls for an increase of 19.1% year over year, at present. The division’s revenues are anticipated to have been driven by increase in traffic and healthy partner demand.

Mortgage segment’s third-quarter revenues are expected to have been boosted by improvement in the mortgage technology platform. The company forecasts Mortgage revenues between $55 million and $62 million. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues in the Mortgage segment is pegged at $60 million, indicating year-over-year growth of 11.1%.

Nonetheless, higher spend on product development and advertising amid an intensifying competition might have limited profitability in the to-be-reported quarter.

What Our Model Says

Our proven model does not predict an earnings beat for Zillow this season. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP, and Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold), increases the chances of an earnings beat. But that’s not the case here. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell, before they’re reported, with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zillow currently carries a Zacks Rank of 4 and has an Earnings ESP of -1.27%.

Stocks With Favorable Combinations

Here are some companies, which, per our model, have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat in their upcoming release:

HP HPQ has an Earnings ESP of +1.89% and currently sports a Zacks Rank of 1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Apple AAPL has an Earnings ESP of +5.07% and carries a Zacks Rank #2, at present.

Applied Materials AMAT has an Earnings ESP of +0.52% and holds a Zacks Rank of 2, currently.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

Apple Inc. (AAPL) : Free Stock Analysis Report

HP Inc. (HPQ) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Zillow Group, Inc. (ZG) : Free Stock Analysis Report

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

Zacks Investment Research