Wrapping up Q3 earnings, we look at the numbers and key takeaways for the online marketplace stocks, including ACV Auctions (NASDAQ:ACVA) and its peers.
Marketplaces have existed for centuries. Where once it was a main street in a small town or a mall in the suburbs, sellers benefitted from proximity to one another because they could draw customers by offering convenience and selection. Today, a myriad of online marketplaces fulfill that same role, aggregating large customer bases, which attracts commission-paying sellers, generating flywheel scale effects that feed back into further customer acquisition.
The 13 online marketplace stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 2.8% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.
Luckily, online marketplace stocks have performed well with share prices up 32.8% on average since the latest earnings results.
ACV Auctions (NASDAQ:ACVA)
Founded in 2014, ACV Auctions (NASDAQ:ACVA) is an online auction marketplace for car dealers and wholesalers to buy and sell used cars.
ACV Auctions reported revenues of $171.3 million, up 44% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 7%. Overall, it was a strong quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.
“We are very pleased with our strong third quarter results, which delivered revenue and Adjusted EBITDA above the high-end of our guidance range, along with continued margin expansion. ACV's strong market position resulted in additional share gains and accelerated revenue growth in the quarter. Our growing suite of dealer solutions gained further market traction and we executed on initiatives to support our commercial wholesale strategy,” said George Chamoun, CEO of ACV.
ACV Auctions pulled off the biggest analyst estimates beat of the whole group. The company reported 198,354 units sold, up 32.2%xx year on year. Unsurprisingly, the stock is up 12.7% since reporting and currently trades at $21.98.
Best Q3: Shutterstock (NYSE:SSTK)
Originally featuring a library that included many of founder Jon Oringer’s photos, Shutterstock (NYSE:SSTK) is now a digital platform where customers can license and use hundreds of millions of pieces of content.
Shutterstock reported revenues of $250.6 million, up 7.4% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 5.1%. The business had a very strong quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ number of paid downloads estimates.
The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 8.7% since reporting. It currently trades at $32.09.
Is now the time to buy Shutterstock? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.
Weakest Q3: MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI)
Originally started as an online auction platform, MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) is a one-stop e-commerce marketplace and fintech platform in Latin America.
MercadoLibre reported revenues of $5.31 billion, up 35.3% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 2.5%. Still, it was a slower quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.
As expected, the stock is down 3.8% since the results and currently trades at $2,039.
Read our full analysis of MercadoLibre’s results here.
Sea (NYSE:SE)
Founded in 2009 and a publicly traded company since 2017, Sea (NYSE:SE) started as a gaming platform and has since expanded to offer a variety of services such as e-commerce, digital payments, and financial services across Southeast Asia.
Sea reported revenues of $4.33 billion, up 36.7% year on year. This print topped analysts’ expectations by 6.3%. It was a strong quarter as it also logged a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and impressive growth in its users.
The company reported 50.2 million users, up 24%xx year on year. The stock is up 33.4% since reporting and currently trades at $130.
Read our full, actionable report on Sea here, it’s free.
Cars.com (NYSE:CARS)
Originally started as a joint venture between several media companies including The Washington Post and The New York Times, Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) is a digital marketplace that connects new and used car buyers and sellers.
Cars.com reported revenues of $179.7 million, up 3.1% year on year. This result was in line with analysts’ expectations. More broadly, it was a slower quarter as it logged a slight miss of analysts’ number of dealer customers estimates.
Cars.com had the weakest performance against analyst estimates among its peers. The company reported 19,255 active buyers, up 2.9%xx year on year. The stock is up 6% since reporting and currently trades at $17.81.
Read our full, actionable report on Cars.com here, it’s free.
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