CoStar Group's 2019 net income sees uptick in year-over-year on revenue growth

CoStar Group, Inc., a leading provider of commercial real estate information, analytics and online marketplaces, announced that revenue for the year ended December 31, 2019, was $1.4 billion, an increase of 17% over revenue of $1.2 billion for the full year of 2018. Revenue for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2019, was $375 million, an increase of 19% over revenue of $316 million for the fourth quarter of 2018.

Net income for the year ended December 31, 2019 was $315 million, an increase of 32% compared to net income of $238 million for the full year of 2018. Net income for the fourth quarter of 2019 was $88 million or $2.39 per diluted share, an increase of 5% compared to net income of $84 million for the fourth quarter of 2018. EBITDA for the full year of 2019 was $445 million, an increase of 27% compared to EBITDA of $351 million for the full year of 2018.

Andrew C. Florance, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of CoStar Group, said:

“2019 was a banner year for CoStar Group in both revenue and sales growth. We reported $1.4 billion in revenue for the full year, adding over $200 million of revenue over the full year 2018. Our team delivered outstanding net new sales bookings of $210 million, up 24% over 2018. Over the past year, we have been talking about the huge potential for the next chapter of LoopNet. In the fourth quarter of 2019, we saw concrete results when we sold 5X the LoopNet Signature Ads compared to the same quarter a year ago. Our Apartments.com team had an exceptional year, growing Multifamily revenue 21% year-over-year. We have had great success this past year selling solutions to the massive, relatively untapped sub-100-unit apartment market and the residential rental market.

"We are now even more excited about the potential of a great company like STR combined with CoStar’s resources and technology. Our immediate focus is on creating a more powerful STR by consolidating disparate STR products and CoStar into one seamlessly integrated platform. We expect STR to contribute revenue in the range of $61 to $63 million in 2020."

Adjusted EBITDA (which excludes stock-based compensation, acquisition and integration related costs and other items as described below) for the full year of 2019 was $507 million, an increase of 21% compared to adjusted EBITDA of $418 million for the full year of 2018.

Non-GAAP net income (which excludes amortization of acquired intangible assets, stock-based compensation and other items as described below) for the full year of 2019 was $373 million or $10.19 per diluted share, an increase of $72 million or 24% versus the full year of 2018.

2020 Outlook

The Company expects revenue in the range of $1.650 billion to $1.665 billion for the full year of 2020, representing growth of 18% to 19% for the year. This guidance includes an estimated full year 2020 revenue contribution from STR of $61 to $63 million. CoStar expects revenue for the first quarter of 2020 in the range of $387 million to $392 million, representing revenue growth of 19% at the midpoint of the range.

The Company expects adjusted EBITDA in a range of $520 million to $530 million for the full year of 2020, an increase of 4% at the midpoint of the range. For the first quarter of 2020, the Company expects adjusted EBITDA in a range of $115 million to $120 million.

CoStar expects full-year 2020 non-GAAP net income per diluted share in a range of $10.20 to $10.40 based on 36.8 million shares. For the first quarter of 2020, we expect non-GAAP net income per diluted share in a range of $2.25 to $2.35 based on 36.7 million shares. These ranges include a non-GAAP tax rate of 25%.

The preceding guidance does not include any operating results from the proposed RentPath acquisition.

The preceding forward-looking statements reflect CoStar Group’s expectations as of February 25, 2020, including forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures on a consolidated basis. Given the risk factors, uncertainties and assumptions discussed above, actual results may differ materially. Other than in publicly available statements, the Company does not intend to update its forward-looking statements until its next quarterly results announcement.

Reconciliation of EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP net income per diluted share and other disclosed non-GAAP financial measures to their GAAP basis results are shown in detail below, along with definitions for those terms. A reconciliation of forward-looking non-GAAP guidance to the most directly comparable GAAP measure, net income, can be found within the tables included in this release.

SOURCE CoStar Group, Inc