YELP Stock: Insider Activity, Filings & Research
Yelp Inc. (YELP) — Drillr’s hub for YELP insider activity, SEC filings, earnings signals and AI research. Over the trailing 3 months, YELP insiders filed 0 open-market buys and 6 sales (SEC Form 4).
YELP insider trading activity (SEC Form 4)
| Date | Insider | Type | Shares | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 22, 2026 | Eaton Samofficer: Chief Technology Officer | Tax | 11,266 | $22.47 |
| May 22, 2026 | Amara Carmenofficer: Chief People Officer | Sell | 500 | $22.35 |
| May 22, 2026 | Amara Carmenofficer: Chief People Officer | Tax | 4,955 | $22.47 |
| May 22, 2026 | Stoppelman Jeremydirector, officer: Chief Executive Officer | Tax | 20,480 | $22.47 |
| May 22, 2026 | Schwarzbach David Aofficer: Chief Financial Officer | Tax | 10,012 | $22.47 |
| May 22, 2026 | Saldanha Craigofficer: Chief Product Officer | Tax | 5,740 | $22.47 |
| May 22, 2026 | Nachman Joseph Rofficer: Chief Operating Officer | Tax | 10,332 | $22.47 |
| May 5, 2026 | Saldanha Craigofficer: Chief Product Officer | Sell | 1,200 | $28.17 |
| Apr 17, 2026 | Schwarzbach David Aofficer: Chief Financial Officer | Sell | 7,500 | $26.60 |
| Apr 3, 2026 | Saldanha Craigofficer: Chief Product Officer | Sell | 1,200 | $24.72 |
| Mar 25, 2026 | Schwarzbach David Aofficer: Chief Financial Officer | Sell | 7,500 | $25.00 |
| Mar 17, 2026 | Eaton Samofficer: Chief Technology Officer | Tax | 4,228 | $23.83 |
| Mar 17, 2026 | Stoppelman Jeremydirector, officer: Chief Executive Officer | Tax | 7,560 | $23.83 |
| Mar 17, 2026 | Amara Carmenofficer: Chief People Officer | Tax | 1,805 | $23.83 |
| Mar 17, 2026 | Schwarzbach David Aofficer: Chief Financial Officer | Sell | 10,000 | $25.00 |
Source: YELP SEC Form 4 filings, latest May 22, 2026. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
Yelp Inc. company profile
Overview
Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) is a San Francisco-based technology company founded in 2004 that operates one of the world's largest local business review and discovery platforms. The company went public in March 2012 and has evolved from primarily a restaurant review site into a comprehensive local business marketplace connecting consumers with service providers across multiple categories. Today, Yelp serves as both a consumer discovery platform and an advertising marketplace for local businesses, generating revenue primarily through paid advertising products and services that help businesses connect with potential customers.
Business
Yelp operates a local business discovery and review platform that serves as a digital marketplace connecting consumers with local service providers and businesses. The platform functions as a comprehensive directory where consumers can search for, review, and interact with businesses across various categories including restaurants, home services, automotive, beauty, fitness, healthcare, and professional services. The company's core product is its online platform and mobile application that allows users to discover local businesses, read and write reviews, view photos, check business hours, and access contact information. For consumers, this creates a trusted resource for making informed decisions about where to spend their money. For businesses, it provides a channel to attract customers, manage their online reputation, and advertise their services. Yelp's business is divided into two primary revenue segments: 1. Services Revenue (approximately 62% of total revenue): This segment focuses on service-based businesses such as home contractors, auto repair shops, healthcare providers, and professional services. The company generates revenue through advertising products that help these service providers connect with consumers actively seeking their services. Key products include cost-per-click advertising, lead generation through "Request-a-Quote" functionality, and subscription-based tools like waitlist management. 2. Restaurants, Retail & Other (RR&O) Revenue (approximately 33% of total revenue): This segment covers traditional brick-and-mortar businesses including restaurants, retail stores, and entertainment venues. Revenue comes from advertising products, business listing enhancements, and reservation management tools. The platform also offers Yelp Fusion APIs that allow third-party developers and enterprise clients to access Yelp's business data and reviews, creating additional licensing revenue streams. Recent product innovations include AI-powered features like Yelp Assistant, which helps consumers describe their needs and connects them with appropriate service providers.
Revenue model
Yelp operates a multi-sided marketplace business model where it monetizes the connection between consumers seeking local services and businesses wanting to attract customers. The company's primary revenue streams include: Advertising Revenue: The core revenue driver comes from businesses paying for enhanced visibility on the platform. This includes cost-per-click search advertising where businesses pay when users click on their ads, display advertising on business listing pages, and promoted placement in search results. Businesses typically pay monthly subscriptions ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars depending on their market size and advertising spend. Lead Generation Services: Particularly strong in the services segment, Yelp charges businesses for qualified leads generated through features like "Request-a-Quote" where consumers submit project details and receive responses from relevant service providers. The company has been increasing its monetization rate of service leads from 25% in 2022 to 30% in 2023. Subscription-Based Tools: Yelp offers various subscription products including Yelp Reservations for restaurants, Yelp Waitlist for queue management, and business analytics tools. These provide recurring revenue streams with predictable monthly payments. Data Licensing: Through Yelp Fusion APIs, the company licenses its business data, reviews, and ratings to third-party applications and enterprise clients, creating additional revenue without direct customer acquisition costs. The paying customers are primarily local business owners ranging from independent restaurants and service providers to multi-location enterprises. The company serves approximately 517,000 paying advertising locations as of Q1 2025. Margin-influencing factors include macroeconomic conditions affecting small business advertising budgets, competition from Google and other platforms for local advertising dollars, the mix between higher-margin services revenue versus lower-margin restaurant advertising, and the company's ability to demonstrate clear return on investment to advertisers. Economic downturns typically pressure the restaurant and retail segments more than essential services like home repair and healthcare, creating some defensive characteristics in the services revenue stream.
Competitive moat
Yelp's competitive moat is moderately strong but faces significant challenges from larger technology platforms. The company's primary moat consists of its extensive user-generated content database with over 21 million reviews added annually, creating a valuable repository of local business information that becomes more valuable with scale. This content creates network effects where more reviews attract more users, which in turn attracts more businesses willing to advertise. The company also benefits from local market expertise and relationships built over two decades, particularly in service categories where it has developed specialized tools and workflows that larger competitors have not prioritized. Yelp's focus on local businesses and understanding of their specific needs provides some differentiation from broader platforms. However, Yelp's moat faces substantial competitive pressure from Google, which dominates local search through Google Maps and Google My Business. Google's integration of reviews, business information, and advertising within its search ecosystem creates a formidable competitive challenge. The company also faces competition from social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram for local business advertising dollars, and from specialized vertical platforms in specific categories. The emergence of AI-powered search presents both opportunity and threat. While Yelp is developing AI features like Yelp Assistant and exploring partnerships with AI search platforms, the fundamental shift toward conversational search could disrupt traditional directory-based discovery models. Yelp's moat is strongest in service categories where the lead generation model and specialized tools create more switching costs for businesses, but remains vulnerable in restaurant and retail categories where alternatives are more readily available. The company's relatively small scale compared to tech giants limits its ability to invest in product development and marketing at the same pace as larger competitors.
Risks & safety
Overall Assessment: Yelp maintains a strong financial position with solid cash generation and minimal debt, though valuation metrics suggest limited margin of safety at current levels. Liquidity and Solvency: - Cash and short-term investments: $222 million (Q1 2025) - Current ratio: 2.89x indicating strong short-term liquidity - Debt-to-equity ratio: 0.046 showing minimal leverage - Free cash flow: $87.5 million in Q1 2025, demonstrating consistent cash generation - No significant solvency risk given strong balance sheet Valuation Metrics: - P/E ratio: 24.8x (above historical market averages) - EV/EBITDA: 11.7x (reasonable for a technology company) - Price-to-book ratio: 3.32x (elevated for the growth profile) - Graham number suggests fair value around $9.69 vs current price near $39 Other Considerations: - Revenue growth has decelerated to mid-single digits - Services segment growth remains strong but faces macro headwinds - Stock-based compensation represents significant dilution though company is actively reducing it - Market cap of $2.4 billion appears full valued relative to growth prospects
Recent development
Over the past few years, Yelp has undergone a strategic transformation focused on shifting from a restaurant-centric review platform to a comprehensive services marketplace. The company has prioritized growth in service categories, which now represent approximately 62% of total revenue, driven by stronger margins and more defensible customer relationships. AI Integration and Product Innovation: Yelp has aggressively integrated artificial intelligence across its platform, launching Yelp Assistant in 2024 as an AI-powered conversational tool that helps consumers describe their needs and connects them with appropriate service providers. The company has introduced over 80 new features and updates in 2024 alone, including AI-powered photo recognition, response quality badges for service professionals, and upcoming AI call-answering services for restaurants and service providers. Strategic Acquisitions: In late 2024, Yelp acquired RepairPal for $80 million to strengthen its automotive services vertical. This acquisition brought specialized industry expertise and enhanced the company's Request-a-Quote functionality and Yelp Assistant capabilities in the auto services category. Multi-Location Services Initiative: The company has launched initiatives targeting larger businesses with multiple locations, developing specialized APIs and account management tools to serve enterprise clients more effectively. This represents a significant expansion from Yelp's traditional focus on independent local businesses. Financial Discipline and Capital Allocation: Management has implemented strict cost controls, maintaining flat headcount while growing revenue, and has committed to reducing stock-based compensation to less than 8% of revenue by the end of 2025. The company has also maintained an active share repurchase program, returning capital to shareholders while investing in growth initiatives. Search and Discovery Evolution: Yelp has been experimenting with paid search marketing to acquire projects and has expressed optimism about potential opportunities arising from antitrust actions against Google, positioning itself as an alternative source of local business information for emerging AI search platforms.
YELP company profile · for informational purposes only — not investment advice.
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