Zillow Projects Huge Growth for Its iBuyer Business. Why the Stock Is Slipping.

For the June quarter, Zillow Group (ticker: ZG) posted gross of $1.3 billion, up 70% from a twelvemonth ago, and astir successful enactment with Street estimates. Revenue from the company’s IMT segment—an acronym for internet, media and technology, which includes the company’s halfway Premier Agent service—was $476 million, up 70%, and somewhat up of Street estimates.

Zillow Homes, the iBuyer segment, had gross of $777 million, up 71%, and up of the Street statement astatine $751 million, portion owe gross of $57 cardinal was up 68%, but somewhat beneath estimates.

In an interrogation with Barron’s, CEO Rich Barton said the company’s iBuyer concern is “really accelerating,” contempt the information that sellers person galore options for selling homes successful what remains a blistery marketplace with constricted supply. “It speaks to however horrible the mean process for selling your location is,” helium says. “Once radical are convinced that we connection a just price, it is beauteous accelerated to get to yes.”

Adjusted Ebitda, oregon net earlier interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, was $182.7 million, up from $15.8 cardinal a twelvemonth ago.

In a missive to shareholders, Zillow projected that investors usage “gross profit” arsenic a measurement of the company’s performance, a metric it had not antecedently provided. (Basically it is gross little costs of goods sold.) For the quarter, gross nett was $538 million, up 92%. GAAP nett income successful the 4th was $10 million, oregon 4 cents a share, falling shy of the Street statement astatine 24 cents.

Zillow said it purchased 3,805 homes successful the quarter—the astir the institution has ever purchased successful a azygous 4th by a wide margin—while selling 2,086 homes. Zillow present has 3,142 homes successful inventory, much than treble the full astatine the extremity of the archetypal quarter.

Barton says the higher inventory simply reflects much enactment —the company’s extremity is to support its holding play to 60 to 90 days, and ideally “for arsenic abbreviated a play arsenic we can.” He says Zillow does airy remodeling to get homes acceptable for sale, and past looks for a buyer. “We’re not a holder of assets,” helium says. “But if we’re growing, past inventory is growing. It’s a beauteous bully look astatine what revenues are going to beryllium adjacent quarter.”

For the 3rd quarter, Zillow sees full gross of $1.927 cardinal to $2.05 billion, dramatically up of the Street statement astatine $1.45 billion, mostly reflecting expected maturation successful Homes. Revenue from Zillow Homes is projected astatine $1.4 cardinal to $1.5 billion, acold supra the aged Street statement forecast astatine $901 million.

The institution sees gross from the IMT conception of $472 cardinal to $485 million, somewhat beneath the Street statement astatine $489 million, and it projects owe gross of $55 cardinal to $62 million, besides a spot beneath the Street estimation of $65 million.

The institution sees adjusted Ebitda for the 4th of $94 cardinal to $126 million, down from the 2nd 4th arsenic it accelerates concern successful people, technology, and development, with higher income and selling costs.

“Two and fractional years ago, we made a large stake to germinate from a search-and-find existent property marketplace to enactment successful the existent property transaction itself,” the institution said successful the letter. ”Despite immoderate monumental curveballs similar a planetary pandemic, we are connected way with each of the three-to five-year maturation objectives we acceptable for ourselves successful aboriginal 2019.”

Write to Eric J. Savitz astatine eric.savitz@barrons.com