Let’s dig into the relative performance of Sea (NYSE: SE) and its peers as we unravel the now-completed Q3 online marketplace earnings season.
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 mixed Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 2.1% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.
Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 6% since the latest earnings results.
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 exceeded analysts’ expectations by 6.3%. Overall, it was a strong quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.
“I’m happy to report that it has been another solid quarter. We are seeing high growth across all our three businesses,” said Forrest Li, Sea’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
The stock is up 35.1% since reporting and currently trades at $131.60.
We think Sea is a good business, but is it a buy today? Read our full report here, it’s free.
Best 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 $6.06 billion, up 37.4% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 2.8%. The business had an exceptional quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ number of unique active users estimates.
The market seems content with the results as the stock is up 3.1% since reporting. It currently trades at $2,185.
Is now the time to buy MercadoLibre? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.
Weakest Q3: Teladoc (NYSE: TDOC)
Founded to help people in rural areas get online medical consultations, Teladoc Health (NYSE: TDOC) is a telemedicine platform that facilitates remote doctor’s visits.
Teladoc reported revenues of $640.5 million, down 3% year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. It was a softer quarter as it posted full-year EBITDA guidance missing analysts’ expectations.
Teladoc delivered the slowest revenue growth in the group. The company reported 93.8 million users, up 4.7% year on year. As expected, the stock is down 21.6% since the results and currently trades at $8.62.
Read our full analysis of Teladoc’s results here.
LegalZoom (NASDAQ: LZ)
Founded by famous lawyer Robert Shapiro, LegalZoom (NASDAQ: LZ) offers online legal services and documentation assistance for individuals and businesses.
LegalZoom reported revenues of $161.7 million, up 1.9% year on year. This number beat analysts’ expectations by 0.6%. Overall, it was a strong quarter as it also recorded EBITDA guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations and a decent beat of analysts’ number of subscription units estimates.
The company reported 1.77 million users, up 14.3% year on year. The stock is up 2.8% since reporting and currently trades at $9.11.
Read our full, actionable report on LegalZoom here, it’s free.
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 $250.3 million, up 15.2% year on year. This result lagged analysts' expectations by 1.5%. Overall, it was a softer quarter as it also produced a decline in its requests and a miss of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.
The company reported 33 million service requests, down 6.8% year on year. The stock is down 21.1% since reporting and currently trades at $19.29.
Read our full, actionable report on Shutterstock here, it’s free.
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