Costar Group (NASDAQ: CSGP) reported Q4 EPS of $2.81, $0.28 better than the analyst estimate of $2.53. Revenue for the quarter came in at $315.57 million versus the consensus estimate of $310.31 million.

“2018 was an outstanding year for CoStar with strong revenue growth and substantial margin expansion,” said Andrew C. Florance, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of CoStar Group. “We achieved $1.2 billion in revenue for the full year and 44% adjusted EBITDA margin in the fourth quarter which significantly exceeded the long-term goals we set way back in 2014 of $1 billion in annual revenue in 2018 and 40% adjusted EBITDA margin in the fourth quarter. With these important milestones behind us, we are setting a new goal to exit 2023 with a $3 billion revenue run rate with adjusted EBITDA margin at or above 40% for the full year.”

“Our flagship CoStar Suite business had an outstanding year as revenue grew 18% for the full year of 2018 versus 2017,” said Florance. “In addition, we successfully completed the integration of ForRent in the fourth quarter. In less than ten months, we have achieved our financial objectives for the acquisition. For the full-year of 2018, Multifamily revenue grew 45% versus 2017 to $406 million.”

“In the coming years, we see a huge opportunity to further monetize LoopNet,” said Florance. “Over the course of 2018, we positioned LoopNet.com as a pure marketing site and began selling marketing services directly to owners using our CoStar information sales team. On a year-over-year basis, net new bookings for the LoopNet marketplace increased 74%. I believe LoopNet, along with our network of commercial real estate marketing assets, has the potential to reach the size of Apartments.com.”

GUIDANCE:

Costar Group sees FY2019 EPS of $9.80-$10.00, versus the consensus of $9.79. Costar Group sees FY2019 revenue of $1.37-1.38 billion, versus the consensus of $1.38 billion.

Costar Group sees Q1 2019 EPS of $2.38-$2.47, versus the consensus of $2.21. Costar Group sees Q1 2019 revenue of $325-329 million, versus the consensus of $325.86 million.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Costar Group (CSGP) click here.