What happened
Shares of Eventbrite (NYSE: EB), the event-management platform, were moving higher today after the company turned in a better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings report and offered strong guidance for the first quarter.
As a result, the stock was up 12.4% as of 12:46 p.m. ET.
So what
Revenue in the quarter rose 20% to $71.5 million as the company continued to benefit from tailwinds in the live-event space. That result edged out expectations at $71.2 million.
Paid ticket volume in the quarter was 25 million, up 14% from the quarter a year ago, driven by an increase in paid creators. Gross ticket sales were $3.3 billion for 2022.
The company also saw a strong improvement on the bottom line, with adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and appreciation (EBITDA) reaching $11 million. That number is up from $4 million in the quarter a year ago, though it includes a one-time benefit of $7.7 million from the reduction of reserves for estimated advance payout losses. Without that, EBITDA would have fallen slightly.
On the bottom line, Eventbrite posted a per-share profit of $0.04, which was much better than the consensus at a per-share loss of $0.14, but the company would have had a slight loss without that $7.7 million benefit.
Citing the improvements in profitability, management said, "We believe these are durable improvements stemming from purposeful changes to our go-to-market strategy executed in the last two years."
Now what
Looking ahead, the company expects revenue of $73 million to $76 million for the first quarter, representing 33% growth at the midpoint, and full-year revenue of $312 million to $330 million, which is equal to 23% growth at the midpoint.
That compared favorably to analyst estimates at $72 million in revenue for the first quarter and $321.3 million for the full year.
Eventbrite stock has struggled for most of its history, but the company is making progress on both the top and bottom lines. While it's still expected to lose money this year, investors seem to believe the path to profitability has improved after the latest update.
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Jeremy Bowman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Eventbrite. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
