Weibo (NASDAQ:WB) is set to release its earnings data before the market opens on Thursday, March 3rd. Analysts expect that Weibo Co. (NASDAQ:WB) will post earnings of $0.84 per share for the current quarter.
It reported third-quarter FY21 revenue growth of 30% year-on-year to $607.4 million, beating the consensus of $589.8 million.
Its advertising and marketing revenues rose 29% Y/Y to $537.6 million. Value-added service (VAS) revenues grew 42% Y/Y to $69.8 million.
Monthly active users (MAUs) increased by 62 million Y/Y to 573 million in September 2021, while Average daily active users (DAUs) rose 23 million Y/Y to 248 million.
The non-GAAP operating margin expanded 200 bps to 41%. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.90 beat the consensus of $0.84.
It held $2.7 billion in cash and equivalents and generated $226 million in operating cash flow.
Weibo sees Q4 revenue growth of 15%-20% on a constant currency basis compared to the consensus of $594.3 million.
Its stock price tumbled 24.42% in 2021 and continued to fall 13.23% since 2022.
On average, analysts expect that Weibo will report full year earnings of $3.06 per share for the current year, with EPS estimates ranging from $2.98 to $3.11. For the next fiscal year, analysts forecast that the company will report earnings of $2.94 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $2.68 to $3.32.
Bloomberg Analyst Tiffany Tam said Weibo's core advertising sales may have sustained solid expansion in Q4 as its business was more insulated from sectors hit by regulations. Analysts expect ad sales to increase 19% in 4Q, a sharp decline from 29% in 3Q but enough for overall sales growth to be projected at 19%, the high end of the company's guided range. Moreover, investing to enhance social aspects such as hot topics, live-streaming and video features should help Weibo stand out against the competition with minimal impact on its margins.
ICBCI Research said while the whole advertisement industry is currently facing the headwinds from the macro and regulatory landscape, it expected Weibo to grow healthily utilizing its balanced advertisement products and favorable verticals as FMCG, 3C products and e-commerce being the top clients. The company maintained an ”Outperform” rating and trimmed the target price to$55.
JP Morgan said Weibo’s early preparation in the face of regulatory changes has contributed to its resilient ads revenue growth. But its growth of MAU could be plateauing and a lift in ARPU is unlikely to singlehandedly support sustainable ads revenue growth. It increased its price target by 11% to $52.
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