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Five is the magic number for Zillow Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Hofmann, who used his time at Morgan Stanley’s Technology, Media & Telecom Conference on Wednesday to outline a bold long-term revenue goal first set by Rich Barton in 2021.
Jeremy Hofmann
Hofmann said Zillow is on pace to reach $5 billion in full-year revenue and a 45-percent EBITDA margin, which is how companies typically calculate operating profit as a percentage of revenue. Zillow’s 2024 full-year revenue hovered at $2.2 billion with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 22 percent — measures that put the company almost at the halfway point of its goal.
Unlike Barton, who said in 2021 that Zillow would hit $5 billion by 2025, Hofmann didn’t provide a new deadline. But he said growth in Zillow’s rental segment and Enhanced Markets, Premier Agent and Showcase offerings suggest the Seattle-based portal is close.
“We’ve been really pleased with what we’ve done in enhanced markets to date,” Hofmann told attendees in San Francisco, according to Online Marketplaces. “The four most mature markets—Phoenix, Raleigh, Atlanta, and Denver—have grown total transaction value over 100 percent since early 2023. That’s a great set of proof points in the earliest markets to say this formula feels quite good.”
Zillow closed 2024 on a high note, with revenues growing 15 percent to $2.2 billion, outpacing the market’s transaction volume growth (6 percent). Net losses for the full year decreased from $153 million to $112 million, and the adjusted EBITDA increased from $391 million to $498 million. Zillow’s mortgage (+51 percent), residential (+10 percent), rental (+27 percent), and for-sale (+12 percent) revenues grew by double digits compared to 2023.
The company’s rental segment was the star of its latest earnings, as Zillow Rentals reached 1.9 million active rental listings and 29 million average unique monthly visitors.
It also minted a $100 million deal with Redfin, which syndicates Zillow rental listings to Redfin and its Rent.com and ApartmentGuide.com sites. The Zillow Rentals Network now includes seven sites, including Realtor.com, HotPads and Trulia.
Editor’s Note: The publication that broke this story credited the quote to Zillow CEO Jeremy Wacksman; however, it was Jeremy Hofmann who was at Morgan Stanley’s event. Inman has updated the story accordingly.
