Earnings results often give us a good indication of what direction a company will take in the months ahead. With Q4 now behind us, let’s have a look at Coupang (NYSE:CPNG) and its peers.

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 12 online marketplace stocks we track reported a slower Q4; on average, revenues beat analyst consensus estimates by 1.2% while next quarter's revenue guidance was 3.7% below consensus. Stocks have been under pressure as inflation (despite slowing) makes their long-dated profits less valuable, but online marketplace stocks held their ground better than others, with the share prices up 16.6% on average since the previous earnings results.

Coupang (NYSE:CPNG)

Founded in 2010 by Harvard Business School student Bom Kim, Coupang (NYSE:CPNG) is a South Korean e-commerce giant often referred to as the "Amazon of South Korea".

Coupang reported revenues of $6.56 billion, up 23.2% year on year, topping analyst expectations by 2.4%. It was a strong quarter for the company, with a decent beat of analysts' revenue estimates. On the profitability side, Coupang blew past analysts' EBITDA, EPS, and free cash flow projections.

“Our accelerating growth in revenues, active customers, and WOW members reflect our unrelenting focus on creating ‘wow’ for our customers across selection, price, and service ,” said Bom Kim, Founder and CEO of Coupang.

The stock is up 6.2% since the results and currently trades at $17.92.

Is now the time to buy Coupang? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.

Best Q4: 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 $4.26 billion, up 41.9% year on year, outperforming analyst expectations by 2.8%. It was an impressive quarter for the company. MercadoLibre's robust user growth enabled it to beat analysts' revenue, total payment volume (TPV), and gross merchandise volume (GMV) estimates.

MercadoLibre achieved the fastest revenue growth among its peers. The company reported 145 million daily active users, up 49.5% year on year. The stock is down 15.5% since the results and currently trades at $1,539.51.

Is now the time to buy MercadoLibre? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.

Weakest Q4: 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 $217.2 million, down 0.2% year on year, falling short of analyst expectations by 3%. It was a weak quarter for the company, with full-year revenue guidance missing analysts' expectations and a decline in its user base.

Shutterstock had the weakest performance against analyst estimates and weakest full-year guidance update in the group. The company reported 523,000 users, down 10.8% year on year. The stock is up 3.8% since the results and currently trades at $46.15.

Read our full analysis of Shutterstock's results here.

LegalZoom (NASDAQ:LZ)

LegalZoom (NASDAQ:LZ) is an online platform that provides online legal services to individuals and small businesses. The company’s co-founders found it difficult and expensive to find lawyers and file paperwork when trying to start a business so they started LegalZoom instead to address this pain point.

LegalZoom reported revenues of $158.7 million, up 8.2% year on year, surpassing analyst expectations by 1.3%. It was a weak quarter for the company, with underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter and full-year.

The company reported 1.55 million users, up 7.2% year on year. The stock is up 36.5% since the results and currently trades at $13.4.

Read our full, actionable report on LegalZoom here, it's free.

The RealReal (NASDAQ:REAL)

Founded by consignment store aficionado Julie Wainwright, The RealReal (NASDAQ: REAL) is an online marketplace for buying and selling secondhand luxury goods.

The RealReal reported revenues of $143.4 million, down 10.2% year on year, in line with analyst expectations. It was a weak quarter for the company, with a decline in its user base and slow revenue growth.

The company reported 922,000 users, down 7.6% year on year. The stock is up 120% since the results and currently trades at $3.9.

Read our full, actionable report on The RealReal here, it's free.

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