CoStar Group shares plummeted 8.61% in after-hours trading on Tuesday, as investors reacted to the company’s second-quarter earnings release. The decline wiped out gains from a pre-earnings rally, with the stock giving back much of its recent advance.
The sell-off was triggered by a slight revenue miss for the quarter. CoStar reported Q2 revenue of $925 million, just below the consensus estimate of $928.8 million. While adjusted earnings per share of $0.32 beat the $0.29 analyst expectation and net income surged 817% year-over-year, the top-line shortfall weighed on sentiment. Additionally, the company issued full-year revenue guidance of $3.72 billion to $3.76 billion, below the $3.799 billion consensus, and provided a third-quarter revenue outlook of $935 million to $945 million, also missing the $967.7 million estimate.
The after-hours plunge came after shares had rallied over 10% across the two prior trading sessions as optimistic pre-earnings expectations were priced in. The combination of the minor revenue miss and cautious forward guidance prompted profit-taking, overshadowing the strong profitability metrics and upbeat commentary on the company’s longer-term outlook.