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CoStar (CSGP) Q4 FY25 earnings call: guidance and Q&A

Earnings call· Dec 2025 (Q4 FY25)· Feb 24, 2026

Source: earnings call transcript

Executive summary

CoStar Q4 FY25 — Record Bookings and AI-Driven Growth Amidst Strategic Investments

CoStar Group delivered strong Q4 FY25 results, marked by record bookings and double-digit revenue growth across both commercial and residential segments. The company is making substantial strategic investments in AI-powered products like Homes AI and expanding its global footprint, particularly in Australia and Europe. While these investments are expected to impact near-term profitability, especially in the residential segment, management anticipates significant EBITDA expansion and long-term value creation, leveraging its proprietary data moat.

Highlights

5

  • Revenue for Q4 FY25 rose 27% year-over-year to $900 million, an increase of $191 million.

  • Annualized net new sales bookings reached a record $308 million in 2025, up 23% from 2024.

  • Homes.com achieved $100 million in annualized revenue run rate, faster than any prior CoStar product.

  • Apartments.com added 14,000 paying properties in 2025, its largest annual increase, ending with 89,275 properties.

  • Homes AI users show significantly higher engagement, with site visits lasting 16 minutes 50 seconds compared to 4 minutes 24 seconds for non-users.

Concerns

5

  • Residential segment is projected to have negative $45 million EBITDA in Q1 FY26 due to front-loaded marketing spend.

  • Apartment vacancy rates continued to rise in Q4 FY25 to 8.5%, with 4- and 5-star buildings near 12%.

  • Almost half of all apartment buildings offered concessions in January 2026, up from 13% a year prior.

  • Zillow's rental traffic was down 48% year-over-year in January 2026, and Redfin rentals were down 46% year-over-year, indicating competitive pressure in the rental market.

  • Commercial segment adjusted EBITDA margins for FY26 are guided at 33-34%, reflecting significant investments in new products and international expansion.

Guidance & targets

CategoryTargetConfidence
Adjusted EBITDA
$740 million to $800 million
high materiality
High
Revenue
$3.78 billion to $3.82 billion
high materiality
High
Revenue
$890 million to $900 million
medium materiality
High
Adjusted EBITDA
$95 million to $115 million
medium materiality
High
Adjusted EBITDA Margin Increase
Roughly 5 percentage points each quarter
medium materiality
High
Commercial Revenue
$1.955 billion to $1.975 billion
medium materiality
High
Commercial Revenue
$470 million to $475 million
medium materiality
High
Residential Revenue
$1.825 billion to $1.845 billion
medium materiality
High
Residential Revenue
$420 million to $425 million
medium materiality
High
Commercial Adjusted EBITDA Margins
33% to 34%
medium materiality
High
Residential Adjusted EBITDA Margins
5% to 7%
medium materiality
High
Capital Expenditure
$175 million to $225 million
medium materiality
High
Homes.com Revenue
$4.75 billion
high materiality
Medium
Homes.com EBITDA
$2.85 billion
high materiality
Medium
Homes.com Investment Reduction
$300 million
medium materiality
High
Homes.com Run Rate Profitability
2029
medium materiality
High
Homes.com Full Year Profitability
2030
medium materiality
High
Residential Segment Profitability
Profitable
medium materiality
High
Residential Segment Margins
50%
low materiality
Medium
CoStar France Release
Q2
low materiality
High
CoStar Australia Release
Late '26
low materiality
High
New Homes Information Module Release
Q3 '26
low materiality
High
Rent Benchmark Product Delivery
Q2
medium materiality
High
Debt Benchmarking Launch
Second half of this year
low materiality
High
Loan Origination Launch
First quarter of 2027
low materiality
High
LoopNet Expansion
Australia and Germany
low materiality
High
Matterport Pro4 Launch
Next year
low materiality
High
Domain Residential Integration into Homes.com
Within a year to 18 months
medium materiality
High
OnTheMarket Integration into Homes.com
2027
low materiality
High
Share Repurchase Program
$1.5 billion
high materiality
High
Expected Share Repurchase
$700 million
high materiality
High
Residential Segment Adjusted EBITDA
$105 million
medium materiality
High
Residential Segment Adjusted EBITDA
Negative $45 million
medium materiality
High

Segment performance

SegmentRevenueYoYQoQMargin
Commercial
Q4 FY25 revenue for commercial businesses, including CoStar, LoopNet, Real Estate Manager, Ten-X, BizBuySell, and Matterport. Full year 2025 revenue was $1.79 billion, up 18% YoY from $1.52 billion in 2024, with acquisitions contributing ~10 percentage points of growth.
$471 million20%——
Residential
Q4 FY25 revenue for residential businesses, including Apartments.com, Homes.com, OnTheMarket, Land.com, and Domain Residential. Full year 2025 revenue was $1.46 billion, up 20% YoY, with an organic growth rate of 12%.
$429 million35%——
CoStar
Q4 FY25 revenue for CoStar, which now includes Information Services products. The segment has shown 7 consecutive quarters of accelerating growth.
Sales Team: 492 repsSales Team Growth YoY: 20%NPS: 70Quarterly Renewal Rate: 94%Subscribers: 300,000Subscribers Growth YoY: 26%Total Searches: 422 millionTotal Searches Growth YoY: 14%
$325 million10%——
LoopNet
Q4 FY25 growth rate for LoopNet, its fastest since 2021. Full year 2025 revenue was $312 million. Net new sales tripled in FY25 compared to FY24. Plans to hire 80 more sales reps in 2026, a 43% increase.
Full Year 2025 Revenue: $312 millionSales Reps (end of 2025): 177Paid Listings Increase US: 9%Paid Listings Increase Canada: 42%Paid Listings Increase UK: 156%European Listings: 130,000European Listings Increase: 4xLeads and Inquiries: 400,000+Total Listing Impressions: 633 million
—17%——
BizBuySell
Full year 2025 revenue for BizBuySell, with strong EBITDA growth and margin.
EBITDA Growth YoY: 19%Assets Marked on Platform: $143 billionCommercial Real Estate Marked: $34 billionEdge Subscription Revenue Growth: 35%Deal Accelerator Adoption: 14% of broker membersQualified Buyer Profiles: 10,000
$36 million——37% EBITDA margin
Apartments.com
Q4 FY25 revenue for Apartments.com, with strong engagement metrics and significant property additions. The platform maintains high brand awareness and renewal rates.
Full Year 2025 Revenue: $1.25 billionRenter Visits (FY25): 841 millionMatterport 3D Tours (FY25): 152 millionPhotos Viewed (FY25): 16 billionClicks to Customer Websites (FY25): 16 millionApplications Submitted (FY25): 1 millionBrand Awareness (Dec): 67%Brand Awareness Increase (QoQ): 4 pointsPaying Properties Added (FY25): 14,000Total Properties (end of 2025): 89,275Monthly Renewal Rate: 99%NPS: 92SEO Keywords Ranking (#1): 82% of 10,000 keywordsMedia Impressions (FY25): 12 billionVisits (Jan 2026, comScore) Growth YoY: 14%Sales Reps (end of 2025): 522Sales Meetings (FY25): 750,000In-person Sales Meetings (FY25): 350,000
$308 million11%——
Homes.com
Homes.com delivered impressive 63% year-over-year growth. It has rapidly scaled its audience and agent subscriber base, driven by its 'Your Listing, Your Lead' principle and the recent launch of Homes AI.
Network Views (FY25): 2.1 billionAverage Monthly Unique Visitors (FY25): 100 millionOrganic Traffic (Jan 2026) Growth YoY: 134%Organic Traffic (Jan 2026) Growth MoM: 21%Average Session Duration (Jan 2026): 4 minutes 33 secondsPage Sessions (Jan 2026): 6.9Bounce Rate (Jan 2026): 41%Lead Volume (Jan 2026) Growth YoY: 48%Member Lead Volume (Jan 2026) Growth YoY: 187%Rental Lead Volume (Jan 2026) Growth YoY: 54%Promoted Listings: 216,000Promoted Listings Share of US Homes for Sale: 9.4%Agent Subscribers: 31,000+Annualized Revenue Run Rate: $100 millionAnnual Contracts Share: 76%Sales Reps: 600NPS: 42Paid Single-Family Rental Listings: 642,000Paid Single-Family Rental Listings Growth YoY: 49%Independent Owners Using Rental Tools (FY25): 400,000Rent Payments Processed: $5.5 billion+Rent Payments Faster via Express Pay: 60%New Homebuilders Enhanced Exposure Bookings (Q4): $1.2 million annualized net newNew Homebuilders Enhanced Exposure Bookings (QoQ): 125%
—63%——
Domain Residential
Q4 FY25 revenue for Domain's residential marketplace in Australia, which was ahead of expectations and profitable. The platform achieved record audience momentum and is slated for integration into Homes.com.
Average Monthly Unique Audience: 8 millionOctober Monthly Unique Audience: 9 millionInquiry Volumes Growth YoY: 21%
$73 million——28% margins

CSGP operating KPIs by quarter

CSGP operating KPIs stated on its earnings calls, by fiscal quarter
KPIThis call Dec 2025 Q4 FY25 Mar 2026 Q1 FY26 Jun 2026 Q2 FY26Change vs prior quarter
Monthly renewal rate Apartments.com
99% This increase in properties, coupled with our 99% monthly renewal rate and 92 NPS confirms that property owners and managers understand the value of the Apartments.com site built specifically for the apartment industry. Source: earnings call transcript
—
99% Apartments ended the quarter with nearly 93,000 paid properties, up 12% year-over-year, sustaining 18 months of adding approximately 1,000 paid properties each month with monthly renewal rates holding strong at 99%. Source: earnings call transcript
—
Promoted active listings Homes.com
216K Homes.com subscribers paid to promote 216,000 active listings, representing 9.4% of 2.3 million homes for sale in the US in Q4 '25. Source: earnings call transcript
260K Homes.com subscribers paid to promote 260,000 active listings in Q1, representing 8.7% of the nearly 3 million homes for sale in the US In 2025, the Homes.com network grew nearly 2.1 billion views and 108 million average monthly unique visitors. Source: earnings call transcript
<305K Subscribers paid to promote close to 305,000 active listings in Q2. Source: earnings call transcript
—
Agent subscribers Homes.com
31K+ We now have over 31,000 agent subscribers generating $100 million in annualized revenue run rate with 76% of them on annual contracts. Source: earnings call transcript
—
36K+ We now have over 36,000 agent subscribers, up 107% from a year ago. Source: earnings call transcript
—
Contract renewal rate —
89% Our contract renewal rate has held consistently at 89% for the past 7 quarters. Source: earnings call transcript
89% Our contract renewal rate remains strong at 89%, with customers of five years or more renewing at 94% Subscription revenue on annual contracts was 72% for the second quarter, consistent with post-domain acquisition subscription rates. Source: earnings call transcript
0 pt
Renewal rate Customers with 5+ Years Subscription
95% Our contract renewal rate was 89% in the fourth quarter of 2025, and customers who have been subscribers for 5 years or longer have a 95% renewal rate. Source: earnings call transcript
95% Customers who have been subscribers for at least 5 years have an impressive 95% renewal rate. Source: earnings call transcript
94% Our contract renewal rate remains strong at 89%, with customers of five years or more renewing at 94% Subscription revenue on annual contracts was 72% for the second quarter, consistent with post-domain acquisition subscription rates. Source: earnings call transcript
-1 pt
Net new bookings
$75M Net new bookings for the fourth quarter were $75 million, a 42% year-over-year increase. Source: earnings call transcript
$67M Q1 net bookings of $67 million were up 20% year-over-year. Source: earnings call transcript
$69M Net new bookings for the quarter were $69 million, up 3% from the first quarter. Source: earnings call transcript
+3%

Operating figures the company stated on at least two of the calls shown, checked against each call's transcript. Click a figure to read the sentence. A dash means it was not stated that quarter.

Deals & partnerships

EG Radius (Primary U.K. competitor) Onboarding clients from competitor's shutdown

CoStar UK onboarded 166 clients from EG Radius after their operations shut down in December 2025, with 75% of them on 3-year deals.

Redfin Acquiring properties from competitor's client base

Apartments.com signed approximately 1,200 properties from Redfin's client base (estimated 4,500 properties not already on Apartments.com) at about $1,000 a month, after Redfin 'sold those clients to Zillow'.

Microsoft Azure OpenAI / AWS Leveraging advanced AI models for Homes AI

Homes AI is powered by Microsoft Azure OpenAI advanced AI models, integrated with several other large and small models, including some from AWS, along with CoStar's proprietary AI model.

Risks & headwinds

Residential Segment Profitability in Q1 FY26 Q1 FY26

Negative $45 million EBITDA

Mitigation:Front-loaded marketing campaigns (Super Bowl, Winter Olympics, Homes AI launch) are expected to drive future growth and profitability, with margins increasing sequentially throughout 2026.

Rising Apartment Vacancy Rates and Concessions Q4 FY25 / Jan 2026

Overall vacancy rates 8.5% in Q4 FY25; 4- and 5-star buildings near 12%; almost half of buildings offering concessions in Jan 2026 (up from 13% a year prior).

Mitigation:Apartments.com's strong brand awareness, high renewal rates, and large sales force are positioned to capture market share and provide value to owners and managers in a challenging macro environment. The integration of Homes.com for single-family rentals expands the addressable market.

Competitive Landscape in Rental Market Jan 2026

Zillow's rental traffic down 48% YoY in Jan 2026; Redfin rentals down 46% YoY; Zillow's expanded rental network down 29% YoY. Competitors 'shotgunning leads' lowering lead quality.

Mitigation:CoStar emphasizes Apartments.com's superior brand awareness, traffic growth, and focus on high-quality leads and ROI for property managers, contrasting with competitors' declining traffic and lead quality issues. Homes.com also contributes robust rental traffic.

Impact of Investments on Commercial Segment Margins FY26

FY26 adjusted EBITDA margins of 33% to 34% for Commercial segment.

Mitigation:Significant investments in CoStar Australia, European expansion, new product development (Debt Solutions, lease benchmarking), and AI integration are expected to drive future growth, expand TAM, and improve margins beyond 2026. The margin impact is primarily due to inorganic acquisitions and de novo builds.

MLS and Listing Ownership Upheaval Next 2 years

CEO of largest brokerage firm suggesting agents may not need to belong to major association within 2 years.

Mitigation:Management believes this instability creates opportunities for Homes.com, which operates on an agent-friendly 'Your Listing, Your Lead' model, resonating with brokerages and agents dissatisfied with traditional MLS systems that divert leads.

What to watch in Q1 FY26

Residential Segment EBITDA

Q2 FY26
Current Negative $45 million
Target Improvement towards positive

Why it matters

This indicates the effectiveness of front-loaded marketing spend and the trajectory towards full-year profitability for the residential segment.

You guys are guiding to negative $45 million of EBITDA in 1Q for the resi segment and positive $105 million for the full year at the midpoint.

Find out whether CSGP delivers this. Inve re-checks your case every morning.

Q&A highlights

Can you elaborate on the Q4 bookings performance, given it was a touch lighter than expected? Also, how is the productivity ramp for sales reps hired in 2025 compared to historical trends?

Q4 net new bookings were the second highest Q4 in company history. Sales reps hired in 2025 are ramping in line with historical trends, with productivity increasing significantly over their first five years.

“So in terms of sales ramp, we obviously are growing the sales force dramatically. And when you first bring people on, as we've done, as we brought a lot of people on in 2025, they're not at maximum productivity.”

asked by Stephen Sheldon · answered by Andrew Florance

3 min read 6 chapters

Detailed narrative

Strategic Re-segmentation and Strong Financial Performance

CoStar Group has revised its reporting segments into Commercial and Residential to better align with how the business is managed and provide clearer financial performance insights. For Q4 FY25, revenue increased 27% year-over-year to $900 million, contributing to a full-year 2025 revenue of $3.2 billion, up 19%. Adjusted EBITDA for 2025 reached $442 million, an 83% increase, positioning the company well for its 2026 guidance of $740 million to $800 million. This marks the 59th consecutive quarter of double-digit revenue growth.

Homes.com's Rapid Growth and AI Innovation

Homes.com has become the fastest-growing residential portal in the U.S., achieving over 2.1 billion views and 100 million average monthly unique visitors in 2025. Its annualized revenue run rate reached $100 million, making it CoStar's fastest organic revenue build for a new product. The recent launch of Homes AI has dramatically increased user engagement, with AI users spending 16 minutes 50 seconds on site (compared to 4 minutes 24 seconds for non-users) and generating 7x more email leads. This AI is built on Microsoft Azure OpenAI and proprietary models, ensuring data privacy within CoStar's ecosystem.

Apartments.com Dominance and Market Dynamics

Apartments.com continues to demonstrate strong market leadership, generating $308 million in Q4 FY25 revenue (up 11% YoY) and $1.25 billion for the full year. The platform added a record 14,000 paying properties in 2025, reaching 89,275 total, supported by a 99% monthly renewal rate and 92 NPS. Management highlighted a significant competitive advantage, noting a 14% year-over-year increase in Apartments.com visits in January 2026, contrasting with substantial traffic declines for competitors like Zillow and Redfin. The platform is also expanding its sales force, with 522 reps at year-end 2025, targeting a $10 billion TAM.

Commercial Segment Expansion and Product Development

The Commercial segment, including CoStar, LoopNet, and other services, grew 18% to $1.79 billion in 2025. CoStar revenue grew 10% in Q4 FY25, supported by a 20% increase in its sales team to 492 reps and a 94% renewal rate. Key product initiatives include the upcoming release of CoStar France and Australia, a new homes information module, and a rent benchmark product utilizing AI for lease abstraction. CoStar Debt Solutions surpassed $100 million in annual run rate revenue, with plans to launch debt benchmarking and loan origination in 2026 and 2027, respectively.

Global Marketplace and Technology Integration

LoopNet saw its fastest growth since 2021, with Q4 FY25 revenue up 17% year-over-year, driven by record net new sales. The company plans to expand LoopNet into Australia and Germany in 2026, building a global commercial real estate marketplace. Matterport is also scaling its sales force and developing the next-generation Pro4 camera, alongside AI-powered features like 'furnish' and 'X-ray' functionality. CoStar is actively integrating acquired platforms like Domain and OnTheMarket into its Homes.com software environment to drive synergies and improve margins, with Domain integration expected within 12-18 months and OnTheMarket in 2027.

Proprietary Data Moat and AI Advantage

CoStar emphasizes its significant competitive advantage in the AI era due to its massive proprietary real estate data, which includes 2.4 trillion fields of data, 700,000 Matterports, and billions of proprietary images. This data is protected by strong authentication and is not accessible to external LLM AI crawlers. The company receives direct data feeds from over 94,000 hotels, 500 financial institutions, 2,000 corporations (including Fortune 500), 300 homebuilders, and 85,000 apartment managers, enabling it to build transformative AI-powered solutions that cannot be replicated by publicly available data.

Summary of the company's earnings call; see how call summaries are prepared. Not investment advice.