Zillow beats investor forecasts with double-digit revenue gains 

Despite being embroiled in ongoing litigation, Zillow continued to outperform investor expectations in the fourth quarter.

Zillow's revenue was up 18% for Q4 of 2025 and up 16% for the full year, according to the company's latest earnings report. Zillow's quarterly revenue, which came in at $654 million, was at the upper end of Zillow's guidance and was slightly higher than what investors had projected.

The biggest boosts in revenue came from Zillow's mortgage and rental divisions, which are both the focus of lawsuits that were filed last year. Revenue from the company's mortgage division was up 39% to $57 million, while rental revenue was up 45% to $168 million.

The stock market appeared to have a negative reaction to the earnings report, however. In early afternoon trading on Feb. 11, Zillow's stock was down around $9 a share, hitting the $45 range.

Stephen Sheldon of the financial services company William Blair noted in a Feb. 10 report that Zillow's profit miss — due to higher-than-expected legal expenses — combined with its softer Q1 guidance would likely drive shares lower.

The home search giant wasn't the only real estate company to see shares fall, however: Nearly all real estate brokerage stocks were down on Feb. 11 after the release of an unexpectedly strong jobs report, which could dissuade the Federal Reserve from lowering short-term interest rates when it meets next month.

What Zillow had to say

On lawsuits: During a Feb. 10 earnings call, investors focused many of their questions on the financial impact of ongoing litigation. CEO Jeremy Wacksman reiterated his previously spoken belief that the company's legal challenges are not expected to materially impact Zillow's long-term strategy or financial position.

When asked specifically about private listings — the focus of a Zillow ban that led to a lawsuit filed by Compass last summer — Wacksman said they account for a relatively small number of overall listings despite widespread industry attention on the issue.

"The reason it's small is the vast majority of sellers and agents don't want that," Wacksman said. "Agents don't want to limit exposure and have a home take longer to sell, or not maximize price."

Wacksman also doesn't foresee a change in strategy when it comes to Zillow Home Loans, despite allegations of steering related to its lending division. Zillow's goal, he explained, is to present buyers and agents with a trustworthy mortgage option.

"Our long-term strategy here is based on consumer choice and building this integrated end-to-end transaction," Wacksman said. 

Anticipating a slow 2026 market: While Zillow expects housing affordability to improve in the year ahead, the company's budget reflects its bearish stance on the market.

Improving affordability "is a good sign that should drive a broader recovery over time," said Jeremy Hofmann, Zillow's chief financial officer — but, he added, "we're just not necessarily planning for it in 2026."

Continuing to outperform: Even though 2025 was a slow year for home sales nationally, traffic to Zillow's websites and apps were up 8% year-over-year in Q4, and visits were up 2%.

"We delivered strong results in the fourth quarter and throughout 2025, achieving all our reported full-year financial targets, including positive net income, while continuing to gain share in both For Sale and Rentals," Wacksman said in a news release.

"As we celebrate 20 years of Zillow, our results demonstrate our disciplined and consistent execution of our strategy," he added.

Key numbers

Revenue: $654 million in Q4, up 18% year-over-year. Residential revenue increased 8% to $418 million, mortgage revenue was up 39% to $57 million, and rentals revenue climbed 45% to $168 million.

For the full year, revenue was $2.6 billion, up 16% compared to 2024.

Cash and investments: $1.3 billion at the end of 2025, down from $1.4 billion at the end of September.

Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization): $149 million in Q4, up from $112 million a year earlier.

Net income/loss: A gain of $3 million in Q4, up from a $52 million loss a year ago. Zillow reported a net income gain of $23 million for the full year compared to a $112 million loss in 2024.

Traffic and visits: Traffic across all Zillow Group websites and apps totaled 221 million average monthly unique users in Q4, up 8% year-over-year, the company said. Visits were up 2% year-over-year to 2.1 billion.

Q1 outlook: For the first quarter, Zillow estimates revenue will be in the $700 million to $710 million range.

Notable Moves

During the company's Feb. 10 call with investors, Wacksman said he is pleased with the initial beta testing of Zillow Pro, a bundle subscription service that integrates several tools — including Follow Up Boss and My Agent — into one AI-driven experience.

The company expects to begin a nationwide rollout of Zillow Pro in the second half of 2026.

"It's an offering to help the agents — all agents, not just Zillow customers — run their whole business and help them convert all of their customers, not just Zillow customers," Wacksman said.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional information and comments from Zillow executives.