Why CoStar Group Stock Was Sliding Today

Shares of CoStar Group (NASDAQ: CSGP), the leading commercial real estate listing platform, were falling after the company delivered disappointing results in its third-quarter earnings report today.

As a result, the stock was down 9.1% as of 11:08 a.m. ET on the news.

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CoStar's growth isn't enough

CoStar reported 11% revenue growth to $692.6 million, though that was short of the consensus at $696.1 million.

The performance marked its 54th consecutive quarter of double-digit revenue. The company said Apartments.com and CoStar both delivered solid results.

Average monthly unique visitors across the business jumped 28% to 163 million, but growth on the bottom line was a problem.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) came in at $76 million, down from $112 million in the quarter a year ago, as the company stepped up sales and marketing spending. CoStar reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.22, down from $0.30 in the quarter a year ago, though that beat the analyst consensus at $0.16.

Still, CFO Chris Lown said, "This quarter, we delivered strong revenue growth and adjusted EBITDA growth."

Separately, the company also announced that it would acquire Visual Lease, a software platform for lease management and accounting used by more than 1,500 organizations.

What's next for CoStar Group?

Looking ahead, CoStar said it expects full-year revenue of $2.72 billion-$2.73 billion, representing 11% growth, but below the consensus at $2.74 billion. It sees that growth rate slowing down to 9% in the fourth quarter to reach revenue of $693 million-$703 million, which was below the analyst consensus at $713.9 million.

It also gave underwhelming guidance on the bottom line, calling for adjusted EPS of $0.21-$0.23, which was below estimates at $0.24.

Given that forecast, which implies the end of its double-digit revenue growth streak, it's not surprising to see the stock falling today.

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Jeremy Bowman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends CoStar Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.