Yelp Stock Rises as Investors Weigh Amazon Ad Deal Against Buyback Pause, Shares Hovering Near 52-Week Low

NEW YORK — Shares of Yelp Inc. rose nearly 3% on Thursday, offering a modest lift to a stock that has lost more than a third of its value this year as investors weigh the online reviews company's new advertising partnership with Amazon against slowing growth in its core business.

Yelp shares were up 51 cents, or 2.77%, at $18.91 on the New York Stock Exchange as of 1:36 p.m. EDT. There was no immediate company-specific announcement tied to the move.

Even with Thursday's gain, the stock remains near the bottom of its trading range. Over the past year, Yelp shares have moved between a low of $17.27 and a high of $34.49. The stock began 2026 at $30.38, meaning it is down roughly 38% year to date at Thursday's price.

Amazon partnership puts Yelp at the checkout

The most significant recent development for the San Francisco-based company came late last month, when Amazon's advertising unit unveiled a new ad product built around Yelp's network of local businesses.

On Sept. 29, Amazon Ads announced Sponsored Services, a format that places local service professionals in front of shoppers right after they buy or search for something that may need installation or follow-up work. Yelp supplies the businesses, and the format is available to Yelp advertisers in eligible home and auto services categories in the United States.

The ads run on Amazon product detail pages, order confirmation pages and package tracking pages. In Amazon's example, a shopper who buys a kitchen faucet could then see an ad for a local plumber on the order confirmation page. Shoppers can call the business or request a price quote without leaving Amazon.

Categories include plumbers, electricians, landscapers, home cleaners, roofers and movers, according to Amazon Ads.

Katy Lightsey, Yelp's head of services operations, said the arrangement brings Yelp to shoppers at the point of purchase and means "turning everyday purchases into real jobs" for service professionals.

Neither company has disclosed pricing, performance data or how revenue from the arrangement will be shared, leaving analysts and investors to estimate how much the deal could contribute.

The partnership builds on an existing relationship. In December 2025, Amazon announced that Yelp and Angi would be integrated into its Alexa+ assistant for home services.

Market commentary following the announcement noted that Yelp's last close at the time was $18.26, with investors still balancing the long-term potential of newer partnerships such as Sponsored Services against execution risk and questions about the sustainability of profitability.

Buybacks paused to reduce debt

The stock's slide accelerated after Yelp reported second-quarter results on Aug. 6 and announced a shift in how it uses its cash.

Yelp said it repurchased $50 million worth of shares during the second quarter at an average price of $24.92 per share — well above where the stock trades now. With $339 million remaining under its authorization as of July 31, the company said it had paused the program "as we work to pay down our revolving credit facility." Yelp said it expects to resume repurchases in 2027.

As of June 30, Yelp had $100 million in outstanding borrowings under a $325 million senior secured revolving credit facility, with $220.7 million remaining available. The commitments under the facility expire in April 2028.

Buybacks had been a central part of Yelp's pitch to shareholders in recent years. In the first quarter, the company repurchased $125 million worth of shares at an average price of $24.58. Pausing the program removed a steady source of demand for the stock.

Revenue beat, but earnings fell short

Yelp's second-quarter results showed a business that is still growing at the top line, but only slightly.

Net revenue was $376 million, up 1% from a year earlier and $8 million above the high end of the company's own forecast. Advertising revenue, however, fell 3% to $342 million, mainly because of weaker revenue from restaurants, retail and other businesses, a category Yelp calls RR&O.

Other revenue, which includes newer offerings, nearly doubled, rising 98% to $33 million.

Diluted earnings per share were 57 cents, down from 67 cents a year earlier and below the analyst consensus of 77 cents, according to one tally.

The company's services business, which covers home and local service providers and had been Yelp's main growth engine for roughly three years, was essentially flat. Services advertising revenue was $240.96 million in the second quarter, up just 0.1% from the same period a year earlier.

The weakness in restaurants and retail is longer-running. RR&O advertising revenue has declined each year in the second quarter, falling to $101.53 million in 2026, down 16.6% from three years earlier, though the latest figure represented a sequential improvement.

Outlook and AI push

For the third quarter, Yelp forecast revenue of $365 million to $370 million and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $70 million to $75 million. The company is also targeting an annual revenue run rate of $250 million in its "other revenue" category by the end of 2028 as it leans into artificial intelligence-driven products.

That strategy has included acquisitions. In January, Yelp agreed to buy Hatch, a lead management company for service businesses, for about $270 million in cash.

Costs have been climbing. Total costs and expenses reached $331.79 million in the second quarter, up 5% from a year earlier and rising faster than revenue for the second straight quarter.

Investor sentiment remains split

Thursday's gain came on a day when the broader question for Yelp investors remains whether new distribution channels like Amazon can offset pressure in its traditional advertising categories.

Bulls point to the company's steep discount to analyst price targets and the potential for Amazon placements to bring in new advertisers. Bears point to stalled services growth, rising expenses, the pause in buybacks and intensifying competition from larger digital platforms, which could leave Yelp exposed if advertiser demand weakens further.

Yelp is next expected to report quarterly results in early November, when investors will get their first look at whether the Amazon partnership is contributing meaningfully to revenue and whether the company's services segment has resumed growth.

Note: I couldn't find a specific catalyst for Thursday's 2.77% move, so the article frames it as a modest rebound rather than tying it to news. All quotes come from Yelp's shareholder letter and Yelp's statement on the Amazon deal; please confirm the closing price and the exact Q3 earnings date before publishing.