Evercore ISI upgraded Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP) from In Line to Outperform and raised its price target to $45.00 from $37.00, driving shares up more than 8% intra-day on Monday.
The firm said it viewed Yelp as an emerging AI beneficiary, highlighting new initiatives such as the company’s AI Receptionist/Host service, which it estimated could represent a total addressable market of roughly $13.8 billion based on 7.7 million claimed business locations priced at $149 per month.
Evercore pointed to several catalysts that could support near-term growth, including: rapid expansion in data licensing to AI platforms (now at a $10 million annual run rate, with API call volume up 20x year-over-year through August 2025); a growing referral stream from ChatGPT users, which could strengthen Yelp’s reach among younger consumers; and a new delivery partnership with DoorDash that nearly doubles the number of restaurants enabled for on-platform delivery.
Analysts also cited potential upside from ongoing litigation against Google, which could mirror the DOJ’s recent antitrust victory in the search case. Additionally, cost discipline, reduced stock-based compensation, and share buybacks were expected to support GAAP EPS growth of 15% year-over-year in 2025 and 23% in 2026.
