UAE's Yalla Group posts fall in Q4 revenue; announces $150 mln buyback

Yalla

09/03/2026 21:12

Overview

Middle East and North Africa (MENA) social networking firm's Q4 revenue fell yr/yr

Net income for Q4 rose 6.2% yr/yr

Company announced new $150 mln share repurchase program

Outlook

Yalla expects Q1 2026 revenue between $75 mln and $82 mln due to Ramadan impact

Yalla aims to strengthen MENA market leadership through tech and product pipeline expansion

Result Drivers

DECLINE IN PAYING USERS - Co attributed revenue decline to fewer promotional events by third-party payment platforms, leading to a decrease in paying users

COST REDUCTIONS - Lower commission fees from diversified payment channels reduced cost of revenues, contributing to increased net income

PREFERENTIAL TAX RATE - Income tax benefit arose from preferential tax rate applied to a subsidiary, supporting net income growth

Company press release: ID:nPn4Gj8xJa

Key Details

Metric
Beat/Miss
Actual
Consensus Estimate
Q4 Revenue
Miss
$83.9 mln
$85.19 mln (2 Analysts)
Q4 Adjusted Net Income
Beat
$36.9 mln
$36.20 mln (2 Analysts)
Q4 Adjusted Operating Income
Slight Miss*
$28.9 mln
$28.91 mln (2 Analysts)

*Applies to a deviation of less than 1%; not applicable for per-share numbers.

Analyst Coverage

The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 1 "strong buy" or "buy", 1 "hold" and no "sell" or "strong sell"

The average consensus recommendation for the online services peer group is "buy"

Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Yalla Group Ltd is $9.40, about 32.2% above its March 9 closing price of $7.11

The stock recently traded at 8 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 8 three months ago

For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact reuters.support@thomsonreuters.com.

(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)