SEATTLE, Dec. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Zillow Group,
Inc. (NASDAQ: Z and ZG) today announced it has made significant
progress in winding down Zillow Offers inventory and has sold, is
under contract to sell or has reached agreement on disposition
terms for more than 50% of the homes it expected to resell during
the entire wind-down process. Zillow Group's Board of Directors has
also authorized the repurchase of up to $750
million of its Class A common stock, Class C capital stock
or a combination of both.
"We are pleased with the progress of our wind-down efforts and
recognize that no longer operating Zillow Offers will allow us to
have a more capital-efficient balance sheet and business moving
forward," said Zillow Group co-founder and CEO Rich Barton. "With that, we see today as an
opportune time to announce a share repurchase program and reduce
the cash balance we built up to support Zillow Offers."
The company announced its plan to wind down Zillow Offers
operations and provided outlook for Q4 on Nov. 2, 2021. With the current wind-down
progress, the company is updating its Q4 2021 Homes segment revenue
outlook to a range of $2.3 billion to
$2.9 billion from $1.7 billion to $2.1
billion.
"We are pleased with the significant Zillow Offers inventory
wind-down progress we've made in such a short time," said Zillow
Group CFO Allen Parker. "We will
continue to be disciplined in our inventory wind-down strategy and
evaluate a variety of options to best optimize net cash flows to
the company."
The company continues to expect the net impact of the Zillow
Offers wind-down of inventory (including inventory losses),
operating costs, and restructuring costs in the aggregate, to be at
least cash-flow neutral, including after repaying all Zillow Offers
secured debt, which was $2.9 billion
as of Sept. 30, 2021.
The share repurchase program, which has been approved by Zillow
Group's Board of Directors, allows for repurchases of up to
$750 million of the Company's Class A
common stock, Class C capital stock or a combination of both. The
timing and actual number of shares repurchased will be determined
by management depending on a variety of factors, including stock
price, trading volume, market conditions and other general business
considerations.
Forward-Looking Statements
This Current Report on Form
8-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of
Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that involve risks and
uncertainties, including, without limitation, statements regarding
the future performance and operation of our business and expected
wind-down plans of Zillow Offers operations. Statements containing
words such as "may," "believe," "anticipate," "expect," "intend,"
"plan," "project," "predict," "will," "projections," "continue,"
"estimate," "outlook," "guidance," "would," "could," or similar
expressions constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements are made based on assumptions as of December 2, 2021, and although we believe the
expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are
reasonable, we cannot guarantee these results. Other than the
update to Q4 Homes segment revenue outlook described in this press
release, Zillow Group is not otherwise updating or reaffirming
previously issued guidance, which was based on assumptions as of
the date of such guidance. Differences in Zillow Group's actual
results from those described in these forward-looking statements
may result from actions taken by Zillow Group as well as from risks
and uncertainties beyond Zillow Group's control.
Factors that may contribute to such differences include, but are
not limited to, disruptions in operations, including in our ability
to complete the purchase and disposition of homes currently under
contract and in inventory during the wind down of Zillow
Offers; disruptions in relationships with customers, suppliers,
vendors, broker partners, contractors, employees, lenders and
consumers given our decision to wind down Zillow Offers operations;
unanticipated developments that may prevent, delay or increase the
costs associated with our wind down activities; our access to and
the availability of financing on terms acceptable to us to finance
the purchase of homes through Zillow Offers during the wind down of
Zillow Offers; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (including
variants) or other public health crises and any associated economic
downturn on Zillow Group's future financial position, operations
and financial performance; the magnitude, duration and severity of
the COVID-19 pandemic and the availability and widespread
distribution and use of effective vaccines; the impact of actions
taken by governments, businesses and individuals in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic, including changes in laws or regulations that
limit our ability to operate; the current and future health and
stability of the economy, financial conditions and residential
housing market, including any extended slowdown in the real estate
markets as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; changes in laws or
regulations applicable to our business, employees, products or
services, including current and future laws, regulations and orders
that limit Zillow Group's ability to operate in light of the
COVID-19 pandemic; changes in general economic and financial
conditions that reduce demand for our products and services, lower
our profitability or reduce Zillow Group's access to credit; actual
or anticipated fluctuations in our financial condition and results
of operations; changes in projected operational and financial
results; addition or loss of significant customers; actual or
anticipated changes in Zillow Group's growth rate relative to that
of our competitors; acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint
ventures, capital-raising activities or other corporate
transactions or commitments by us or our competitors; actual or
anticipated changes in technology, products, markets or services by
us or our competitors; ability to obtain or maintain licenses and
permits to support Zillow Group's current and future businesses;
ability to comply with MLS rules and requirements to access and use
listing data, and to maintain or establish relationships with
listings and data providers; ability to operate our Zillow Offers
and mortgage origination businesses, including the ability to
obtain sufficient financing; fluctuations in the valuation of
companies perceived by investors to be comparable to Zillow Group;
the impact of natural disasters and other catastrophic events; the
impact of pending or future litigation; and the issuance of new or
updated research or reports by securities analysts.
The foregoing list of risks and uncertainties is illustrative
but not exhaustive. For more information about potential factors
that could affect Zillow Group's business and financial results,
please review the "Risk Factors" described in Zillow Group's Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 as supplemented by Part II,
Item 1A (Risk Factors) in Zillow Group's Quarterly Report on Form
10-Q for the quarterly period ended September 30, 2021, and in future quarterly and
annual reports. Except as may be required by law, Zillow Group does
not intend and undertakes no duty to update this information to
reflect future events or circumstances.
About Zillow Group, Inc.
Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z and ZG) is reimagining real estate
to make it easier to unlock life's next chapter. As the most
visited real estate website in the United
States, Zillow® and its affiliates offer customers an
on-demand experience for selling, buying, renting or financing with
transparency and ease.
Zillow Group's brands, affiliates and subsidiaries include
Zillow®, Zillow Offers®, Zillow Premier Agent®, Zillow Home Loans™,
Zillow Closing Services™, Zillow Homes, Inc., Trulia®, Out East®,
ShowingTime®, Bridge Interactive®, dotloop®, StreetEasy® and
HotPads®. Zillow Home Loans, LLC is an Equal Housing Lender, NMLS
#10287 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org).
Please visit http://investors.zillowgroup.com,
www.zillowgroup.com/news, and www.twitter.com/zillowgroup, where
Zillow Group discloses information about the company, its financial
information, and its business that may be deemed material.
(ZFIN)
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SOURCE Zillow Group, Inc.