PRESS RELEASE

WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP), the leading provider of commercial real estate information, analytics and online marketplaces, announced today that revenue for the year ended December 31, 2016 was $838 million, an increase of 18% over revenue of $712 million for the full year of 2015.  Revenue for the fourth quarter of 2016 grew 13% year-over-year to $218 million.

Net income for the year ended December 31, 2016 increased $88 million to $85 million or $2.62 per diluted share compared to a net loss of $(3) million for the full year of 2015. EBITDA (defined below) for the full year of 2016 was $215 million versus $90 million for the full year of 2015, an increase of 139%.

“2016 was a very strong year for CoStar Group,” said Andrew C. Florance, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of CoStar Group. “For the full year of 2016, we added $126 million of revenue and generated $112 million of net new bookings.  We showed the strong margin potential of the business increasing EBITDA $125 million year-over-year. We believe we will exceed our goal of $1 billion in revenue in 2018 and remain committed to achieving 40% margin in the fourth quarter of 2018.”

Florance continued, “Our investment in our sales force in 2016 enabled us to achieve our best fourth quarter of net new bookings with $29 million, which is up 16% year-over-year and up 13% sequentially over the third quarter of 2016. In 2016, we also achieved our highest year ever of net new bookings of CoStar Suite. Our investments in Apartments.com also produced outstanding results, with multifamily net new bookings up over 60% in the fourth quarter of 2016 year-over-year.”

Year 2015-2016 Quarterly Results - Unaudited
(in millions, except per share data)
		2015																2016
		Q1				Q2				Q3				Q4				Q1				Q2				Q3				Q4
Revenues		$	159			$	171			$	189			$	193			$	200			$	207			$	213			$	218
Net income (loss)		(6		)		(15		)		(5		)		23				17				16				23				30
Net income (loss) per share - diluted		(0.19		)		(0.47		)		(0.17		)		0.71				0.52				0.48				0.72				0.91
Weighted average outstanding shares - diluted		31.8				31.9				32.0				32.3				32.4				32.4				32.4				32.5
EBITDA		14				(1		)		22				55				48				46				58				64
Adjusted EBITDA		24				11				36				65				58				56				67				75
Non-GAAP Net Income		11				2				17				36				31				29				36				42
Non-GAAP Net Income per share - diluted		0.34				0.08				0.53				1.10				0.95				0.91				1.11				1.29

“Three years ago we saw an opportunity to capture the lead in the massive apartment rental listings industry, and we invested aggressively in Apartments.com to successfully capture that opportunity,” said Florance.  “Those investments have paid off as we have now taken the number one position in the industry in visits (as reported by comScore for December 2016), revenue, and momentum.  We intend to build on that competitive advantage with our recent purchase of Westside Rentals in southern California, a leading content provider in the largest U.S. apartment rental market. In addition, we launched Apartamentos.com, the first all-Spanish apartment rental listing site in the United States, targeted at reaching the growing U.S. Hispanic community, currently estimated at 57 million.” 

“As investments into Apartments.com shift to profits from Apartments.com, we are shifting our focus to an opportunity to accelerate CoStar revenue growth by merging the LoopNet information products into CoStar,” stated Florance. “In the fourth quarter of 2016, we began expanding CoStar’s research capabilities to support this strategy by opening a new research headquarters in Richmond, Virginia. We already have over 250 researchers in Richmond, and have increased research productivity by more than 100% year-over-year yielding higher quality research to support our CoStar upselling priorities in 2017 and 2018.”

“CoStar Suite continues to show impressive revenue growth,” said Florance. “I believe the CoStar Suite offering will be even more valuable in years to come as we create an even stronger information platform with the integration of the LoopNet and CoStar databases and conversion of LoopNet information users to CoStar.”

CoStar Suite revenue for the year ended December 31, 2016 was $408 million, an increase of 13% versus 2015 and an increase of 14% excluding the impact of foreign currency movements. Multifamily revenue increased 40% in the full year of 2016 compared to 2015, and 22% for the same period on a pro forma basis (defined below), adjusting for the Apartment Finder acquisition.

Non-GAAP net income (defined below) for the year ended December 31, 2016 was $138 million or $4.26 per diluted share, an increase of $72 million compared to non-GAAP net income of $66 million in 2015.  Adjusted EBITDA (defined below) was $256 million for the full year of 2016 compared to $136 million in 2015, which is an increase of $120 million or 88% year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 31% for the year ended December 31, 2016 versus 19% for 2015. Adjusted EBITDA Margin was 34% in the fourth quarter of 2016.

Company-wide net new bookings were $29 million in the fourth quarter of 2016 which represents an increase of 16% year-over-year versus $25 million in the fourth quarter of 2015 and 13% growth sequentially versus $26 million in the third quarter of 2016. Net new bookings in the fourth quarter were strong despite increasing headwinds resulting from the discontinuation of sales and marketing efforts for the LoopNet information products ahead of the integration with CoStar Suite.

As of December 31, 2016, the Company had approximately $577 million in cash, cash equivalents and investments, which is an increase of approximately $140 million since December 31, 2015. Short and long-term debt outstanding, net of debt issuance costs, totaled approximately $338 million as of December 31, 2016.

2017 Outlook
“2016 was a year of strong growth and rapid margin expansion for CoStar,” said Scott Wheeler, Chief Financial Officer of CoStar Group. “Our adjusted EBITDA margin increased to 31% in 2016 from 19% in 2015, demonstrating the impressive margin leverage capabilities of the CoStar business model. The 1,200 basis point increase in adjusted EBITDA margin we delivered in 2016 is 300 to 400 basis points higher than the margin guidance we provided at the beginning of the year.  As we look forward to 2017, we plan to reinvest a modest portion of these margin gains back in the business before continuing to expand our margins as we exit 2017.”

The Company expects revenue of approximately $223 million to $225 million for the first quarter of 2017 and approximately $935 million to $945 million for the full year of 2017, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 11-13% compared to 2016.  

The Company expects non-GAAP net income per diluted share of approximately $0.92 to $0.97 for the first quarter of 2017.  For the full year of 2017, the Company expects non-GAAP net income per diluted share of approximately $4.18 to $4.28. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be approximately $57 million to $60 million in the first quarter and $260 million to $265 million for the full year 2017.

The full year guidance range includes an estimate of $15 million of expenses or $0.28 per diluted share associated with the Xceligent litigation that the Company filed on December 12, 2016. While the cost of the litigation is very difficult to predict, the Company currently believes the costs will fall in a range of $10 million to $20 million for 2017. First quarter costs associated with this matter are expected to be approximately $4 million. Details of the litigation can be found on CoStar’s website at https://www.costar.com/xceligent.

CoStar’s outlook also includes the impact of the January 31, 2017 acquisition of Westside Rentals, a leading apartment rentals website in the important southern California market. The Company expects modest dilution in 2017 of approximately $5 million or $0.10 per diluted share. This is the result of the discontinuation of the current Westside Rentals renter-paid subscription revenue model in favor of potential increased advertising revenue for Apartments.com in southern California

The preceding forward-looking statements reflect CoStar Group’s expectations as of February 22, 2017, including forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures on a consolidated basis. We are not able to forecast with certainty whether or when certain events, such as acquisition-related costs, the exact amounts or timing of investments, transition, restructuring, settlements or impairments will occur in any given quarter. Given the risk factors, uncertainties and assumptions discussed above, actual results may differ materially. Other than in publicly available statements, the Company does not intend to update its forward-looking statements until its next quarterly results announcement.

Reconciliation of EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP net income per diluted share and all of the disclosed non-GAAP financial measures to their GAAP basis results are shown in detail below, along with definitions for those terms. A reconciliation of forward-looking non-GAAP guidance to the most directly comparable GAAP measure, net income, can be found within the tables included in this release.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures
For information regarding the purpose for which management uses the non-GAAP financial measures disclosed in this release and why management believes they provide useful information to investors regarding the Company’s financial condition and results of operations, please refer to the Company’s latest periodic report.

EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure that represents GAAP net income attributable to CoStar Group before (i) interest and other income (expense), (ii) provision (benefit) for income taxes, and (iii) depreciation and amortization.

Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure that represents EBITDA before (i) stock-based compensation expense, (ii) acquisition and integration related costs, (iii) restructuring charges and related costs, and (iv) settlements and impairments incurred outside the Company’s normal business operations.

Non-GAAP net income is a non-GAAP financial measure that represents GAAP net income attributable to CoStar Group before (i) purchase amortization and other related costs, (ii) stock-based compensation expense, (iii) acquisition and integration related costs, (iv) purchase accounting adjustments, (v) restructuring charges and related costs, and (vi) settlements and impairments. From this figure, we then subtract an assumed provision for income taxes to arrive at non-GAAP net income. The company assumes a 38% tax rate in order to approximate our long-term effective corporate tax rate.

Non-GAAP net income per diluted share (also referred to as non-GAAP EPS) is a non-GAAP financial measure that represents non-GAAP net income divided by the number of diluted shares outstanding for the period.  For periods with GAAP net losses and non-GAAP net income, the weighted-average outstanding shares used to calculate non-GAAP net income per share includes potentially dilutive securities that were excluded from the calculation of GAAP net income per share as the effect was anti-dilutive.

Pro-forma Revenue Definition
Pro-forma revenue growth rates presented in this release include the addition of Apartment Finder core online marketplace revenue recognized prior to the June 1, 2015 acquisition date and exclude any pre- or post- acquisition revenue for discontinued Apartment Finder services such as Finder Social. 

Earnings Conference Call
Management will conduct a conference call at 11:00 AM EST on Thursday, February 23, 2017 to discuss earnings results for the fourth quarter of 2016 and the Company’s outlook. To join the conference call by telephone, please dial (877) 209-9920 (from the United States and Canada) or (612) 332-0636 (from all other countries) and refer to conference code 417293. The audio portion of the conference call will be broadcast live over the Internet at www.costargroup.com/investors/events. An audio recording of the conference call will be available for replay approximately one hour after the call's completion and will remain available for a period of time following the call. To access the recorded conference call, please dial (800) 475-6701 (from the U.S. and Canada) or (320) 365-3844 (from all other countries) using access code 417293. The webcast replay will also be available in the Investors section of CoStar Group's website for a period of time following the call.

CoStar Group, Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations-Unaudited
(in thousands, except per share data)
		Three Months Ended December 31,								Twelve Months Ended December 31,
		2016				2015				2016				2015
Revenues		$	218,311			$	193,009			$	837,630			$	711,764
Cost of revenues		46,013				45,127				173,814				188,885
Gross margin		172,298				147,882				663,816				522,879
Operating expenses:
Selling and marketing		65,397				59,808				296,483				302,226
Software development		19,861				16,720				76,400				65,760
General and administrative		35,022				29,161				123,297				115,507
Purchase amortization		5,129				6,671				22,731				27,931
		125,409				112,360				518,911				511,424
Income from operations		46,889				35,522				144,905				11,455
Interest and other income		1,186				64				1,773				537
Interest and other expense		(2,554		)		(2,351		)		(10,016		)		(9,411		)
Income before income taxes		45,521				33,235				136,662				2,581
Income tax expense, net		15,948				10,245				51,591				6,046
Net income (loss)		$	29,573			$	22,990			$	85,071			$	(3,465	)
Net income (loss) per share - basic		$	0.92			$	0.72			$	2.64			$	(0.11	)
Net income (loss) per share - diluted		$	0.91			$	0.71			$	2.62			$	(0.11	)
Weighted average outstanding shares - basic		32,213				31,999				32,167				31,950
Weighted average outstanding shares - diluted		32,473				32,284				32,436				31,950

 

CoStar Group, Inc.
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures-Unaudited
(in thousands, except per share data)
Reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) to Non-GAAP Net Income
		Three Months Ended December 31,								Twelve Months Ended December 31,
		2016				2015				2016				2015
Net income (loss)		$	29,573			$	22,990			$	85,071			$	(3,465	)
Income tax expense, net		15,948				10,245				51,591				6,046
Income before income taxes		45,521				33,235				136,662				2,581
Purchase amortization and other related costs		10,829				13,861				45,550				58,008
Stock-based compensation expense		9,368				9,368				36,349				34,537
Acquisition and integration related costs		—				1,023				2,258				6,370
Restructuring and related costs		1,779				(311		)		1,845				1,968
Settlements and impairments		—				—				—				2,778
Non-GAAP income before income taxes		67,497				57,176				222,664				106,242
Assumed rate for income tax expense, net *		38		%		38		%		38		%		38		%
Assumed provision for income tax expense, net		(25,649		)		(21,727		)		(84,612		)		(40,372		)
Non-GAAP net income		$	41,848			$	35,449			$	138,052			$	65,870
Net income (loss) per share - diluted		$	0.91			$	0.71			$	2.62			$	(0.11	)
Non-GAAP net income per share - diluted**		$	1.29			$	1.10			$	4.26			$	2.04
Weighted average outstanding  shares - basic		32,213				31,999				32,167				31,950
Weighted average outstanding  shares - diluted**		32,473				32,284				32,436				32,243
* A 38% tax rate is assumed in order to approximate the Company's long-term effective corporate tax rate.
** For periods with GAAP net losses and non-GAAP net income, the weighted-average outstanding shares used to calculate non-GAAP net income per share includes potentially dilutive securities that were excluded from the calculation of GAAP net income per share as the effect was anti-dilutive.
Reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA
		Three Months Ended December 31,								Twelve Months Ended December 31,
		2016				2015				2016				2015
Net income (loss)		$	29,573			$	22,990			$	85,071			$	(3,465	)
Purchase amortization in cost of revenues		5,700				7,190				22,819				30,077
Purchase amortization in operating expenses		5,129				6,671				22,731				27,931
Depreciation and other amortization		6,295				5,664				24,615				20,524
Interest and other income		(1,186		)		(64		)		(1,773		)		(537		)
Interest and other expense		2,554				2,351				10,016				9,411
Income tax expense, net		15,948				10,245				51,591				6,046
EBITDA		$	64,013			$	55,047			$	215,070			$	89,987
Stock-based compensation expense		9,368				9,368				36,349				34,537
Acquisition and integration related costs		—				1,023				2,258				6,370
Settlements and impairments		—				(311		)		—				2,778
Restructuring and related costs		1,779				—				1,845				1,968
Adjusted EBITDA		$	75,160			$	65,127			$	255,522			$	135,640

 

CoStar Group, Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets - Unaudited
(in thousands)
		December 31, 2016				December 31, 2015
		(Unaudited)
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents		$	567,223			$	421,818
Accounts receivable, net		48,537				40,276
Income tax receivable		129				430
Prepaid expenses and other current assets		11,602				10,209
Total current assets		627,491				472,733
Long-term investments		9,952				15,507
Deferred income taxes, net		7,273				9,107
Property and equipment, net		87,568				88,311
Goodwill		1,254,866				1,252,945
Intangible assets, net		195,965				238,318
Deposits and other assets		1,948				2,650
Total assets		$	2,185,063			$	2,079,571
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable and accrued expenses		$	83,916			$	76,397
Current portion of long-term debt		31,866				16,746
Deferred revenue		39,164				42,138
Total current liabilities		154,946				135,281
Long-term debt, less current portion		306,473				338,366
Deferred gain on sale of building		18,715				21,239
Deferred rent		31,589				29,628
Deferred income taxes, net		18,386				4,585
Income taxes payable		741				6,692
Stockholders' equity		1,654,213				1,543,780
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity		$	2,185,063			$	2,079,571

 

CoStar Group, Inc.
Results of Segments-Unaudited
(in thousands)
	Three Months Ended December 31,								Twelve Months Ended December 31,
	2016				2015				2016				2015
Revenues
North America	$	210,735			$	186,514			$	809,492			$	686,573
International
External customers	7,576				6,495				28,138				25,191
Intersegment revenue *	16				16				40				41
Total International revenue	7,592				6,511				28,178				25,232
Intersegment eliminations	(16		)		(16		)		(40		)		(41		)
Total revenues	$	218,311			$	193,009			$	837,630			$	711,764
EBITDA
North America **	$	62,605			$	54,276			$	210,901			$	87,092
International ***	1,408				771				4,169				2,895
Total EBITDA	$	64,013			$	55,047			$	215,070			$	89,987
*Intersegment revenue recorded was attributable to services performed for the Company's wholly owned subsidiary, CoStar Portfolio Strategy by Grecam S.A.S. (“Grecam”), a wholly owned subsidiary of CoStar Limited, the Company’s wholly owned U.K. holding company. Intersegment revenue is recorded at an amount the Company believes approximates fair value. North America EBITDA includes a corresponding cost for the services performed by Grecam.
**North America EBITDA includes an allocation of approximately $17,000 and $191,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. North America EBITDA includes an allocation of approximately $396,000 and $954,000 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. This allocation represents costs incurred for International employees involved in development activities of the Company’s North America operating segment.
***International EBITDA includes a corporate allocation of approximately $75,000 and $56,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.  International EBITDA includes a corporate allocation of approximately $321,000 and $256,000 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. This allocation represents costs incurred for North America employees involved in management and expansion activities of the Company’s International operating segment.

 

CoStar Group, Inc.
Revenues by Services-Unaudited
(in thousands)
		Three Months Ended December 31,								Twelve Months Ended December 31,
		2016				2015				2016				2015
Information and analytics
CoStar Suite		$	106,487			$	93,509			$	408,456			$	360,440
Information services		18,842				19,375				77,178				75,790
Online marketplaces
Multifamily		60,083				50,443				224,835				160,630
Commercial property and land		32,899				29,682				127,161				114,904
Total revenues		$	218,311			$	193,009			$	837,630			$	711,764

 

CoStar Group, Inc.
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures with 2015-2016 Quarterly Results - Unaudited
(in millions, except per share data)
Reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) to Non-GAAP Net Income
		2015														2016
		Q1			Q2			Q3				Q4				Q1			Q2			Q3			Q4
Net income (loss)		$	(6.1	)	$	(15.0	)	$	(5.4	)		$	23.0			$	16.7		$	15.6		$	23.2		$	29.6
Income tax expense (benefit), net		0.6			(7.4		)	2.6				10.2				11.2			10.2			14.2			16.0
Income (loss) before income taxes		(5.5		)	(22.4		)	(2.8		)		33.2				27.9			25.8			37.4			45.5
Purchase amortization and other related costs		13.5			13.5			17.1				13.9				11.9			11.5			11.3			10.8
Stock-based compensation expense		7.4			8.4			9.3				9.4				8.3			9.3			9.3			9.4
Acquisition and integration related costs		0.6			2.9			1.8				1.0				1.5			0.8			—			—
Restructuring and related costs		—			—			2.3				(0.3		)		—			—			0.1			1.8
Settlements and impairments		1.4			1.4			—				—				—			—			—			—
Non-GAAP income before income taxes		17.4			3.9			27.7				57.2				49.6			47.5			58.1			67.5
Assumed rate for income tax expense, net *		38		%	38		%	38		%		38		%		38		%	38		%	38		%	38		%
Assumed provision for income tax expense, net		(6.6		)	(1.5		)	(10.5		)		(21.7		)		(18.9		)	(18.0		)	(22.1		)	(25.6		)
Non-GAAP net income		$	10.8		$	2.4		$	17.2			$	35.5			$	30.7		$	29.4		$	36.0		$	41.8
Non-GAAP net income per share - diluted**		$	0.34		$	0.08		$	0.53			$	1.10			$	0.95		$	0.91		$	1.11		$	1.29
Weighted average outstanding  shares - basic		31.8			32.0			32.0				32.0				32.1			32.2			32.2			32.2
Weighted average outstanding  shares - diluted**		32.2			32.3			32.2				32.3				32.4			32.4			32.4			32.5
* A 38% tax rate is assumed in order to approximate the Company's long-term effective corporate tax rate.
** For periods with GAAP net losses and non-GAAP net income, the weighted-average outstanding shares used to calculate non-GAAP net income per share includes potentially dilutive securities that were excluded from the calculation of GAAP net income per share as the effect was anti-dilutive.
Reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA
		2015														2016
		Q1			Q2			Q3				Q4				Q1			Q2			Q3			Q4
Net income (loss)		$	(6.1	)	$	(15.0	)	$	(5.4	)		$	23.0			$	16.7		$	15.6		$	23.2		$	29.6
Purchase amortization		13.5			13.5			17.1				13.9				11.9			11.5			11.3			10.8
Depreciation and other amortization		4.3			5.1			5.4				5.7				5.6			5.9			6.8			6.3
Interest and other income		(0.3		)	(0.1		)	(0.0			)	(0.1		)		(0.1		)	(0.2		)	(0.3		)	(1.2		)
Interest and other expense		2.3			2.4			2.4				2.3				2.5			2.5			2.5			2.6
Income tax expense (benefit), net		0.6			(7.4		)	2.6				10.2				11.2			10.2			14.2			15.9
EBITDA		$	14.3		$	(1.5	)	$	22.1			$	55.0			$	47.8		$	45.6		$	57.7		$	64.0
Stock-based compensation expense		7.4			8.4			9.3				9.4				8.3			9.3			9.3			9.4
Acquisition and integration related costs		0.6			2.9			1.8				1.0				1.5			0.8			—			—
Restructuring and related costs		—			—			2.3				(0.3		)		—			—			0.1			1.8
Settlements and impairments		1.4			1.4			—				—				—			—			—			—
Adjusted EBITDA		$	23.7		$	11.2		$	35.5			$	65.1			$	57.6		$	55.7		$	67.1		$	75.2

 

CoStar Group, Inc.
Reconciliation of Forward-Looking Guidance-Unaudited
(in thousands, except per share data)
Reconciliation of Forward-Looking Guidance, Net Income to Non-GAAP Net Income
		Guidance Range								Guidance Range
		For the Three Months								For the Twelve Months
		Ended March 31, 2017								Ended December 31, 2017
		Low				High				Low				High
Net income		$	16,400			$	18,700			$	92,000			$	96,000
Income tax expense, net		10,900				12,500				59,100				61,600
Income before income taxes		27,300				31,200				151,100				157,600
Purchase amortization and other related costs		10,600				10,600				33,000				33,000
Stock-based compensation expense		10,000				9,000				37,000				36,000
Acquisition and integration related costs		—				—				—				—
Restructuring and related costs		—				—				—				—
Settlements and Impairments		—				—				—				—
Non-GAAP income before income taxes		47,900				50,800				221,100				226,600
Assumed rate for income tax expense, net *		38		%		38		%		38		%		38		%
Assumed provision for income tax expense, net		(18,200		)		(19,300		)		(84,000		)		(86,100		)
Non-GAAP net income		$	29,700			$	31,500			$	137,100			$	140,500
Net income per share - diluted		$	0.51			$	0.58			$	2.80			$	2.93
Non-GAAP net income per share - diluted		$	0.92			$	0.97			$	4.18			$	4.28
Weighted average outstanding  shares - diluted		32,400				32,400				32,800				32,800
* A 38% tax rate is assumed in order to approximate the Company's long-term effective corporate tax rate.
Reconciliation of Forward-Looking Guidance, Net Income to Adjusted EBITDA
		Guidance Range								Guidance Range
		For the Three Months								For the Twelve Months
		Ended March 31, 2017								Ended December 31, 2017
		Low				High				Low				High
Net income		$	16,400			$	18,700			$	92,000			$	96,000
Purchase amortization and other related costs		10,600				10,600				33,000				33,000
Depreciation and other amortization		6,500				6,500				27,500				27,500
Interest and other expense (income), net		2,500				2,500				10,900				10,900
Income tax expense, net		10,900				12,500				59,100				61,600
Stock-based compensation expense		10,000				9,000				37,000				36,000
Acquisition and integration related costs		—				—				—				—
Restructuring and related costs		—				—				—				—
Settlements and impairments		—				—				—				—
Adjusted EBITDA		$	56,900			$	59,800			$	259,500			$	265,000

About CoStar Group, Inc.

CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP) is the leading provider of commercial real estate information, analytics and online marketplaces. Founded in 1987, CoStar conducts expansive, ongoing research to produce and maintain the largest and most comprehensive database of commercial real estate information. Our suite of online services enables clients to analyze, interpret and gain unmatched insight on commercial property values, market conditions and current availabilities. LoopNet is the most heavily trafficked commercial real estate marketplace online with more than 10 million registered members. Apartments.com, ApartmentFinder.com, ApartmentHomeLiving.com, and Westside Rentals form the premier online apartment resource for renters seeking great apartment homes and provide property managers and owners a proven platform for marketing their properties. Through an exclusive partnership with Move, a subsidiary of News Corporation, Apartments.com is the exclusive provider of apartment community listings across Move’s family of websites, which include realtor.com®, doorsteps.com and move.com.  CoStar Group’s websites attracted an average of nearly 24 million unique monthly visitors in aggregate in 2016. Headquartered in Washington, DC, CoStar maintains offices throughout the U.S. and in Europe and Canada with a staff of over 3,000 worldwide, including the industry’s largest professional research organization. For more information, visit www.costargroup.com.

 

CONTACT: Scott Wheeler, Chief Financial Officer, (202) 336-6920, swheeler@costar.com; Richard Simonelli, Vice President, Investor Relations, (202) 346-6394, rsimonelli@costar.com

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This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements about CoStar Group's financial expectations, the Company's plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and other statements including words such as “hope,” "anticipate," "may," "believe," "expect," "intend," "will," "should," "plan," "estimate," "predict," "continue" and "potential" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of management of CoStar Group and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in the forward-looking statements. The following factors, among others, could cause or contribute to such differences:  the risk that the trends stated or implied by this release cannot or will not be sustained at the current pace, including trends related to sales, bookings, earnings, margin, profitability, revenue, research productivity, unique visitors, and total visits; the risk that the Company is unable to sustain current revenue and earnings growth rates or increase them; the risk that the Company is unable to achieve its stated revenue and margin goals as and when expected; the risk that the Company is unable to hire or maintain the number of employees expected in Richmond or maintain the increased research productivity; the risk that the acquisition of Westside Rentals does not produce the expected results; the risk that the launch of Apartamentos.com does not achieve the expected results; the risk that the CoStar Suite offering does not produce the growth expected as a result of the LoopNet and CoStar integration and conversion of LoopNet users to CoStar; the risk that investments made in 2017 in connection with the LoopNet integration and conversion do not produce sustained high levels of growth in the core CoStar information business as expected; the risk that the Company’s plans with respect to the integration of the LoopNet and CoStar databases and conversion of LoopNet information subscribers to CoStar information services and the related sales efforts change or that those integration and conversion efforts are not completed as or when expected; the risk that the Company’s plans to reinvest recent margin gains change; the risk that revenues for the first quarter and full year 2017 will not be as stated in this press release; the risk that net income for the first quarter and full year 2017 will not be as stated in this press release; the risk that non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP net income per diluted share for the first quarter and full year 2017 will not be as stated in this press release; the risk that adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter and full year 2017 will not be as stated in this press release; the risk that costs actually incurred in connection with the Xceligent litigation differ from estimates set forth in this release, which differences may be material; the risk that the Company’s plans with respect to discontinuation of the current Westside Rentals revenue model change; the risk that the impact of the acquisition of Westside Rentals on the Company’s outlook differs from expectations; the risk that actual dilution as a result of discontinuation of the current Westside Rentals subscription model and potential increased advertising revenue for Apartments.com in Southern California differ from expectations, which differences may be material.  Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements can be found in CoStar’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2016, each of which is filed with the SEC, including in the “Risk Factors” section of those filings, and the Company’s other filings with the SEC available at the SEC’s website (www.sec.gov). CoStar assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.