Zillow names Jeremy Wacksman its new CEO as company narrows losses

By Connor Hart

Zillow Group co-founder Rich Barton is stepping down as chief executive of the home-listing site, which named operating chief Jeremy Wacksman as its next leader.

Barton, who will become co-executive chair of Zillow alongside fellow co-founder Lloyd Frink, served as company CEO from 2005 and 2010, and again starting in 2019.

Zillow (ZG) (Z) said on Wednesday that Wacksman, who joined from Microsoft in 2009, has held numerous positions at the company and recently helped launch its mobile real estate shopping offering. As chief marketing officer, he initiated product and consumer marketing strategies to grow the company.

Both Barton, who also founded Expedia and the job-search site Glassdoor, and Frink will continue to be active at the company, supporting Wacksman and the rest of the leadership team, the company said.

Separately, Zillow on Wednesday posted second-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street expectations, as it narrowed its net loss on higher revenue.

Shares jumped about 12% after hours.

The company posted a net loss of $17 million, or 7 cents a share, compared with a loss of $35 million, or 15 cents a share, in last year's quarter. Analysts surveyed by FactSet forecast a per-share loss of 20 cents.

Revenue rose 13% to $572 million, beating the $538.4 million that analysts polled by FactSet expected.

Residential revenue increased 8% to $409 million. Rental revenue climbed 29% to $117 million.

Mortgages revenue increased 42% to $34 million, primarily driven by a 125% increase in purchase loan origination volume, partially offset by decrease in mortgage marketplace revenue.

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08-07-24 1947ET

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