Yelp CFO is stepping down, company seeking a replacement

Yelp today released its earnings statement hours before the close of stock markets, and the company has some executive news: Chief financial officer Rob Krolik, who joined the company in 2011, is stepping down, and the company is now looking for a replacement for him.

“I am a strong believer in the power of Yelp to help consumers and local businesses alike, which is why it has been such a tremendous opportunity and privilege to serve as CFO,” Krolik said in a canned statement in the earnings release. “It’s been a rewarding experience taking Yelp public, diversifying our offerings through acquisitions, and seeing our team deliver significant and consistent revenue growth year after year. After almost five years with Yelp, I am ready to take some time off to spend more time with family, but expect us to seamlessly transition to a new chief financial officer in the meantime.”

Krolik will stick around until either the date his successor arrives or December 15, 2016, whichever comes first.

The company beat analysts’ estimates for the fourth quarter of 2015, coming in at $153.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2015 — analysts were expecting $152.35 million. Non-GAAP net income was $0.11 per share, while analysts had expected a $0.03 EPS loss.

The company ended 2015 with around 95 million cumulative reviews, and a monthly average of around 20 million unique devices accessed the Yelp app in the fourth quarter of the year.

Yelp stock was briefly halted as the news was released. After the stock resumed trading, the price was down 5 percent from where it started the day.

In the past two years Yelp stock has gradually gone down from a high of $97.25 on March 3, 2014.