As the craze of earnings season draws to a close, here’s a look back at some of the most exciting (and some less so) results from Q2. Today, we are looking at online marketplace stocks, starting with The RealReal (NASDAQ: REAL).

Marketplaces have existed for centuries. Where once it was a main street in a small town or a mall in the suburbs, sellers benefitted from proximity to one another because they could draw customers by offering convenience and selection. Today, a myriad of online marketplaces fulfill that same role, aggregating large customer bases, which attracts commission-paying sellers, generating flywheel scale effects that feed back into further customer acquisition.

The 14 online marketplace stocks we track reported a strong Q2. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 4.7% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 0.6% below.

Luckily, online marketplace stocks have performed well with share prices up 15.1% on average since the latest earnings results.

The RealReal (NASDAQ: REAL)

Founded by consignment store aficionado Julie Wainwright, The RealReal (NASDAQ: REAL) is an online marketplace for buying and selling secondhand luxury goods.

The RealReal reported revenues of $165.2 million, up 14% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 3.6%. Overall, it was a very strong quarter for the company with EBITDA guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations and a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

"The second quarter was a breakout performance for The RealReal, further validating the success of our strategic roadmap as strong execution fueled top-line momentum and margin expansion. We delivered record GMV and total revenue, both up 14% year-over-year, alongside Adjusted EBITDA ahead of expectations,” said Rati Levesque, Chief Executive Officer of The RealReal.

The RealReal delivered the weakest full-year guidance update of the whole group. The company reported 1 million users, up 163% year on year. Interestingly, the stock is up 119% since reporting and currently trades at $12.09.

Is now the time to buy The RealReal? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Best Q2: Shutterstock (NYSE: SSTK)

Originally featuring a library that included many of founder Jon Oringer’s photos, Shutterstock (NYSE: SSTK) is now a digital platform where customers can license and use hundreds of millions of pieces of content.

Shutterstock reported revenues of $267 million, up 21.3% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 7.5%. The business had a stunning quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ number of paid downloads estimates.

The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 28.6% since reporting. It currently trades at $25.48.

Is now the time to buy Shutterstock? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Weakest Q2: ACV Auctions (NYSE: ACVA)

Founded in 2014, ACV Auctions (NASDAQ: ACVA) is an online auction marketplace for car dealers and wholesalers to buy and sell used cars.

ACV Auctions reported revenues of $193.7 million, up 20.6% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 1.2%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ number of marketplace units estimates and revenue guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations significantly.

ACV Auctions delivered the highest full-year guidance raise but had the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. The company reported 210,429 units sold, up 12.8% year on year. As expected, the stock is down 28.8% since the results and currently trades at $9.50.

Read our full analysis of ACV Auctions’s results here.

eHealth (NASDAQ: EHTH)

Aiming to address a high-stakes and often confusing decision, eHealth (NASDAQ: EHTH) guides consumers through health insurance enrollment and related topics.

eHealth reported revenues of $60.78 million, down 7.7% year on year. This number beat analysts’ expectations by 31%. Overall, it was an exceptional quarter as it also produced an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.

eHealth scored the biggest analyst estimates beat but had the slowest revenue growth among its peers. The company reported 1.15 million users, down 2.6% year on year. The stock is up 53.1% since reporting and currently trades at $4.99.

Read our full, actionable report on eHealth here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Sea (NYSE: SE)

Founded in 2009 and a publicly traded company since 2017, Sea (NYSE: SE) started as a gaming platform and has since expanded to offer a variety of services such as e-commerce, digital payments, and financial services across Southeast Asia.

Sea reported revenues of $5.26 billion, up 32.5% year on year. This result surpassed analysts’ expectations by 5%. It was an exceptional quarter as it also recorded an impressive beat of analysts’ number of paying users estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

The company reported 61.8 million users, up 17.7% year on year. The stock is up 7% since reporting and currently trades at $156.68.

Read our full, actionable report on Sea here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Market Update

Thanks to the Fed’s series of rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has cooled significantly from its post-pandemic highs, drawing closer to the 2% goal. This disinflation has occurred without severely impacting economic growth, suggesting the success of a soft landing. The stock market thrived in 2024, spurred by recent rate cuts (0.5% in September and 0.25% in November), and a notable surge followed Donald Trump’s presidential election win in November, propelling indices to historic highs. Nonetheless, the outlook for 2025 remains clouded by potential trade policy changes and corporate tax discussions, which could impact business confidence and growth. The path forward holds both optimism and caution as new policies take shape.

Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Top 5 Quality Compounder Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.

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