Earnings results often indicate what direction a company will take in the months ahead. With Q4 behind us, let’s have a look at Compass (NYSE:COMP) and its peers.

Technology has been a double-edged sword in real estate services. On the one hand, internet listings are effective at disseminating information far and wide, casting a wide net for buyers and sellers to increase the chances of transactions. On the other hand, digitization in the real estate market could potentially disintermediate key players like agents who use information asymmetries to their advantage.

The 13 real estate services stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 5.5% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 1.2% below.

Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 10.2% since the latest earnings results.

Compass (NYSE:COMP)

Fueled by its mission to replace the "paper-driven, antiquated workflow" of buying a house, Compass (NYSE:COMP) is a digital-first company operating a residential real estate brokerage in the United States.

Compass reported revenues of $1.38 billion, up 25.9% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 3.4%. Overall, it was a strong quarter for the company with EBITDA guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations and an impressive beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.

"Despite a year in which resale transactions experienced a 29-year low, Compass grew both Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA2 significantly and delivered $122 million in operating cash flow, or $150 million prior to the NAR-related settlement payment. As the market recovers, we believe the combination of our cost discipline and structural advantages, which include our end-to-end proprietary technology platform, national scale, network of top agents, and depth of inventory, positions Compass to capture significant upside," said Robert Reffkin, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Compass.

The stock is up 9.6% since reporting and currently trades at $8.75.

Is now the time to buy Compass? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free .

Best Q4: The Real Brokerage (NASDAQ:REAX)

Founded in Toronto, Canada in 2014, The Real Brokerage (NASDAQ:REAX) is a technology-driven real estate brokerage firm combining a tech-centric model with an agent-centric philosophy.

The Real Brokerage reported revenues of $350.6 million, up 93.4% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 16.8%. The business had an incredible quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.