EverQuote NASDAQ: EVER reported first-quarter 2026 results that management said exceeded the high end of its guidance range for revenue, Variable Marketing Dollars (VMD), and Adjusted EBITDA, driven by broad-based carrier demand and continued execution across its auto and home insurance marketplaces.
Q1 results topped guidance as profitability reached a record
Chief Executive Officer Jayme Mendal said the company delivered “excellent results in Q1,” highlighted by 30% year-over-year growth in Adjusted EBITDA to a record $29.3 million. Mendal attributed the performance to scaling the marketplace and deepening provider relationships, adding that EverQuote has generated annualized Adjusted EBITDA levels at or above $100 million for three consecutive quarters.
Chief Financial Officer Joseph Sanborn said total revenue increased 15% year-over-year to $190.9 million. Auto insurance revenue rose 13% to $172.4 million, while home insurance revenue grew 33% to $18.5 million, which Sanborn said reflected continued benefits from an operational plan implemented last spring to strengthen the home vertical.
EverQuote’s VMD increased 19% to a record $55.9 million. Variable Marketing Margin (VMM) was 29.3%, which Sanborn said improved sequentially and year over year as traffic channels the company invested in during the prior quarter began to show better profitability.
On the bottom line, Sanborn said GAAP net income grew to $18.7 million from $8.0 million a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 15.4% in the quarter. EverQuote also posted record operating cash flow of $29.6 million.
Balance sheet and buybacks
Management emphasized liquidity and capital returns. Sanborn said the company repurchased about $19.9 million of shares during Q1 under its existing repurchase program and ended the quarter with no debt and $178.5 million in cash and cash equivalents. Mendal noted the cash balance was “over $178 million” while the company repurchased shares during the quarter.
In response to analyst questions about capital allocation, management reiterated three priorities: maintaining what Sanborn called a “fortress balance sheet,” continued buybacks, and selective M&A. Sanborn said EverQuote does not view acquisitions as necessary to reach its longer-term revenue objective, but indicated M&A could potentially accelerate initiatives such as adding products, expanding beyond auto, accessing additional traffic sources, or adding AI talent.
Carrier demand strengthened; management cited healthy combined ratios
On the call, analysts focused on the carrier environment and the durability of demand. Mendal described underwriting conditions as healthy “across the board,” citing “80s combined ratios in auto” and noting home had shown similar levels for multiple quarters. He said EverQuote was hearing a broadly “growth orientation” from customers, and that “all the major carriers” were live and participating in the company’s auction-based marketplace.
Sanborn added that the upside in Q1 was “pretty broad based,” with carriers spending more than initially expected. He highlighted that one carrier “was more than double what they said they would spend in the back half of Q1,” which contributed to revenue outperformance.
Asked about macro uncertainty and energy prices, management said the topic had not come up in carrier conversations. Sanborn said that even if repair costs rise, carriers have “a lot of ability to absorb higher costs” given low combined ratios. He also noted higher gas prices could reduce miles driven and accidents, potentially benefiting carriers’ claims costs.
Sanborn also provided an update on carrier spending recovery, saying about 80% of EverQuote’s top 25 carriers were below peak quarterly spend. He cautioned that not all carriers would be expected to return to peak spend in any given quarter, and pointed to recovery at one top-five carrier that returned to the platform in Q1 after being absent during the downturn.
Traffic trends and marketplace economics
On consumer activity, Mendal said shopping levels have begun to normalize after being elevated during the insurance rate cycle. He said EverQuote continues to see year-over-year growth in search traffic, but with normalization in overall levels amid a more competitive advertising environment. Mendal added that this has been offset by “much higher value per referral,” which he described as a favorable dynamic as provider demand grows.
On marketing margins, Sanborn reiterated that the company manages the business to optimize VMD rather than VMM. He said the company was pleased with VMM above 29% in Q1 and attributed the improvement to Q4 investments in new channels that scaled with better profitability in Q1. For the remainder of the year, he said management generally views VMM in the “high twenties,” citing 27% to 28% as a baseline with periodic moves to 29%, while emphasizing that advertising costs can fluctuate due to market competition.
AI initiatives and LLM traffic strategy
Mendal and Sanborn repeatedly framed AI as both a productivity lever and a product advantage. Mendal said EverQuote’s application of proprietary data and AI has long been foundational to the value it provides insurers and agents, and said the company is now “significantly ramping the build, deployment, and usage of agentic AI tools” across employees to further enhance productivity. He said revenue per employee has increased nearly threefold from Q1 2023 to Q1 2026.
Examples Mendal cited included an “AI cockpit” for sales and service teams to reduce repetitive tasks and an AI layer added to the company’s site management platform to improve experimentation on the site experience. He also pointed to customer-facing uses, including an AI-powered traffic engine that aligns ad spend with carriers’ underwriting preferences and growth goals, and Smart Campaigns that productize AI-driven bidding capabilities. Mendal said EverQuote has begun extending Smart Campaigns to local agents.
Management also discussed how large language model (LLM) platforms could become a growing traffic source as paid advertising expands. In response to a question about competitor activity in ChatGPT, Mendal said EverQuote has been testing on these platforms and has built several apps but has not pushed anything to production. He said many existing insurance-category apps are similar and currently face friction and limited traffic. Mendal said EverQuote’s broader approach includes technical integrations, investments in content to improve visibility in LLMs, and a focus on paid advertising as LLM platforms open up. He noted EverQuote historically has “no SEO traffic” and expects LLM traffic to be incremental over time.
Sanborn said the company is investing in AI-first products, hiring additional AI talent and upskilling staff, and deploying agentic AI tools across functions. Mendal also said internal adoption is accelerating, including in engineering, where he said agentic coding capabilities are enabling EverQuote to rethink its software development life cycle “to be agentic first.”
Q2 outlook and longer-term target
For the second quarter of 2026, EverQuote guided for revenue of $185 million to $195 million, VMD of $55 million to $57 million, and Adjusted EBITDA of $28 million to $30 million. At the midpoint, Sanborn said the guidance implies year-over-year growth of 21% in revenue, 23% in VMD, and 32% in Adjusted EBITDA.
Looking beyond the quarter, management reiterated its longer-term goal. Mendal said the company is “progressing as planned along our path to build a $1 billion revenue business,” and Sanborn reiterated the company’s aim to reach $1 billion in revenue over the next two to three years while generating strong cash flow and year-over-year Adjusted EBITDA growth.
About EverQuote NASDAQ: EVER
EverQuote, Inc operates an online insurance marketplace that connects consumers with insurance providers across the United States. Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company leverages proprietary technology to match individuals seeking coverage with insurers offering competitive rates. Since its initial public offering in 2020, EverQuote has focused on expanding its digital platform and enhancing the efficiency of its lead-generation processes.
The company's core business centers on a quote-comparison engine for personal auto, home, and health insurance products.
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