LendingTree Q1 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• Record quarter and stronger balance sheet: Adjusted EBITDA rose 71% YoY on a 37% revenue increase, marking LendingTree’s highest quarterly adjusted EBITDA in six years and record revenue, while net leverage fell to 2.1x (from 3.4x) and S&P upgraded the credit rating to B+ with a stable outlook.
• Insurance marketplace drove growth: Insurance revenue and segment profit hit new records, up 51% and 50% YoY respectively, with variable marketing dollars exceeding the prior record by about 20% (~$10M) and carriers returning/expanding, including a notable pickup in health insurance activity.
• Mixed signals in consumer and home businesses; strategy focused on efficiency: Small-business lending revenue rose 49% but loan demand softened late in the quarter and the home segment remains pressured by high mortgage rates (viewed as cyclical lows), prompting marketing investments and a push to increase organic traffic and use AI to improve margins and efficiency.

LendingTree NASDAQ: TREE opened 2026 with what management described as an “exceptional start to the year,” fueled by record results in its insurance marketplace and continued progress strengthening the balance sheet.

On the company’s first-quarter earnings call, President and CEO Scott Peyree said adjusted EBITDA rose 71% year over year on a 37% increase in revenue. Peyree added the quarter marked the company’s “record revenue quarter” and its “highest quarterly adjusted EBITDA” in six years.

Profitability and balance sheet improvements

Beyond growth in revenue and profitability, Peyree emphasized improving leverage and credit metrics. He said net leverage declined to 2.1 times from 3.4 times a year ago, and noted the company received a credit upgrade from S&P to B+ with a stable outlook.

Peyree framed the quarter’s results as evidence of LendingTree’s “high margin, asset-light marketplace” model and “scalable cost structure,” saying the company is demonstrating “meaningful operating leverage” as it grows.

Insurance segment sets new records

Insurance remained the main driver of growth in the quarter. Peyree said insurance revenue and segment profit both reached new records, rising 51% and 50% year over year, respectively. He also described LendingTree as “now the largest marketplace for consumers to shop for their insurance needs,” spanning auto, home, health, and other products.

During Q&A, CFO Jason Bengel provided additional detail on recent performance trends, pointing to variable marketing dollars (VMD) as a key metric. Bengel said the prior record in the fourth quarter was $48 million of VMD, and that the company exceeded that in Q1 by “a large margin,” up 20% or about $10 million. He said performance began to normalize after the quarter, which the company expected, but added it still anticipates results “materially ahead of that prior record.”

Peyree said demand from carriers remained strong heading into the second quarter, citing examples of a carrier returning to the network after a long absence, another increasing its budget “pretty dramatically,” and a carrier expanding into additional products within LendingTree’s offerings. He also called out health insurance as a “very pleasant surprise” in Q1, attributing increased shopping activity to COVID-era health insurance subsidies coming to an end.

Looking forward, Peyree said the company expects price decreases in auto insurance across select states to stimulate shopping activity and carrier competition, supporting momentum. He also said it was “becoming clearer and clearer” that the property and casualty industry has entered a period of “strong health and stability.”

Consumer segment grows, but demand softens

In the consumer segment, Peyree said the company delivered another quarter of “healthy growth” led by small business lending, with revenue up 49% year over year. However, he said the company began to see some softening in loan demand as the quarter progressed, which management tied to macro dynamics including elevated tax refunds earlier in the year and a decline in consumer sentiment that reached “historically low levels in April.”

Asked whether reduced demand was being accompanied by tightening partner credit, Peyree said the company had not seen a meaningful impact to credit availability in personal loans, and that the shift appeared driven more by changes in consumer shopping behavior. He referenced consumer sentiment at “all-time low,” gas prices that were “all-time high,” and the timing of larger tax refunds as contributors to a drop in personal loan demand in February and March. He added that demand began increasing again in April, though still below typical seasonal levels.

For small business lending, Peyree said LendingTree is seeing “a little bit of both” weaker borrower demand and some changes on the lender side, including offers for lower loan amounts and higher interest rates. He said that dynamic can weigh on borrower urgency given the broader macro and geopolitical environment, though he characterized it as short-term.

Bengel said the company’s guidance assumes a conservative backdrop after strength in January and February, followed by headwinds in March and April. He said the decline in small business lending appetite resulted in lower close rates and reduced revenue per lead (RPL). Bengel added that while Q2 and Q3 are typically the strongest seasonal periods for consumer, the company is assuming “very, very muted seasonality” in its outlook and allowing for the “possibility of further credit tightening,” even though management is not currently hearing signs from partners that tightening is underway.

Home segment: investing through a pressured mortgage market

Peyree said the home segment remains pressured by elevated mortgage rates, but management views current revenue and profit levels as “cyclical lows,” with “meaningful upside” as rates normalize and transaction volumes recover.

He said the company made a dedicated marketing investment in the first quarter and expects revenue growth to continue with margins expanding in Q2. In response to an analyst question about balancing investment versus protecting margins in a weak housing environment, Peyree said LendingTree’s diversification allows it to “invest and fight extra hard for that high-quality traffic” while home demand remains low.

He also said the company is continuing to grow its lender network, with a strategic focus on expanding relationships with small and medium-sized mortgage brokers. Peyree described the quarter’s marketing efforts as a period of testing that helped the company understand what it will take to compete long term in specific areas, including where investments are sustainable and where it may need to pull back.

Strategy focus: brand, organic traffic, and AI

Peyree reiterated the company’s “North Star” strategy of becoming the “number one destination to shop for financial products,” built on four pillars:

• Accelerating the core business
• Improving the consumer experience
• Expanding product offerings
• Rebuilding the brand

A key execution theme, Peyree said, is shifting more of the company’s traffic mix toward organic channels. He quantified the opportunity by stating that “every 5-point increase in organic revenue mix” represents roughly $40 million of incremental segment profit and about a 400-basis-point uplift in variable marketing margin.

Peyree also addressed artificial intelligence, calling it “a tailwind, not a disruptor,” arguing that while AI may change how consumers discover information, it does not change how regulated financial products are ultimately purchased. He said LendingTree is using AI to improve the consumer journey through personalization, smarter matching, and more efficient application handoffs, while also applying AI internally to drive efficiency across marketing, sales, and operations. He noted the launch of an internally developed AI agent for search marketing teams that provides real-time optimization insights, with plans to expand it to additional channels and into sales. Peyree also said the company is seeing strong results from AI-powered voice tools in call centers and is extending those capabilities into outbound and SMS engagement.

In addition, Peyree said the company recently launched a redesigned homepage as part of the brand rebuild, calling the early results “shockingly” positive. He said the homepage launched less than a month ago and performance improvements have sustained, with plans to revamp product pages next.

Closing the call, Peyree said management remains encouraged by the year’s start and confident in its strategy and execution, while staying mindful of near-term macro headwinds.

About LendingTree NASDAQ: TREE

LendingTree, Inc operates an online marketplace that connects consumers with a network of lenders and financial service providers. Through its platform, borrowers can compare loan offers for mortgages, home equity loans, personal loans, student loans, auto loans and small business financing. The company also offers tools for comparing credit cards and deposit accounts, allowing users to research rates and terms from a range of providers in one place.

Founded in 1996 by Doug Lebda, LendingTree pioneered the comparison-shopping model for consumer credit products.

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