Key Highlights

  • Consolidated Revenue rose 12% to USD 343.6 million, with increases across the Insurance, Home and Consumer segments.
  • The net loss was USD 72.4 million, or USD 5.15 per share, after a USD 98.8 million non-cash Goodwill charge.
  • Variable Marketing Margin was USD 94.9 million, and adjusted EBITDA was USD 39.6 million, compared with USD 39.8 million.
  • The company repaid USD 60 million of long-term Debt and intends to repurchase shares in the fourth quarter.

Revenue, Segments and Earnings

LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE), operator of the LendingTree.com online financial services marketplace, reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of USD 343.6 million, up 12% from USD 307.8 million and up 10% from USD 313.4 million in the second quarter. For the nine months, revenue was USD 984.3 million versus USD 797.6 million. Chief Executive Officer Scott Peyree said it was the tenth straight quarter of double-digit revenue growth.

Insurance segment revenue was USD 234.9 million, up 15%, with segment profit of USD 54.2 million, up 14%. Consumer segment revenue was USD 67.2 million, up 2%, while segment profit of USD 29.6 million declined 16%. Home segment revenue was USD 41.5 million, up 9%, with segment profit of USD 12.4 million, up 5%.

Variable marketing margin was USD 94.9 million, up 2% from USD 93.2 million, and variable marketing margin as a percentage of revenue was 28%, compared with 30%. Adjusted EBITDA was USD 39.6 million, compared with USD 39.8 million in the third quarter of 2025. The operating loss was USD 70.3 million, compared with Operating Income of USD 28.8 million, which includes the USD 98.8 million goodwill impairment.

Analyst estimates were EPS of USD 1.26 against reported EPS of USD 2.29, and revenue of USD 329.7 million against reported revenue of USD 343.6 million.

Net Loss and Debt

The loss before income taxes was USD 78.4 million, compared with income of USD 11.6 million, and the income tax benefit was USD 6.0 million. The net loss was USD 72.4 million, or USD 5.15 per diluted share, compared with Net Income of USD 10.2 million, or USD 0.73 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2025.

Selling and marketing expense was USD 260.5 million versus USD 225.1 million, and general and administrative expense was USD 26.4 million versus USD 26.2 million. The chief financial officer said the company used excess cash to repay USD 60 million of long-term debt voluntarily during the quarter, and that it intends to repurchase shares during the fourth quarter for the first time since the first quarter of 2022.

Product Features and Outlook

The chief executive said the company rolled out AI features and distribution improvements in the quarter. These include voice AI services that help consumers understand and choose offers before talking to a lender, AI overviews on offer pages, and controlled distribution that lets a consumer shop in stages so that multiple carriers or lenders do not contact the customer at once.

The updated full-year 2026 outlook is revenue of USD 1.30 billion to USD 1.31 billion, variable marketing margin of USD 370 million to USD 375 million and adjusted EBITDA of USD 151 million to USD 153 million. The chief financial officer said revenue and adjusted EBITDA grow 17% and 14% at the midpoint of the updated forecast, despite Interest Rate headwinds affecting the Home segment. The implied fourth-quarter outlook is revenue of USD 315 million to USD 325 million, variable marketing margin of USD 88 million to USD 93 million and adjusted EBITDA of USD 34 million to USD 36 million.

Items to Follow

Items to follow are the first share repurchases since 2022, Home segment results under interest rate conditions, Consumer segment profit and fourth-quarter results against the implied outlook.