LendingTree, Inc.

LendingTree said second-quarter revenue increased 25% year over year and adjusted EBITDA increased 11% year over year. Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of VMD was 40%, up 225 basis points year over year. Insurance revenue rose 42% and segment profit rose 25% year over year; Home revenue rose 9% year over year and Home segment profit rose 13% sequentially. OpEx was flat year over year, and management said net leverage improved to 1.9 from 3.0 a year ago, with approximately $80 million in annual free cash flow after interest. For the second half, management expects healthy insurance growth, Home margins roughly around current levels, and Consumer/SMB to improve sequentially but not return to Q1 levels in the guidance until merchant sentiment recovers.

Scott Peyree framed the quarter as evidence that LendingTree is building a more durable, AI-enabled, cash-generative business, with product and operational initiatives starting to show up in the numbers. He emphasized that AI is helping both efficiency and consumer engagement, and said the company is focused on becoming the #1 destination to shop for financial products. His tone was constructive and confident, but he was clear that SMB softness was a temporary macro issue rather than a structural one.

Jason Bengel walked through the segment-by-segment guidance assumptions, saying the midpoint still implies strong multi-year EBITDA growth and about 12% growth this year. He said Home is facing rate-related headwinds and margins are below historical norms, while Consumer guidance only assumes the lender-demand recovery that is visible today, not a full SMB rebound. On insurance, he said the backdrop remains favorable, though strong carrier demand is pressuring near-term variable margins; management expects margins to be similar to Q2 in the second half while VMD grows sequentially. He also highlighted the Google arbitration process, noting about $2.8 billion of spend to Google over the relevant period and pointing to tax attributes that could offset a substantial portion of future federal income tax on roughly $300 million of future taxable income.

Analysts focused on second-half segment assumptions, insurance margins, and the source of SMB weakness. Management said the SMB issue came from both lender pullback and softer merchant sentiment, but lender appetite has largely recovered while merchant demand remains weak; July was the best sales month since Q1, which they cited as evidence Q2 was the trough. On insurance, management said the market is still healthy and competitive, with the next phase depending on carriers starting to give rate back to consumers. They also clarified that the Google arbitration could size damages based on roughly a decade of ad spend, and that existing tax attributes may reduce future tax liabilities.