LendingTree revenue rises 12%, company rolls out AI features

Revenue rises as quarter turns unprofitable

LendingTree reported its quarter ended September 30, 2026, on November 3. The company's consolidated revenue was $343.6 million, compared with $307.8 million a year earlier. The company said this was its 10th consecutive quarter of double-digit revenue growth.

The company reported a net loss of $72.4 million, or $5.15 per share, for the quarter. A year earlier, it reported net income of $10.2 million. This year's loss was primarily affected by a $98.8 million non-cash goodwill impairment. The pretax loss was $78.4 million, compared with pretax income of $11.6 million in the third quarter of 2025.

Variable marketing margin was $94.9 million, up 2% year on year. Adjusted EBITDA was $39.6 million, down 1% from the same period a year earlier.

Insurance business drives growth

Revenue increased across all three of LendingTree's main segments. Revenue from its largest business, Insurance, was $234.9 million, up 15% from a year earlier. Segment profit rose 14% to $54.2 million.

The Home business generated $41.5 million in revenue, up 9% from the same quarter a year earlier. Segment profit was $12.4 million, a 5% year-on-year increase. Revenue from home equity loans accounted for $34 million of that total, up 20%.

Revenue in the Consumer segment rose 2% to $67.2 million. Segment profit, however, fell 16% to $29.6 million. The Consumer category includes credit cards, personal loans, small-business loans, auto loans, deposit accounts and debt settlement services.

AI helps users choose offers

CEO Scott Peyree said LendingTree introduced AI features and distribution enhancements across several product lines during the quarter as part of the shopping process. The company uses voice-based AI services to help consumers understand and select the offer that is right for them before they connect with a lender.

The company also added AI-powered summaries to offer pages. According to LendingTree, these help customers choose the offer that best fits their individual circumstances. The company also introduced so-called controlled distribution, which allows consumers to search for a product in stages, preventing multiple insurers or lenders from contacting them at the same time.

Peyree said successfully expanding these features could improve customer satisfaction and increase the monetization of the company's traffic.

Share buyback planned for year-end

According to CFO Jason Bengel, based on the midpoint of the company's updated forecast, LendingTree expects revenue to grow 17% and adjusted EBITDA to grow 14% in 2026. For the full year, it expects revenue of between $1.30 billion and $1.31 billion, variable marketing margin of between $370 million and $375 million, and adjusted EBITDA of between $151 million and $153 million.

For the fourth quarter, LendingTree forecast revenue of between $315 million and $325 million, variable marketing margin of between $88 million and $93 million, and adjusted EBITDA of between $34 million and $36 million.

The company voluntarily repaid $60 million of long-term debt during the quarter. Bengel said the company also plans to buy back shares in the fourth quarter, for the first time since the first quarter of 2022. LendingTree said it could not reconcile its projected non-GAAP metrics with GAAP results because the impact, timing and significance of legal matters and tax factors are not known in advance.