NerdWallet, Inc. Q1 FY2026 earnings call

• Revenue of $222 million reported for Q1, up 6% YOY. Consumer vertical had banking growth (savings accounts) and personal loans up, offset by credit cards down. SMB vertical had organic search headwinds. - Non-GAAP operating income $34M and adjusted EBITDA $45M set Q1 records due to operating leverage and lower other marketing spend. - Looking ahead, affirming high end of full-year NGOI guidance, taking more conservative view on lower end due to auto insurance monetization issue and aggressive long-term bets. - Deepening tech integrations with auto insurance carriers, expanding with agent-centric partners via phone referrals, investing in branded agency NerdWallet Insurance Experts. - Reporting change: revenue now in consumer and SMB categories, prior periods restated.

Total revenue for Q1 was $222 million, up 6% year-over-year. Consumer revenue was $198 million, up 10% year-over-year, driven by banking and personal loans, partially offset by consumer credit cards. SMB revenue was $25 million, down 15% year-over-year, driven by organic search headwinds. Non-GAAP operating income was $34 million and adjusted EBITDA was $45 million. Consumer vertical: banking grew due to strong savings account demand, personal loans up, credit cards down. SMB vertical: declined due to organic search headwinds. Consumer revenue contribution: $198 million out of $222 million, so ~89.2%. SMB revenue contribution: $25 million out of $222 million, so ~11.3%.

• Q2 revenue expected to be in range of 186 - 202 million, up 4% YOY midpoint. Non-GAAP operating income range 6 - 14 million. - Full-year NGOI guidance $85 - $110 million, reaffirming upper end, expecting mid to high single-digit revenue growth YOY in remaining quarters, reducing low end due to vertical integration investments and auto insurance monetization uncertainty.

• Auto insurance monetization from large partner running below expectations, impacting Q1 and expected greater impact in Q2. - Uncertainty in near-term results due to dynamics affecting auto insurance and long-term bets. - High concentration in insurance business with few carriers and channels.

Q: Dive deeper in on the acceleration of investments into the vertical integration, context on what changed and dollars in vertical integration strategy.

A: Cost of launching financial products decreasing, distribution cost increasing, unique investment window. From corp dev and building internally, considering opportunities.

Q: Parse full-year low-end NGOI reduction driven by monetization vs incremental investment, and walk through work on returns.

A: Lower end reflects not offsetting insurance weakness and further vertical investment; IRR analysis with high cost of capital, commercial testing and small teams for building.

Q: Sense of investment needed in insurance, duration, and update on LLM traffic.

A: Insurance build-out multi-quarters, slow ramp. LLM traffic dominant in financial services money questions, small revenue piece.