Lendingtree Inc at JPMorgan Global Technology, Media & Communications Conference Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Melissa Marie Wedel - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : As I thought we could kind of jump straight into some of the strategic initiatives that we've talked about -- that you guys have talked about at Investor Day and over the course of the last few earnings calls. At the Investor Day, you introduced your leadership team. That was dedicated to some of these strategic initiatives. So I was hoping that you could walk us through how you think about the time line of rolling out all those strategic initiatives and the impacts on revenue growth in margin?

Question: Melissa Marie Wedel - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : Got it. Okay. So a quick follow-up question on TreeQual in particular. So on the most recent earnings call, you talked about roughly 3 credit card lenders being up and running on that functionality with a personal loan partner, soon to come. But also taking into account your recent comments, a lot of that will be sort of back-end loaded into this year. Anything else to report -- any updates to report since that time on further rollout or additional partners?

Question: Melissa Marie Wedel - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : Can you elaborate on that a little bit? That was actually my next question. You talked about the increased conversion rates. As you're delivering customers that are a better fit for exactly what lenders are looking for, are there -- how does that scale in terms of monetization. It's not just a function of volume and interest conversion, but there's no value, right? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. MAY 23, 2022 / 8:30PM, TREE.OQ - Lendingtree Inc at JPMorgan Global Technology, Media & Communications Conference

Question: Melissa Marie Wedel - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : Let's switch gears and go to the Insurance segment. And you talked about a few of the headwinds on insurance specifically some persistent inflation, challenging loss ratios for the carriers, but you're also focused on delivering higher quality leads to these lending -- or to the insurance partners. So when you think about the margin, certainly, the margin had -- took a hit in the first quarter. You talked about sort of improvement throughout the rest of the year. Could you put some meat on the bones there? Are you looking at sequential improvement? Is this again going to be sort of more back-end loaded in the year?

Question: Melissa Marie Wedel - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : Okay. So when we think about the bindable quotes, you've talked about that as being a functionality that's available through My LendingTree. Is that...

Question: Melissa Marie Wedel - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : Okay. Okay. Got it. And so then I think turning to My LendingTree or the digital adviser approach that you're sort of taking here. We know you've added the bindable insurance quote functionality. You've talked about -- just this quarter you talked about the credit score simulator in terms of improving that user experience and that customer experience. When you think about the adoption or the engagement with that platform, it's been a really deliberate ramp over time. And we've seen that over 5-plus years since you've rolled out My LendingTree. As you've highlighted that as a strategic sort of focus for you guys, what would you expect going forward in terms of adoption of the My LendingTree functionality in terms of users quarter-over-quarter or year-over-year?

Question: Melissa Marie Wedel - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : So when we think about sort of the testing that you're doing in the next iteration, is that a '22 prospect -- prospective rollout on the next version of My LendingTree?

Question: Melissa Marie Wedel - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : Got it. And so when you think about these additional functionalities that you're building and including bindable quotes, is that going to be a major driver of sort of growth in the user base?

Question: Melissa Marie Wedel - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : Great.

Question: Melissa Marie Wedel - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : Everybody will know. Point taken. So maybe we could switch gears again and talk about M&A. Now M&A has always been a part of your strategy, and I've always thought about it as being sort of bolt-on type acquisitions, plug and play a little bit. And you've talked about this conceptually for a long time that you guys are always looking at what's out there. It seems like since you bought QuoteWizard, you really held back, valuations weren't attractive. There was lots of interesting stuff. The valuation landscape having changed a bit, curious to get your thoughts on what's attractive or if the uncertainty of this environment has changed your appetite?

Question: Melissa Marie Wedel - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : Okay. The other question we hear a lot from clients is about Tree itself. It's the flip side of that coin, with valuations where they are now, any -- would there be a strategic buyer for you guys or a potential take private given the levels that you've been trading at?

Question: Melissa Marie Wedel - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : Okay. And speaking as a large shareholder yourself, we've seen a lot of comp tied per filings, just tied to stock price and with the sort of beating the whole space has taken generally. Can you talk about just the motivation and staying engaged and keeping both yourself, but also your team, your leadership team and keeping everyone focused? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. MAY 23, 2022 / 8:30PM, TREE.OQ - Lendingtree Inc at JPMorgan Global Technology, Media & Communications Conference

Question: Melissa Marie Wedel - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : Staying motivated and keeping the team focused.

Question: Melissa Marie Wedel - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : All right. Appreciate your time today. I think we're coming up on our time allocation here, so we'll call it at that.