Lendingtree Inc Q4 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

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

Question: Ryan Tomasello - KBW - Analyst : Hi everyone, thanks for taking the questions. I just wanted to start on Insurance. I guess, if I simply annualize your second half revenue performance, that would still imply pretty robust growth in 2025 over 2024. So, I'm just trying to tie that back to your comments in your shareholder letter for more modest growth in 2025, which sounds like it's relative to the double-digit growth you're expecting in your other segments. So anything I'm missing there? Or just trying to understand the nuances around what's going on with Insurance this year. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. MARCH 05, 2025 / 10:00PM, TREE.OQ - Q4 2024 Lendingtree Inc Earnings Call

Question: Ryan Tomasello - KBW - Analyst : Okay. Thanks for clarifying that. And then I was hoping you could elaborate on the opportunity to potentially take more price across the business, particularly in the Insurance segment. And I guess tying that back to TCPA, understanding that that is now being vacated, but were there any measures that you had teed up or had already put in place that you still might be benefiting from in 2025, including price increases?

Question: Ryan Tomasello - KBW - Analyst : Thanks for taking the questions.

Question: Jed Kelly - Oppenheimer & Co. - Analyst : Hey. Great. Thanks for --

Question: Jed Kelly - Oppenheimer & Co. - Analyst : Good. Doing alright, thanks. Yeah just just on Insurance, I mean, I think we've seen strong results across the board from a lot of the marketplaces. Just as we sort of go throughout the balance of the year, can you kind of tell us how we should gauge on what companies are taking the most share and kind of what -- how we should view sustained share gains once this up-cycle ends? And then just my follow-up is, we're sort of seeing the new administration sort of targeting lower interest rates. Can you just talk about how we should view rates in regards to your full year guide? Thank you.

Question: Jed Kelly - Oppenheimer & Co. - Analyst : Thank you.

Question: Youssef Squali - Truist Securities - Analyst : Oh, hey guys, Youssef Squali. So maybe a question for Scott and one for Doug. Scott, just doubling on the Insurance question. I guess as you look at the business beyond maybe 2025 and maybe -- because you're an insurance man, having been in the business for a long time, as you look historically at like the steady state in a normalized environment of insurance, can you maybe share with us where that steady state historically has been, maybe a range? And any reason why we shouldn't be back to that kind of level? And then, Doug, maybe on the Google algo change, some of your competitors did suffer from some of the changes that we saw a couple of times last year. You guys clearly did not. Maybe remind us again about the strategy around SEO versus SEM, organic traffic versus not. How much of your traffic is actually organic? I'm assuming it's minority, but maybe just discuss that as a headwind to competitors, but maybe not as much to you guys. Thank you.

Question: Youssef Squali - Truist Securities - Analyst : That's great. Thanks a lot and congrats.

Question: Oscar Nieves - Stephens, Inc. - Analyst : Good afternoon. This is Oscar Nieves on for John. Congrats on the strong quarter and thanks for taking my question. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. MARCH 05, 2025 / 10:00PM, TREE.OQ - Q4 2024 Lendingtree Inc Earnings Call So the Consumer segment grew for the first time since 3Q '22. Do you feel like you're in a position for sustainable growth for at least the near to medium term? And as a follow-up to that, what do you view as the key swing factors determining your pace of growth over the near to medium term?

Question: Oscar Nieves - Stephens, Inc. - Analyst : Great. Thank you very much.

Question: Oscar Nieves - Stephens, Inc. - Analyst : Alright, perfect. Thank you so much.

Question: Mike Grondahl - Northland Securities - Analyst : Hey guys, thanks and congrats on a strong finish. Two questions. The first one, could you talk a little bit about the financial impact and benefit from winning the 1-to-1 consent? And secondly, the step-up we've seen in home equity, is that primarily driven by just lenders' willingness to engage and want those home equity loans more? Just trying to understand a little better of what changed.

Question: Mike Grondahl - Northland Securities - Analyst : Got it. Okay, hey, thank you.

Question: Melissa Wedel - J.P. Morgan - Analyst : Thanks for taking my questions today. I wanted to start on Consumer and looking at the margin going forward, obviously, there was a nice jump there in 4Q, which seems to be pretty seasonal in nature. Given the growth that you're expecting there, it seems like maybe there might be just a little bit of margin contraction in '25 as you invest and sort of position for wallet share gains. Is that how you guys are thinking about it? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. MARCH 05, 2025 / 10:00PM, TREE.OQ - Q4 2024 Lendingtree Inc Earnings Call

Question: Melissa Wedel - J.P. Morgan - Analyst : Okay. Great. And then just looking at the Insurance segment. Appreciate that, that's been in a huge recovery cycle, and it sounds like expecting some normalization there, at least to begin. I'm curious, given the potential impact of some policies on -- the potential impact of a dampening demand for auto just on potentially higher price, what sort of impact would you expect that to have on revenue trends within the Insurance segment specifically?

Question: Melissa Wedel - J.P. Morgan - Analyst : Well, if there are just fewer people shopping for cars, car sales go down because of the higher cost of -- from tariffs, yes, as a hypothetical.

Question: Melissa Wedel - J.P. Morgan - Analyst : Thank you.