EverQuote (NASDAQ:EVER) reported second-quarter 2026 revenue growth of 25% year over year to $195.1 million, while adjusted EBITDA rose 37% to a record $30.1 million. The company said demand from both insurance carriers and local agents remained strong as carriers focused on expanding policies in force.
GAAP net income increased to $19.2 million from $14.7 million in the prior-year period. Operating cash flow was $24.3 million, and the company ended the quarter with $192 million in cash and cash equivalents and no debt.
Auto and Home Insurance Revenue Reach Records
Revenue from local agents and carriers both reached record levels during the quarter, according to Mendal. He said EverQuote continued to increase the number of products used by each agent as it pursues a strategy to serve as a one-stop growth partner for local insurance agents.
The company’s home insurance vertical grew 35% year over year to a record $23 million. Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer Joseph Sanborn said the growth reflected strong monetization of high-quality traffic sources and increased budgets from key carriers.
Mendal said insurers’ appetite for homeowners policy growth has increased as the year has progressed, approaching the level of demand previously seen in auto insurance. He said major carriers’ combined ratios were generally in the 80s across auto and home, contributing to what management described as a healthy market environment.
Sanborn noted that home insurance represented about 10% to 11% of EverQuote’s current business. He said the broader property-and-casualty market has roughly $1 of home insurance for every $2 of auto insurance, leaving room for expansion even though not all home insurance opportunities are relevant to digital distribution.
Marketing Metrics and Margin Approach
Variable marketing dollars, or VMD, increased 25% to $56.9 million in the second quarter. Variable marketing margin was 29.2%.
Management told analysts that it does not operate the business to target a specific variable marketing margin. Instead, it seeks to maximize VMD in a sustainable manner, with margins in the high 20% range historically correlating with higher VMD levels.
Sanborn said broader use of Smart Campaigns, EverQuote’s AI-enabled bidding offering, provides more data to the marketplace and can improve traffic-acquisition efficiency. Mendal added that the company is also expanding into higher-funnel traffic channels that are not specific to the insurance industry and therefore may face different competitive pressures than insurance search advertising.
When asked whether carrier testing had pressured margins, Mendal said EverQuote had not seen activity that would have that effect.
AI Products, Operations and New Growth Opportunities
EverQuote continued to expand Smart Campaigns during the quarter. Seven of its top 10 carriers now use the product, and revenue flowing through Smart Campaigns increased more than 100% from the prior-year period, Mendal said.
The company also introduced an agent-facing version of Smart Campaigns to an initial group of local agents. Mendal said early data indicated “significant conversion rate improvements” among agents that opted into the offering, though he characterized the rollout as early stage.
Management said it is applying AI internally across coding, operational automation and product prototyping. Mendal said EverQuote measured a 25% increase in engineering efficiency and has developed AI agents intended to emulate shopper personas and identify friction in web experiences.
The company is also exploring what it described as more agentic traffic operations, adding deeper automation to machine-learning-based traffic bidding. Mendal said the company has historically seen benefits from such automation in bidding effectiveness and in its ability to manage a larger traffic portfolio with less human intervention.
EverQuote plans to focus on two additional AI-related opportunities: products designed for AI search and agentic commerce, and AI-native growth tools for carriers and agents. Mendal said the consumer-facing effort could include content designed to answer questions posed through large language models, paid advertising opportunities and technical integrations. The company launched a ChatGPT app during the prior quarter and said it has begun receiving traffic through that channel.
Sanborn said the new offerings are not expected to contribute material revenue in 2026. He described the current period as one of testing, innovation and customer engagement, similar to the company’s earlier Smart Campaigns rollout.
Outlook, Spending and Capital Allocation
For the third quarter, EverQuote expects revenue of $198 million to $208 million, representing 17% year-over-year growth at the midpoint. It forecast VMD of $56 million to $59 million and adjusted EBITDA of $28 million to $31 million, representing midpoint growth of 15% and 18%, respectively.
The company said it expects targeted investment in the second half of 2026 to develop and launch new AI-focused products. Sanborn said operating expenses were relatively flat between the first and second quarters, while third-quarter operating expenses were expected to rise by roughly $1 million sequentially, followed by a smaller increase in the fourth quarter. Management maintained its expectation for adjusted EBITDA margin to increase by roughly 100 basis points for the full year.
During the quarter, EverQuote repurchased 578,000 shares for approximately $9 million. Since launching its buyback program, the company has repurchased 2.5 million shares totaling $50 million. Sanborn said the board is expected to revisit authorizing a new repurchase program later this year as part of its capital-allocation review.
Management said acquisitions are not necessary to reach its previously stated goal of $1 billion in annual revenue, which it said remains achievable within two to three years of its November 2025 target announcement. However, Sanborn said potential acquisition opportunities could help accelerate expansion in carrier and agent products, non-auto insurance verticals and data capabilities.
About EverQuote (NASDAQ:EVER)
EverQuote, Inc operates an online insurance marketplace that connects consumers with insurance providers across the United States. Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company leverages proprietary technology to match individuals seeking coverage with insurers offering competitive rates. Since its initial public offering in 2020, EverQuote has focused on expanding its digital platform and enhancing the efficiency of its lead-generation processes.
The company’s core business centers on a quote-comparison engine for personal auto, home, and health insurance products.
