MediaAlpha [MAX] set a new high for quarterly results as insurance carriers raised digital ad budgets and expanded their use of the company’s marketplace, according to financial data reported by MarketBeat. For the quarter ending September 30, 2026, MediaAlpha reported revenue of $375.9 million, up 22.7% year over year. Gross profit reached $55.3 million, contribution was $57.4 million, and net income jumped 66.4% to $29.4 million. Adjusted EBITDA rose 35.8% to a record $39.5 million. Gross margin improved to 14.7% from 14.2%, and contribution margin increased to 15.3% from 14.9% a year earlier. Excluding the under-65 health business, revenue and adjusted EBITDA climbed 26% and 42%. These results topped analyst expectations, with revenue beating the consensus estimate of $347.93 million and adjusted earnings per share of $0.46 outpacing the $0.27 estimate, as highlighted by Investing.com.
Co-Founder and CEO Steve Yi called the third quarter the best in MediaAlpha’s history across all key metrics. He credited the performance to stronger competition among insurance carriers seeking policy growth, which drove higher spending on the platform and more volume for supply partners. The company’s platform powered over $2.5 billion in annualized property and casualty (P&C) ad spending during the quarter. Yi said growth came from broader insurance-carrier participation and increased marketplace spending, not just a single product line.
Marketplace expansion and segment performance
Auto insurance continued as the main growth driver in MediaAlpha’s property-and-casualty vertical, with revenue up 17% year over year. Home and renters insurance revenue hit a new quarterly record of $66 million, up 116% from the prior year. Yi said the jump in home-insurance revenue reflected both better market conditions and a larger wallet share as traditional carriers and online direct-to-consumer insurers put more budget into the platform. Agent revenue rose about 46%, from $14 million to $21 million, and the company worked with more than 3,000 active agents at quarter-end, up from about 2,000 a year earlier. These numbers highlight the expansion among carrier advertisers and within MediaAlpha’s intermediary distribution network, as reported in Yahoo Finance.
During the quarter, the homeowners market showed signs of recovery as insurers added capacity in states such as Florida, California, and Texas. CEO Steve Yi noted that carriers returning to these states, which had previously faced underwriting or profitability challenges, began to advertise more as their available capacity grew. MediaAlpha also expanded its insurance-agent business, working directly with over 3,000 active agents at quarter-end, compared to about 2,000 a year earlier. Yi pointed out that nearly half of insurance policies are still written through agents, even as the industry shifts toward direct-to-consumer distribution. The company aims to grow its share by applying programmatic tools to agent lead purchasing, including through its Farmers Lead Marketplace partnership.
Profitability, customer mix, and capital allocation
Sinanyan reported that contribution growth outpaced revenue growth due to a shift toward the open marketplace, where carriers use MediaAlpha for optimization and account-management services. The company converted 69% of contribution into adjusted EBITDA during the quarter, its highest level since 2024. Net income for the third quarter reached $29.4 million, growing faster than revenue. Customer concentration improved, with three carriers each making up more than 10% of third-quarter revenue and the fourth-largest carrier accounting for 9.6%.
MediaAlpha spent $21 million in the third quarter on share repurchases and reductions of obligations under its tax receivable agreement (TRA). The company bought about 800,000 shares for $9 million at an average price of $11.25 per share, bringing total repurchases under its $100 million authorization to $64 million, or 6.2 million shares. In September, it repurchased $23 million of TRA liability for $12 million, resulting in an $11 million third-quarter gain. Since the quarter ended through October 26, MediaAlpha bought another 1.8 million shares for $18 million, or an average of $10.38 per share, as disclosed in management's earnings call. Since September 2025, the company has repurchased about $115 million in stock, reducing shares outstanding by about 11.2 million, or 16%. As of October 26, $82 million of its $100 million repurchase authorization had been used.
Outlook and management perspective on AI
At quarter-end, MediaAlpha held $18.7 million in cash and had $30 million available under its revolving credit facility, drawing $10 million after quarter-end to support early fourth-quarter repurchases. For the fourth quarter, the company projected revenue between $355 million and $375 million, contribution of $54 million to $57 million, and adjusted EBITDA of $36 million to $39 million. At the midpoint, these forecasts imply year-over-year growth of about 25% for revenue, 18% for contribution, and 22% for adjusted EBITDA. The health vertical is expected to make up about 4% of fourth-quarter revenue, with adjusted EBITDA guidance reflecting a roughly $900,000 year-over-year decline in contribution from under-65 health. MediaAlpha kept its full-year 2026 free cash flow expectation of $90 million to $100 million. The company scheduled a Q&A conference call on October 28, 2026, to discuss its third-quarter results and financial outlook for the fourth quarter and full year, with a live audio webcast available through its investor-relations website, as confirmed in the official corporate announcement.
Management said it has not yet seen an impact from personal AI agents shopping for insurance on behalf of consumers. Yi stated that while AI could affect early research and shopping stages, carriers are likely to keep control of policy quoting and binding. He added that AI may eventually help consumers enroll directly in more complex products, such as homeowners or commercial insurance, by improving understanding of available options. MediaAlpha expects advertising to become a main monetization model for consumer AI services, creating new channels for supply partners. Yi said the company believes its publisher base can participate in emerging AI advertising ecosystems while continuing to generate insurance-shopping traffic through other media channels.
MediaAlpha, Inc operates a technology platform that connects insurance carriers and distributors with consumers shopping for insurance, using data, analytics, and automated systems to facilitate customer acquisition across property and casualty, health, life, and Medicare-related coverage.
This news alert is based on financial data and reporting from MarketBeat.
