The stock of LendingTree climbed 22.5% Thursday after the Charlotte-based online financial services company posted fourth quarter revenue and profit that topped analyst estimates.
The company is forecasting stability in interest rates, spurring projections for double-digit revenue growth in consumer and home lending this year. It said in a statement yesterday it expects more modest gains in insurance revenue following a record 2024.
LendingTree shares have bounced around over the past year. Today’s gain to $49.34 pushed the stock toward its 52-week high of $62.49. It traded as low as $33.58 in April.
The quarterly results reflect that LendingTree “has returned to growth after a prolonged period of difficult operating conditions,” CEO Doug Lebda told analysts on a call yesterday. “We expect stable interest rates, a healthy consumer and an outlook for continued economic growth will drive accelerating demand from our customers as well as our lending and insurance carrier partners.”
At the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, LendingTree chief economist Tendayi Kapfidze predicted that slowing consumer spending may push the U.S. into a recession. At that time, consumers told the company in a survey they were working fewer hours and taking home smaller paychecks. Forty-four percent were worried about paying rent and mortgages.
Lebda, who founded LendingTree in 1996, told analysts the company has emerged from the challenging years. He praised his colleagues “for persevering through a difficult period that began at the onset of the COVID pandemic. None of us would have expected the fallout…would have lasted as long as (it) did.”
In the fourth quarter, revenue grew 94.6% to $261.5 million from a year earlier. It beat analyst expectations of $235.8 million, according to Zacks Investment Research. Per-share profit of $1.16 compared to 28 cents a year earlier and topped projections of 37 cents.
