What NerdWallet (NRDS) said on its Q3 earnings call. NerdWallet (NASDAQ:NRDS) reported third-quarter revenue of $240 million, up 11% from a year earlier but below its guidance range, as a $17 million decline in auto insurance revenue offset growth in several lending and deposit products. CEO Tim Chen said the company's relatively narrow network of auto insurance carriers limited its ability to monetize traffic as more insurers became competitive in acquiring customers. NerdWallet does not expect to resolve the issue in the fourth quarter. "We were overly optimistic on partnership timelines," Chen said, adding that the company is working to expand its relationships with insurance carriers and third-party agents. Consumer growth offset by insurance decline. Third-quarter revenue fell short of NerdWallet's forecast range of $244 million to $260 million. Consumer revenue rose 12% to $215 million, driven by student loans, personal loans and deposit accounts, CFO John Lee said. Personal loan revenue benefited from an expanded marketplace serving more borrowers, while deposit account growth reflected increased partner budgets. Those gains were partially offset by the decline in auto insurance revenue. Small and midsize business revenue rose 6% to $25 million, supported by loan originations and renewals. Lee said organic search traffic continued to pressure other products in that segment. GAAP operating income was $19 million. Non-GAAP operating income was $30 million, at the low end of guidance, representing a 13% margin. Adjusted EBITDA was $40 million, with a 17% margin. Beginning in the third quarter, NerdWallet changed its definition of non-GAAP operating income to exclude certain accelerated stock-based compensation. Lee said the change resulted in a $3.9 million add-back in the quarter related to a previous acquisition. Insurance partnerships remain a priority. Chen said NerdWallet has direct relationships with a few of the top 10 auto insurance carriers. One had been particularly competitive in acquiring customers during 2024 and 2025, but other major carriers have become more aggressive this year, he said. Building direct carrier relationships can take quarters, even after a company establishes sufficient volume or a market reputation, Chen said. He added that NerdWallet has the volume and is holding discussions, but the timing of new partnerships remains difficult to predict. "We don't expect to resolve the problem in Q4," Chen said. Search and AI strategy. Chen said organic search traffic has declined rapidly over the past three and a half years, though the pace of declines has stabilized somewhat in recent months. Educational content has been severely affected as Google places AI summaries in search results, he said, while product marketplaces have been more insulated because they involve inventory, pricing and eligibility information. Lee described NerdWallet's business as comprising its declining SEO-led content operation, a growing paid marketing marketplace, vertical integration investments and longer-term AI-related projects. The AI projects are not contributing to revenue today but are affecting operating expenses, he said. Chen said the company is using AI-assisted development to improve software for its in-house agents and is exploring how licensed agents could support consumers shopping through AI assistants. He cautioned that the potential size of AI-driven traffic is difficult to predict and could vary by product category. In auto insurance, participation by major carriers could depend on concerns including customer churn and the cost of providing quotes, Chen said. Outlook and capital returns. NerdWallet forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $191 million to $203 million and non-GAAP operating income of $9 million to $15 million. For the full year, it expects non-GAAP operating income of $85 million to $91 million. The full-year outlook includes a $15 million to $20 million negative impact from investments in vertically integrated brokering and advisory businesses, consistent with the prior quarter's outlook. Lee said NerdWallet plans to increase spending on longer-payback vertical integration and AI projects in 2027, which will weigh on non-GAAP operating income in the near term. Although planning for 2027 is ongoing, Lee said the company expects full-year revenue growth, while growth in the first quarter will be challenging because of the comparison with the prior year. NerdWallet generated $129 million in adjusted free cash flow over the trailing 12 months, up 51% year over year. It repurchased approximately $11 million of Class A common stock during the third quarter and had about $57 million remaining under its repurchase authorization as of September 30. About NerdWallet (NASDAQ:NRDS). NerdWallet, Inc is a personal finance company that operates a digital platform designed to help consumers make informed financial decisions. Its website and mobile tools provide educational content, personalized recommendations and comparison services across a range of financial products. The company covers categories including credit cards, banking, personal and student loans, mortgages, insurance, investing and small-business finance. NerdWallet generates revenue primarily through partnerships with financial institutions and other providers when users engage with or apply for recommended products. Founded in 2009 by Tim Chen and Jacob Gibson, NerdWallet is headquartered in San Francisco and serves consumers primarily in the United States.

Fed rate hike comes as more than one in four Americans say they don't Feel in Control of Their day-to-day finances, NerdWallet's Financial Resilience Index finds. Published on 09/22/2026 at 09:02 am EDT Business Wire NerdWallet Inc. (Nasdaq: NRDS), which provides trustworthy financial guidance to consumers and small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), today published its latest Financial Resilience Index, a monthly score, out of 100, that tracks how financially prepared Americans are to handle economic instability. This month, the Index provides a snapshot of Americans' financial footing just before the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time since 2023. Key findings: * Day-to-day financial control slips. The share of Americans who feel in control of their day-to-day finances fell for a second consecutive month, from 77% in July to 73% in September. * Recession fears ease. Recession expectations fell to 61%, a statistically significant decline since NerdWallet's Financial Resilience Index first launched in May (66%). * A generational confidence gap. Baby boomers are most confident (89%) they can pay all their bills on time this month, compared to 77% of Gen Xers, 74% of Millennials and 68% of Gen Zers. * The cash-cushion divide. Just 40% of households earning under $50,000 have enough cash on hand to cover an unexpected $1,000 expense, compared with 78% of those earning $100,000+. * Parents lean more on credit. Parents of children under 18 are more likely than adults without children to rely on credit - including credit cards, buy now, pay later plans and loans - to cover at least some expenses this month (44% versus 31%). Last month's Index found that recession expectations and cash cushions rose together, signaling that households may have been growing more protective of their cash against the backdrop of ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict, inflation and job cuts. That picture shifted in September, based on survey data collected just before the Federal Reserve's widely anticipated decision to raise rates. Recession expectations fell to 61%, down significantly since the Index launched in May (66%). But this improved outlook did not ease much pressure at home: more than one in four (27%) are feeling financially out of control this month, suggesting Americans may be feeling better about the economy, but worse about their own wallets. "This is a divergence we haven't seen before in the Index," said Kimberly Palmer, NerdWallet's personal finance expert. "Fewer Americans think a recession is coming, but that is not translating into a greater sense of control over their own finances. When those two factors move in opposite directions, it suggests the pressure households are feeling may have more to do with the cost of everyday life than the economic headlines." Fewer Americans Feel in Control of Their Money - NerdWallet's Financial Resilience Index, September 2026, https://www.nerdwallet.com/finance/studies/financial-resilience-index | Measure | September 2026 | August 2026 | July 2026 | | Financial Resilience Index Score | 61.5 | 62.1 | 63.1 | | Feel in control of their day-to-day finances | 73% | 75% | 77% | | Confident in their ability to pay all of their bills on time this month | 78% | 79% | 79% | | Will rely on credit to manage at least some expenses | 35% | 36% | 33% | | Have enough cash on hand to cover an unexpected $1,000 expense this month | 63% | 67% | 65% | | Believe the U.S. economy will enter a recession in the next 12 months | 61% | 64% | 60% | Younger Generations Report Lowest Financial Resilience - NerdWallet's Financial Resilience Index, September 2026, https://www.nerdwallet.com/finance/studies/financial-resilience-index | Generation | FRI Score | Feel in Control | Confident Paying Bills | Expect a Recession | | Baby Boomers | 72.1 | 82% | 89% | 54% | | Gen Xers | 60.7 | 73% | 77% | 65% | | Millennials | 57.3 | 67% | 74% | 62% | | Gen Zers | 52.3 | 66% | 68% | 65% | What We're Watching With the Federal Reserve's rate hike now in effect, NerdWallet will watch whether Americans regain a sense of control over their day-to-day finances in October or whether credit reliance rises and cash cushions shrink further. If these household measures weaken, it could mean that improving economic sentiment is not yet translating into relief for consumers' budgets. Methodology The Financial Resilience Index survey was conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of NerdWallet from Sept. 8-10, 2026, among 2,060 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 2.7 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact [email protected]. All five questions across this survey are weighted equally to develop a composite score with a maximum value of 100. About NerdWallet NerdWallet (Nasdaq: NRDS) is on a mission to provide clarity for all of life's financial decisions. As a personal finance website and app, NerdWallet provides consumers with trustworthy and knowledgeable financial information so they can make smart money moves. From finding the best credit card to buying a house, NerdWallet is there to help consumers make financial decisions with confidence. Consumers have free access to our expert content and comparison shopping marketplaces, plus a data-driven app, which helps them stay on top of their finances and save time and money, giving them the freedom to do more. NerdWallet is available for consumers in the U.S. and Canada. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260922094150/en/ (C) Business Wire - 2026