First Quarter Net Income of $14.0 million; Adjusted EBITDA(1)of $31.4 million
Repurchased over $25 million of stock during 2026
LOS ANGELES, April 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX) ("MediaAlpha" or the "Company"), today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026.
"We delivered record first-quarter results, driven by strong auto insurance advertising spend and broader carrier participation resulting in a continued favorable mix shift to our Open Marketplace," said Steve Yi, CEO of MediaAlpha. "We are energized by our deeper engagement with a growing number of carriers about further leveraging our trusted infrastructure and AI-powered targeting capabilities to maximize their ROI and gain share in a highly competitive market."MediaAlpha CFO Pat Thompson added, "During the quarter, we refinanced our credit facilities, extending our debt maturity profile to 2031. We continue to return significant capital to our shareholders, repurchasing over $25 million of stock year to date and $73 million over the past three quarters, representing 10% of our outstanding shares. We remain on track to complete the vast majority of the remaining $60 million authorization in 2026."
First Quarter 2026 Financial Results
Revenue of $310.0 million, an increase of 17% year over year;
Gross margin of 15.1%, compared with 15.8% in the first quarter of 2025;
Contribution Margin(1) of 15.7%, compared with 16.6% in the first quarter of 2025;
Net income was $14.0 million, compared with a net loss of $(2.3) million in the first quarter of 2025;
Adjusted EBITDA(1) was $31.4 million, compared with $29.4 million in the first quarter of 2025;
Repurchased approximately 2.6 million shares for $25 million year to date, bringing cumulative repurchases under the Company's $100 million share repurchase program to 3.7 million shares;
Completed refinancing of credit facilities, establishing a new $150 million term loan and $60 million revolving credit facility, both maturing in March 2031.
(1)A reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP financial measures has been provided at the end of this press release. An explanation of these measures is also included below under the heading "Non-GAAP Financial Measures."
Financial Outlook
Our guidance for the second quarter of 2026 reflects continued strength in our Property & Casualty (P&C) insurance vertical. We expect revenue to grow approximately 19% year over year, driven by strong carrier growth investment and continued share gains within P&C. We expect our Health insurance vertical to account for approximately 1% of revenue.
For the second quarter of 2026, MediaAlpha currently expects the following:
Revenue between $290 million - $310 million, representing a 19% year-over-year increase at the midpoint of the guidance range.
Contribution between $45.5 million - $48.5 million, representing a 18% year-over-year increase at the midpoint of the guidance range.
Adjusted EBITDA between $28.0 million - $30.5 million, representing a 19% year-over-year increase at the midpoint of the guidance range, including an approximately $2 million year-over-year decline in Contribution from under-65 Health. Excluding under-65 Health, we expect Contribution to increase by 25% year over year and Adjusted EBITDA to increase by 31% year over year at the guidance midpoints.
Effective with the first quarter of 2026, the Company is discontinuing its reporting of and guidance for Transaction Value, a non-GAAP operating metric, in order to simplify our reporting structure. As our scale advantage has become well-established, the Company believes that Revenue, Contribution, Contribution Margin, and Adjusted EBITDA are the most relevant metrics for investors evaluating the Company's performance relative to our peers.
With respect to the Company's projections of Adjusted EBITDA and Contribution under "Financial Outlook," MediaAlpha is not providing a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income (loss), or of Contribution to gross profit, because the Company is unable to predict with reasonable certainty the reconciling items that may affect the corresponding GAAP measures without unreasonable effort. These reconciling items are uncertain, depend on various factors and could significantly impact, either individually or in the aggregate, the corresponding GAAP measures for the applicable period.
For a detailed explanation of the Company's non-GAAP measures, please refer to the appendix section of this press release.
Conference Call Information
MediaAlpha will host a Q&A conference call today to discuss the Company's first quarter 2026 results and its financial outlook for the second quarter of 2026 at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time (5:00 p.m. Eastern Time). A live audio webcast of the call will be available on the MediaAlpha Investor Relations website at https://investors.mediaalpha.com. To register for the webcast, click here. Participants may also dial-in, toll-free, at (800) 715-9871 or (646) 307-1963, with passcode 4459225. An audio replay of the conference call will be available following the call and available on the MediaAlpha Investor Relations website at https://investors.mediaalpha.com.
The Company has also posted investor supplemental materials on its investor relations website. MediaAlpha has used, and intends to continue to use, its investor relations website at https://investors.mediaalpha.com as a means of disclosing material nonpublic information and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including without limitation statements regarding our deeper engagement with a growing number of carriers about further leveraging our trusted infrastructure and AI-powered targeting capabilities; our expectations regarding the timing and amounts of share repurchases; and our financial outlook for the second quarter of 2026. These forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to, among other things, future events and our financial performance. These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as "may," "should," "could," "predict," "potential," "believe," "will likely result," "expect," "continue," "will," "anticipate," "seek," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "projection," "would," and "outlook," or the negative version of those words or other comparable words or phrases of a future or forward-looking nature. These forward-looking statements are not historical facts, and are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry, management's beliefs and certain assumptions made by management, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and beyond our control. Accordingly, we caution you that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, assumptions and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable as of the date made, actual results may prove to be materially different from the results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.
There are or will be important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated in these forward-looking statements, including those more fully described in MediaAlpha's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including the Form 10-K filed on February 23, 2026 and the Form 10-Q to be filed on April 29, 2026. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive. MediaAlpha disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date of this press release.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Operating Metrics
This press release includes Adjusted EBITDA, Contribution, and Contribution Margin, which are non-GAAP financial measures. See the appendix for definitions of Adjusted EBITDA, Contribution and Contribution Margin, as well as reconciliations to the corresponding GAAP financial metrics, as applicable.
We present Adjusted EBITDA, Contribution, and Contribution Margin because they are used extensively by our management and board of directors to manage our operating performance, including evaluating our operational performance against budget and assessing our overall operating efficiency and operating leverage. Accordingly, we believe that Adjusted EBITDA, Contribution, and Contribution Margin provide useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results in the same manner as our management team and board of directors. Each of Adjusted EBITDA, Contribution, and Contribution Margin has limitations as a financial measure and investors should not consider it in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP.
About MediaAlphaWe believe we are the insurance industry's leading programmatic customer acquisition platform. With more than 1,150 active partners, in addition to our agent partners, we connect insurance carriers with online shoppers and generated over 141 million Consumer Referrals in 2025. Our programmatic advertising technology powered $2.2 billion in spend in 2025 on brand, comparison, and metasearch sites across property & casualty insurance, health insurance, life insurance, and other industries. For more information, please visit www.mediaalpha.com.
Contacts: InvestorsDenise GarciaHayflower Partners[email protected]
MediaAlpha, Inc. and subsidiariesConsolidated Balance Sheets(Unaudited; in thousands, except share data and per share amounts)
March 31,2026
December 31,2025
Assets
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents
$
26,051
$
46,876
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for credit losses of $762 and $717, respectively
133,796
123,019
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
5,358
4,477
Total current assets
165,205
174,372
Intangible assets, net
3,113
3,590
Goodwill
47,739
47,739
Deferred tax assets
143,699
149,734
Other assets
7,959
8,396
Total assets
$
367,715
$
383,831
Liabilities and stockholders' deficit
Current liabilities
Accounts payable
$
91,398
$
91,094
Accrued expenses
14,604
34,746
Current portion of long-term debt
7,167
21,807
Total current liabilities
113,169
147,647
Long-term debt, net of current portion
156,336
131,602
Liabilities under tax receivables agreement, net of current portion
116,564
124,212
Other long-term liabilities
10,738
9,564
Total liabilities
$
396,807
$
413,025
Commitments and contingencies
Stockholders' deficit
Class A common stock, $0.01 par value - 1.0 billion shares authorized; 54.6 million and 56.2 million shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2026 and December 31, 2025, respectively
546
562
Class B common stock, $0.01 par value - 100 million shares authorized; 8.3 million and 8.3 million shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2026 and December 31, 2025, respectively
83
83
Preferred stock, $0.01 par value - 50 million shares authorized; 0 shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2026 and December 31, 2025
—
—
Additional paid-in capital
470,131
483,825
Accumulated deficit
(468,843
)
(480,310
)
Total stockholders' equity attributable to MediaAlpha, Inc.
$
1,917
$
4,160
Non-controlling interests
(31,009
)
(33,354
)
Total stockholders' deficit
$
(29,092
)
$
(29,194
)
Total liabilities and stockholders' deficit
$
