NerdWallet, a consumer financial guidance and mortgage/ insurance online lead provider, reported it had revenue of $209 million for the first quarter of 2025 — a 29% year-over-year gain the company said was boosted by “encouraging” mortgage and personal loan business.
The mortgage part of that equation was driven by NerdWallet’s Next Door Lending segment, which it acquired late last year.
NerdWallet’s net income for the first quarter was $0.2 million, down 82% from net income of $1.1 million for the same quarter of 2024. Net income per basic and diluted share was $0.00 for Q1 2025, down from $0.01 per basic and diluted share for Q1 2024.
Still, where there was growth for this most recent quarter — revenue — it was “led by the strength in [NerdWallet’s] insurance and banking businesses,” stated Tim Chen, the company’s co-founder and CEO, in a release. And, he added, the company “also saw encouraging signs in mortgages, supported by our acquisition of Next Door Lending, and personal loans.”
“We remain focused on our long-term growth, by improving our operational efficiency and investing in vertical integration and user engagement,” Chen noted. Next Door Lending, a midsize mortgage brokerage, is part of that vertical integration strategy.
In a letter to shareholders, NerdWallet highlighted that it “continued to execute [its] integration strategy following [its] acquisition of Next Door Lending, incorporating HELOC [home equity line of credit] products into NerdWallet Mortgage Experts and acquiring additional licensing.”
Back in January, NerdWallet launched the “NerdWallet Mortgage Experts” experience, a concierge service that allows consumers to compare rates across 60+ wholesale lenders with personalized support — a direct result of integrating Next Door.
According to NerdWallet, the model offers twice the upfront unit economics compared to traditional mortgage referral models and has future earnings potential from refinances.
Next Door Lending contributed about 1 percentage point to overall NerdWallet revenue growth in Q1 2025. NerdWallet realized a 23% year-over-year increase in mortgage revenue for Q1 2025, despite elevated mortgage rates.
The acquisition of Next Door Lending accounted for a large part of that increase: without Next Door, NerdWallet would’ve seen only modest growth in its loans business, which includes mortgages and personal loans.
Going forward, NerdWallet’s management is optimistic but cautious about earnings potential, given continued challenges from economic conditions such as higher interest rates. The company expects muted near-term performance but sees potential upsides as integration deepens and rates normalize.
