Goosehead Insurance, Inc. (GSHD)
SIC breadcrumb: Finance, Insurance, And Real Estate > SIC Major Group 64 > SIC 6411 Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service
SEC company page: https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=1726978. Latest filing source: 0001726978-26-000010.
Informational only - descriptive public-record data, not investment advice.
Business
Read GSHD's verbatim Item 1 Business section from its latest 10-K: Business.
Risk Factors
Read GSHD's verbatim Item 1A Risk Factors from its latest 10-K: Risk Factors.
Selected Fundamentals
| Metric | Value | Unit | FY | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 365,304,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-02-19 |
| Net income | 27,831,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-02-19 |
| Assets | 414,864,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-02-19 |
Financials
Annual standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-02-19. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001726978.json. Derived margins, ratios, and free cash flow are computed from the extracted annual SEC facts.
| Metric | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 42,711,000 | 60,148,000 | 77,486,000 | 117,014,000 | 151,312,000 | 209,390,000 | 261,276,000 | 314,505,000 | 365,304,000 | |
| Net income | 0.00 | -8,903,000 | 3,567,000 | 9,287,000 | 5,403,000 | 565,000 | 14,140,000 | 30,426,000 | 27,831,000 | |
| Operating income | 7,611,000 | -13,930,000 | 14,073,000 | 19,940,000 | 8,673,000 | 10,128,000 | 32,956,000 | 61,140,000 | 74,449,000 | |
| Diluted EPS | -0.66 | 0.22 | 0.51 | 0.26 | 0.03 | 0.55 | 1.16 | 1.04 | ||
| Operating cash flow | 13,542,000 | 10,275,000 | 21,241,000 | 24,643,000 | 35,444,000 | 36,033,000 | 50,833,000 | 71,544,000 | 91,757,000 | |
| Capital expenditures | 6,216,000 | 2,096,000 | 3,694,000 | 9,975,000 | 12,738,000 | 10,130,000 | 4,452,000 | 979,000 | 5,671,000 | |
| Dividends paid | 25,520,000 | 80,059,000 | 18,739,000 | 44,697,000 | 60,000,000 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 145,786,000 | |
| Share buybacks | 0.00 | 0.00 | 63,184,000 | 81,720,000 | ||||||
| Assets | 16,706,000 | 34,798,000 | 64,628,000 | 185,837,000 | 270,291,000 | 321,353,000 | 354,892,000 | 397,653,000 | 414,864,000 | |
| Liabilities | 57,839,000 | 60,001,000 | 95,635,000 | 224,241,000 | 339,479,000 | 354,977,000 | 338,106,000 | 358,577,000 | 577,652,000 | |
| Stockholders' equity | -41,133,000 | -8,500,000 | -9,007,000 | -4,876,000 | -14,020,000 | 10,670,000 | 27,966,000 | 43,889,000 | -95,504,000 | |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 3,778,000 | 4,948,000 | 18,635,000 | 14,337,000 | 24,913,000 | 28,526,000 | 28,743,000 | 41,956,000 | 54,280,000 | 34,390,000 |
| Free cash flow | 7,326,000 | 8,179,000 | 17,547,000 | 14,668,000 | 22,706,000 | 25,903,000 | 46,381,000 | 70,565,000 | 86,086,000 |
Ratios
| Metric | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net margin | 0.00% | -14.80% | 4.60% | 7.94% | 3.57% | 0.27% | 5.41% | 9.67% | 7.62% | |
| Operating margin | 17.82% | -23.16% | 18.16% | 17.04% | 5.73% | 4.84% | 12.61% | 19.44% | 20.38% | |
| Return on equity | 5.30% | 50.56% | 69.32% | |||||||
| Return on assets | 0.00% | -25.58% | 5.52% | 5.00% | 2.00% | 0.18% | 3.98% | 7.65% | 6.71% | |
| Liabilities / equity | 33.27 | 12.09 | 8.17 | |||||||
| Current ratio | 1.34 | 2.92 | 1.99 | 2.49 | 1.66 | 1.46 | 1.82 | 2.34 | 1.60 |
Industry Peer Context
Net margin peer context
Operating margin peer context
ROE peer context
ROA peer context
Financial Bridges
Free cash flow = operating cash flow - capital expenditures
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts FY 2025. Operating cash flow: accession 0001726978-26-000010; concept NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; source concepts us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | Capital expenditures: accession 0001726978-26-000010; concept PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment; source concepts us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment | Free cash flow: accession 0001726978-26-000010; concept NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities - PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment; source concepts us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment
Financial Charts
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001726978-26-000010; filed 2026-02-19. Concept: Revenues. Source concepts: us-gaap:Revenues.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001726978-26-000010; filed 2026-02-19. Concept: NetIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001726978-26-000010; filed 2026-02-19. Concept: OperatingIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:OperatingIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001726978-26-000010; filed 2026-02-19. Concept: EarningsPerShareDiluted. Source concepts: us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001726978-26-000010; filed 2026-02-19. Concept: NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001726978-26-000010; filed 2026-02-19. Concept: PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment. Source concepts: us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001726978-26-000010; filed 2026-02-19. Concept: PaymentsOfDividends. Source concepts: us-gaap:PaymentsOfDividends.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001726978-26-000010; filed 2026-02-19. Concept: PaymentsForRepurchaseOfCommonStock. Source concepts: us-gaap:PaymentsForRepurchaseOfCommonStock.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001726978-26-000010; filed 2026-02-19. Concept: Assets. Source concepts: us-gaap:Assets.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001726978-26-000010; filed 2026-02-19. Concept: Liabilities. Source concepts: us-gaap:Liabilities.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001726978-26-000010; filed 2026-02-19. Concept: StockholdersEquity. Source concepts: us-gaap:StockholdersEquity.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001726978-26-000010; filed 2026-02-19. Concept: CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue. Source concepts: us-gaap:CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001726978-26-000010; filed 2026-02-19. Concept: NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities - PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment.
Quarterly
Quarterly standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-07-23. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001726978.json.
| Quarter | End Date | Revenue | Net Income | Diluted EPS | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-Q1 | 2022-03-31 | -0.11 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2022-Q2 | 2022-06-30 | 0.02 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2022-Q3 | 2022-09-30 | 0.09 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q1 | 2023-03-31 | 0.00 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q2 | 2023-06-30 | 0.15 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q3 | 2023-09-30 | 71,030,000 | 6,934,000 | 0.28 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2023-Q4 | 2023-12-31 | 63,014,000 | 3,621,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2024-Q1 | 2024-03-31 | 64,460,000 | 1,814,000 | 0.05 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q2 | 2024-06-30 | 78,088,000 | 6,198,000 | 0.24 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q3 | 2024-09-30 | 78,035,000 | 7,559,000 | 0.29 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q4 | 2024-12-31 | 93,922,000 | 14,855,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2025-Q1 | 2025-03-31 | 75,583,000 | 2,342,000 | 0.09 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q2 | 2025-06-30 | 94,027,000 | 5,150,000 | 0.18 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q3 | 2025-09-30 | 90,435,000 | 7,908,000 | 0.29 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q4 | 2025-12-31 | 105,258,000 | 12,431,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2026-Q1 | 2026-03-31 | 93,076,000 | 4,889,000 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2026-Q2 | 2026-06-30 | 113,389,000 | 10,065,000 | reported discrete quarter |
Quarterly Charts
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-06-30; accession 0001726978-26-000060; filed 2026-07-23. Concept: Revenues. Source concepts: us-gaap:Revenues.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-06-30; accession 0001726978-26-000060; filed 2026-07-23. Concept: NetIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-09-30; accession 0001726978-25-000141; filed 2025-10-23. Concept: EarningsPerShareDiluted. Source concepts: us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted.
Macro Cross-References
- CPIAUCSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items in U.S. City Average
- UNRATE - Unemployment Rate
- FEDFUNDS - Federal Funds Effective Rate
- CES0500000003 - Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees, Total Private
- DFEDTARU - Federal Funds Target Range - Upper Limit
- DFEDTARL - Federal Funds Target Range - Lower Limit
- DGS3MO - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 3-Month Constant Maturity
- DGS2 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 2-Year Constant Maturity
- DGS10 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 10-Year Constant Maturity
- DGS30 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 30-Year Constant Maturity
- T10Y2Y - 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Minus 2-Year Treasury Constant Maturity
- CPILFESL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items Less Food and Energy
- CPIUFDSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Food
- CPIENGSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Energy
- CUSR0000SAH1 - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Shelter
- PCEPI - Personal Consumption Expenditures: Chain-type Price Index
- PCEPILFE - Personal Consumption Expenditures Excluding Food and Energy: Chain-type Price Index
- PPIACO - Producer Price Index by Commodity: All Commodities
- T10YIE - 10-Year Breakeven Inflation Rate
- U6RATE - Total Unemployed, Plus All Marginally Attached Workers Plus Total Employed Part Time for Economic Reasons
- PAYEMS - All Employees, Total Nonfarm
- CIVPART - Labor Force Participation Rate
- EMRATIO - Employment-Population Ratio
- UNEMPLOY - Unemployed
- CE16OV - Employment Level
- ICSA - Initial Claims
- JTSJOL - Job Openings: Total Nonfarm
- JTSQUR - Quits: Total Nonfarm
- GDPC1 - Real Gross Domestic Product
- A191RL1Q225SBEA - Real Gross Domestic Product: Percent Change from Preceding Period
- INDPRO - Industrial Production: Total Index
- TCU - Capacity Utilization: Total Index
- HOUST - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Started: Total Units
- PERMIT - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Authorized in Permit-Issuing Places: Total Units
- RSAFS - Advance Retail Sales: Retail Trade
- PCE - Personal Consumption Expenditures
- DSPIC96 - Real Disposable Personal Income
- PSAVERT - Personal Saving Rate
- M2SL - M2
- BOPGSTB - U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services: Balance
- MSPUS - Median Sales Price of Houses Sold for the United States
- HSN1F - New One Family Houses Sold: United States
- RHORUSQ156N - Homeownership Rate in the United States
- TTLCONS - Total Construction Spending: Total Construction in the United States
- RRVRUSQ156N - Rental Vacancy Rate in the United States
- TOTALSL - Total Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized
- REVOLSL - Revolving Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized
- DRCCLACBS - Delinquency Rate on Credit Card Loans, All Commercial Banks
- GDP - Gross Domestic Product
- GPDI - Gross Private Domestic Investment
- GCE - Government Consumption Expenditures and Gross Investment
- PCEC - Personal Consumption Expenditures
- NETEXP - Net Exports of Goods and Services
- GFDEBTN - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt
- GFDEGDQ188S - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt as Percent of Gross Domestic Product
- FYFSD - Federal Surplus or Deficit
- FGRECPT - Federal Government Current Receipts
- FGEXPND - Federal Government: Current Expenditures
- MANEMP - All Employees, Manufacturing
- USCONS - All Employees, Construction
- USTRADE - All Employees, Retail Trade
- USFIRE - All Employees, Financial Activities
- USGOVT - All Employees, Government
- AWHAETP - Average Weekly Hours of All Employees, Total Private
- DGORDER - Manufacturers' New Orders: Durable Goods
- NEWORDER - Manufacturers' New Orders: Nondefense Capital Goods Excluding Aircraft
- BUSINV - Total Business Inventories
- EXPGS - Exports of Goods and Services
- IMPGS - Imports of Goods and Services
- IR - Import Price Index (End Use): All Commodities
- PPIFIS - Producer Price Index by Commodity: Final Demand
Latest quarter (10-Q)
Latest 10-Q source: 0001726978-26-000060.
OVERVIEW
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our condensed consolidated financial statements and the related notes and other financial information included elsewhere in this Form 10-Q. In addition to historical financial information, the following discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. Our actual results and timing of selected events may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those discussed under “Risk factors” and elsewhere in this report and in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025.
We are a rapidly growing personal lines independent insurance agency, reinventing the traditional approach to distributing personal lines products and services throughout the United States. We were founded with one vision in mind: to provide clients with superior insurance coverage at the best available price and in a timely manner. By leveraging our differentiated business model and innovative technology platform, we are able to deliver a superior insurance experience to our clients.
Financial Highlights for the Second Quarter of 2026:
•Total revenue increased 21% from the second quarter of 2025 to $113.4 million
•Core Revenue* increased by 10% from the second quarter of 2025 to $95.6 million
•Total Written Premiums placed increased 14% from the prior-year period to $1.34 billion
•Net income increased by $8.7 million from the second quarter of 2025 to $17.0 million, or 15% of total revenues
•Adjusted EBITDA* increased 30% from the second quarter of 2025 to $37.9 million, or 33% of total revenues
•Basic and diluted earnings per share were $0.42 and $0.41, respectively, and Adjusted EPS* was $0.64 per share for the three months ended June 30, 2026
•Policies in Force increased 15% from June 30, 2025 to approximately 2.1 million at June 30, 2026
•Corporate sales headcount increased 22% from June 30, 2025 to 583 at June 30, 2026
◦As of June 30, 2026, 323 of these Corporate sales agents had less than one year of tenure and 260 had greater than one year of tenure
•Total operating franchises decreased 16% from June 30, 2025 to 898 at June 30, 2026
◦As of June 30, 2026, 69 operating Franchisees had less than one year of tenure and 829 operating Franchisees had greater than one year of tenure
•Total Franchise agents increased 5% from June 30, 2025 to 2,190 at June 30, 2026
*Core Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS are non-GAAP measures. Reconciliation of Core Revenue to total revenue, Adjusted EBITDA to net income and Adjusted EPS to EPS, the most directly comparable financial measures presented in accordance with GAAP, are set forth under "Key performance indicators".
27
Certain income statement line items
Revenues
During the three months ended June 30, 2026, total revenue increased by 21% to $113.4 million from $94.0 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025. For the six months ended June 30, 2026, total revenue increased by 22% to $206.5 million from $169.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2025. Total Written Premium, which we believe is the best leading indicator of future revenue, increased 14% to $1.34 billion for the three months ended June 30, 2026 from $1.18 billion for the three months ended June 30, 2025. Total Written Premium increased 13% for the six months ended June 30, 2026 to $2.47 billion from $2.18 billion for the six months ended June 30, 2025. Total Written Premiums drive our current and future Core Revenue and give us potential opportunities to earn Ancillary Revenue in the form of Contingent Commissions.
Our various revenue streams do not equally contribute to the long-term value of Goosehead. For instance, Renewal Revenue and Renewal Royalty Fees are more predictable and have higher margin profiles, thus are higher quality revenue streams for the Company. Alternatively, Contingent Commissions, while high margin, are unpredictable and dependent on insurance company underwriting and forces of nature and thus are lower quality revenue for the Company. Our revenue streams can be viewed in three distinct categories: Core Revenue, Cost Recovery Revenue, and Ancillary Revenue, which are non-GAAP measures. A reconciliation of Core Revenue, Cost Recovery Revenue, and Ancillary Revenue to total revenue, the most directly comparable financial measure presented in accordance with GAAP, are set forth under "Key performance indicators".
Core Revenue:
•Renewal Commissions - highly predictable, higher-margin revenue stream, which is managed by our service team.
•Renewal Royalty Fees - highly predictable, higher-margin revenue stream, which is managed by our service team. For policies in their first renewal term, we see an increase in our share of royalties from 20% to 50% of the commission paid by the Carriers.
•New Business Commissions - predictable based on agent headcount and consistent ramp-up of agents, but lower margin than Renewal Commissions because of higher commissions paid to agents and higher back-office costs associated with policies in their first term. This revenue stream has predictably converted into higher-margin Renewal Commissions historically, and we expect this to continue moving forward.
•New Business Royalty Fees - predictable based on franchise count and consistent ramp-up of franchises, but lower margin than Renewal Royalty Fees because the Company only receives a royalty fee of 20% on the commissions paid by the Carrier in the first term of every policy and incurs higher back-office costs associated with policies in their first term. This revenue stream has predictably converted into higher-margin Renewal Royalty Fees historically, and we expect this to continue moving forward.
•Agency Fees - although predictable based on agent count, Agency Fees do not renew like New Business Commissions and Renewal Commissions.
Cost Recovery Revenue:
•Initial Franchise Fees - one-time Cost Recovery Revenue stream per franchise unit that covers the Company's costs to recruit, train, onboard, and support the franchise for the first year. These fees are fully earned and non-refundable when a franchise attends our initial training.
•Interest Income - like Initial Franchise Fees, interest income is a Cost Recovery Revenue stream that reimburses the Company for those franchises on a payment plan.
Ancillary Revenue:
•Contingent Commissions - although high margin, Contingent Commissions are unpredictable and susceptible to weather events and Carrier underwriting results.
•Other Franchise Revenues - book transfer fees, marketing investments from Carriers and other items that are unpredictable and supplemental to other revenue streams.
28
We discuss below the breakdown of our revenue by stream:
| Three Months Ended June 30, | Six Months Ended June 30, | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands) | 2026 | 2025 | 2026 | 2025 | ||||||||||||||||
| Core Revenue: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Renewal Commissions(1) | $21,034 | 19 | % | $23,119 | 25 | % | $39,196 | 19 | % | $40,071 | 24 | % | ||||||||
| Renewal Royalty Fees(2) | 52,507 | 46 | % | 45,381 | 48 | % | 96,101 | 47 | % | 82,625 | 49 | % | ||||||||
| New Business Commissions(1) | 9,613 | 8 | % | 7,559 | 8 | % | 17,065 | 8 | % | 13,314 | 8 | % | ||||||||
| New Business Royalty Fees(2) | 9,396 | 8 | % | 7,820 | 8 | % | 17,282 | 8 | % | 14,749 | 9 | % | ||||||||
| Agency Fees(1) | 3,083 | 3 | % | 2,906 | 3 | % | 5,468 | 3 | % | 5,146 | 3 | % | ||||||||
| Total Core Revenue | 95,633 | 84 | % | 86,785 | 92 | % | 175,112 | 85 | % | 155,905 | 92 | % | ||||||||
| Cost Recovery Revenue: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Initial Franchise Fees(2) | 1,360 | 2 | % | 1,247 | 1 | % | 2,969 | 1 | % | 2,589 | 2 | % | ||||||||
| Interest Income | 95 | — | % | 179 | — | % | 212 | — | % | 368 | — | % | ||||||||
| Total Cost Recovery Revenue | 1,455 | 2 | % | 1,426 | 2 | % | 3,181 | 1 | % | 2,957 | 2 | % | ||||||||
| Ancillary Revenue: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Contingent Commissions(1) | 15,725 | 13 | % | 4,492 | 5 | % | 26,411 | 13 | % | 8,968 | 5 | % | ||||||||
| Other Franchise Revenues(2) | 576 | 1 | % | 1,324 | 1 | % | 1,761 | 1 | % | 1,781 | 1 | % | ||||||||
| Total Ancillary Revenue | 16,301 | 14 | % | 5,816 | 6 | % | 28,172 | 14 | % | 10,749 | 6 | % | ||||||||
| Total Revenues | $113,389 | 100 | % | $94,027 | 100 | % | $206,465 | 100 | % | $169,611 | 100 | % |
(1) Renewal Commissions, New Business Commissions, Agency Fees, and Contingent Commissions are included in "Commissions and agency fees" as shown on the condensed consolidated statements of operations.
(2) Renewal Royalty Fees, New Business Royalty Fees, Initial Franchise Fees, and Other Franchise Revenues are included in "Franchise revenues" as shown on the condensed consolidated statements of operations.
29
Consolidated results of operations
The following is a discussion of our consolidated results of operations for each of the three and six months ended June 30, 2026 and 2025. This information is derived from our accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP.
The following table summarizes our results of operations (in thousands):
| Three Months Ended June 30, | Six Months Ended June 30, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2025 | 2026 | 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Revenues: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Commissions and agency fees | $ | 49,455 | 44 | % | $ | 38,076 | 40 | % | $ | 88,140 | 43 | % | $ | 67,499 | 40 | % | ||||||||
| Franchise revenues | 63,839 | 56 | % | 55,772 | 59 | % | 118,113 | 57 | % | 101,744 | 60 | % | ||||||||||||
| Interest income | 95 | — | % | 179 | — | % | 212 | — | % | 368 | — | % | ||||||||||||
| Total revenues | 113,389 | 100 | % | 94,027 | 100 | % | 206,465 | 100 | % | 169,611 | 100 | % | ||||||||||||
| Operating Expenses: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Employee compensation and benefits | 54,328 | 62 | % | 50,388 | 64 | % | 104,855 | 63 | % | 98,722 | 67 | % | ||||||||||||
| General and administrative expenses | 28,420 | 33 | % | 24,647 | 31 | % | 52,389 | 32 | % | 42,206 | 29 | % | ||||||||||||
| Bad debts | 504 | 1 | % | 550 | 1 | % | 877 | 1 | % | 957 | 1 | % | ||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 3,545 | 4 | % | 2,782 | 4 | % | 6,757 | 4 | % | 5,452 | 4 | % | ||||||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 86,797 | 100 | % | 78,367 | 100 | % | 164,878 | 100 | % | 147,337 | 100 | % | ||||||||||||
| Income from operations | 26,592 | 15,660 | 41,587 | 22,274 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other Income: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (5,714) | (6,303) | (11,186) | (12,126) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other income | 260 | 815 | 527 | 983 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Income before taxes | 21,138 | 10,172 | 30,928 | 11,131 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Tax expense | 4,124 | 1,889 | 5,869 | 202 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Net income | 17,014 | 8,283 | 25,059 | 10,929 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Less: net income attributable to noncontrolling interests | 6,949 | 3,133 | 10,105 | 3,437 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Net income attributable to Goosehead Insurance, Inc. | $ | 10,065 | $ | 5,150 | $ | 14,954 | $ | 7,492 |
Revenues
For the three months ended June 30, 2026 total revenues increased 21% to $113.4 million from $94.0 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025. For the six months ended June 30, 2026, total revenues increased 22% to $206.5 million from $169.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2025.
Commissions and agency fees
Commissions and agency fe
[Excerpt truncated for page length; source filing is linked above.]
Latest 10-K MD&A
Item 7. Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations
Overview
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes and other financial information included elsewhere in this Annual Report. In addition to historical financial information, the following discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. Our actual results and timing of selected events may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those discussed under “Risk factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report.
This discussion includes references to non-GAAP financial measures as defined in the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("the SEC"). We present such non-GAAP financial measures, specifically, Core Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS non-GAAP financial measures, as we believe such information is of interest to the investment community because it provides additional meaningful methods of evaluating certain aspects of the Company’s operating performance from period to period on a basis that may not be otherwise apparent under U.S. GAAP, and these provide a measure against which our businesses may be assessed in the future.
Our methods of calculating these measures may differ from those used by other companies and therefore comparability may be limited. These financial measures should be viewed in addition to, not in lieu of, the consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025. See "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below for further discussion of our Core Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS non-GAAP financial measures
We are a rapidly growing personal lines independent insurance agency, reinventing the traditional approach to distributing personal lines products and services throughout the United States. We were founded with one vision in mind—to provide clients with superior insurance coverage at the best available price and in a timely manner. By leveraging our differentiated business model and innovative technology platform, we are able to deliver a superior insurance experience to our clients.
The following discussion contains references to the years ended December 31, 2025, December 31, 2024, and December 31, 2023. See Goosehead’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 for a discussion of the changes from year ended December 31, 2023 to the year ended December 31, 2024.
Financial Highlights for 2025:
•Total revenue increased 16% from 2024 to $365.3 million; Core Revenues*, a non-GAAP measure, of $317.9 million increased 16% over 2024
•Total Written Premiums Placed increased 17% from 2024 to $4.4 billion
•Net income decreased by $4.7 million from 2024 to $44.5 million, or 12% of total revenues
•Adjusted EBITDA*, a non-GAAP measure, increased by 14% from 2024 to $113.6 million, or 31% of total revenues
•Basic earnings per share was $1.11 and Adjusted EPS*, a non-GAAP measure, was $1.86 for the year ended December 31, 2025.
•Policies in Force increased 14% from December 31, 2024 to 1.9 million at December 31, 2025.
•Corporate sales headcount increased 17% from December 31, 2024 to 489 at December 31, 2025.
◦As of December 31, 2025, 261 of these corporate sales agents had less than one year of tenure and 228 had greater than one year of tenure.
•Operating franchises decreased 9% from December 31, 2024 to 1,009 at December 31, 2025.
◦As of December 31, 2025, 87 operating franchises had less than one year of tenure and 922 operating franchisees had greater than one year of tenure.
◦Total franchise agents increased 1% from December 31, 2024 to 2,113 at December 31, 2025.
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*Core Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS are non-GAAP measures. Reconciliation of Total Core Revenue to Total Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA to net income and Adjusted EPS to EPS, the most directly comparable financial measures presented in accordance with GAAP, are set forth in "Key performance indicators" below.
Factors affecting our results of operations
We believe that the most significant factors affecting our results of operations include:
•Investment in growth. We continue to invest in expanding our national footprint, increasing our revenue-producing headcount, and increasing the level of support provided to our salespeople. Our ability to attract and retain top corporate sales agents and franchise owners, ramp up new agent productivity, and retain existing and future Policies in Force are key to continued profitable growth.
•Investment in technology. We continue to develop and invest in our technology platform to drive scalability, adaptability, and efficiency. We believe our significant investment in proprietary technology is a key competitive advantage that supports, and will continue to support, our growth and operating margins.
•Continued penetration of Franchisees into existing markets. We will continue to market actively for new franchises in our established markets, which represent over 97% of the U.S. population. We are licensed with the necessary state departments of commerce and insurance and registered as a franchisor in all 50 states in the U.S.
•Continued retention of existing Book of Business. We have navigated macroeconomic challenges to maintain high levels of Client Retention. Client Retention is key to future profitability.
•Increase in margins as business shifts from new to renewal. Because we are entitled to a higher percentage of Royalty Fees after the first term of a policy and the higher level of back-office support needed during the first term of an insurance policy, the Company begins to see higher levels of profitability on Renewal Revenue. We will focus simultaneously on converting New Business Revenue to Renewal Revenue through our retention efforts, and on continuing to grow New Business Revenue that will convert and allow us to expand our margins in future periods.
•Strength of the insurance market or particular lines of business. We generate the majority of our revenues through commissions, which are calculated as a percentage of the total insurance policy premium. A softening of the insurance market or the particular lines of business that are our focus, characterized by a period of declining premium rates, could negatively impact our profitability.
•Seasonality and cyclicality of housing market conditions. The majority of our new accounts are sourced by referral sources tied to home closing transactions. Major slowdowns in the various housing markets Goosehead serves, including as a result of changes in prevailing interest rates or U.S. monetary policies that affect interest rates, could impact our ability to generate new business. We experience seasonality and revenue related to the sale of insurance policies throughout the course of a calendar year that is tied to the seasonality of new home sales. Revenue from home insurance leads is higher from April to August and lower from October through January. While this can impact month-to-month or quarter-to-quarter results, we expect productivity to normalize year-over-year.
•Increases in interest rates. Our variable rate debt, including our Credit Agreement, exposes us to interest rate risk. If interest rates were to increase, our debt service obligations on our variable rate indebtedness would increase even if the amount borrowed remained the same. To the extent that interest rate risk materializes and is not fully mitigated, the resulting increase in interest expense could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
•Effect of natural or man-made disasters. Any increases in loss ratios due to natural or man-made disasters could impact our Contingent Commissions, which are primarily driven by both growth and loss ratio metrics.
•Cost of being a public company. To operate as a public company, we are required to continue to implement changes in certain aspects of our business and develop, manage, and train management-level and other employees to comply with on-going public company requirements. We also incur expenses as a public company, including public reporting obligations, proxy statements, stockholder meetings, stock exchange fees and transfer agent fees.
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Effects of the reorganization on our corporate structure
Goosehead Insurance, Inc. was formed for the purpose of the Offering and to date has only engaged in activities related to Goosehead Financial, LLC. Goosehead Insurance, Inc. is a holding company and its sole material asset is a controlling ownership and profits interest in Goosehead Financial, LLC. All of our business is conducted through Goosehead Financial, LLC and its consolidated subsidiaries, and the financial results of Goosehead Financial, LLC and its consolidated subsidiaries are included in the consolidated financial statements of Goosehead Insurance, Inc. Goosehead Financial, LLC is currently taxed as a partnership for federal income tax purposes and, as a result, its members, including Goosehead Insurance, Inc., pay taxes with respect to their allocable shares of its net taxable income.
Prior redemptions and exchanges of LLC Units have resulted, and we expect future redemptions and exchanges will result in increases in the tax basis in our share of the tangible and intangible assets of Goosehead Financial, LLC that otherwise would not have been available. These increases in tax basis have reduced the amount of tax we are required to pay, and may reduce the amount of tax that we would otherwise be required to pay in the future. The tax receivable agreement requires Goosehead Insurance, Inc. to pay 85% of the amount of cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax or franchise tax that we actually realize to the Pre-IPO LLC Members. Furthermore, payments under the tax receivable agreement give rise to additional tax benefits and therefore additional payments under the tax receivable agreement itself. See "Item 13. Certain relationships and related transactions, and director independence".
Certain income statement line items
Revenues
In 2025, revenue increased by 16% to $365.3 million from $314.5 million in 2024. Total Written Premium growth, which is the best indicator of future revenue growth, increased 17% to $4.4 billion in 2025 from $3.8 billion in 2024. Total Written Premiums Placed drive our current and future Core Revenue and give us potential opportunities to earn Ancillary Revenue in the form of Contingent Commissions. Our various revenue streams do not equally contribute to the long-term value of Goosehead. For instance, Renewal Revenue and Renewal Royalty Fees are more predictable and have higher margin profiles, thus are higher quality revenue streams for the Company. Alternatively, Contingent Commissions, while high margin, are unpredictable and dependent on insurance company underwriting and forces of nature and thus are lower quality revenue for the Company. Our revenue streams can be viewed in three distinct categories: Core Revenue, Cost Recovery Revenue, and Ancillary Revenue, which are non-GAAP measures. A reconciliation of Core Revenue, Cost Recovery Revenue, and Ancillary Revenue to total revenue, the most directly comparable financial measures presented in accordance with GAAP, are set forth in the "Key performance indicators" section of Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations of this Form 10-K.
Core Revenue:
•Renewal Commissions - highly predictable, higher-margin revenue stream, which is managed by our service team.
•Renewal Royalty Fees - highly predictable, higher-margin revenue stream, which is managed by our service team. For policies in their first renewal term, we see an increase in our share of royalties from 20% to 50% on the commission paid by the Carriers.
•New Business Commissions - predictable based on agent headcount and consistent ramp-up of agents, but lower margin than Renewal Commissions because of higher commissions paid to agents and higher back-office costs associated with policies in their first term. This revenue stream has predictably converted into higher-margin Renewal Commissions historically, and we expect this to continue moving forward.
•New Business Royalty Fees - predictable based on franchise agent count and consistent ramp-up of franchises, but lower margin than Renewal Royalty Fees because the Company only receives a royalty fee of 20% on the commissions paid by the Carrier in the first term of every policy and higher back-office costs associated with policies in their first term. This revenue stream has predictably converted into higher-margin Renewal Royalty Fees historically, and we expect this to continue moving forward.
•Agency Fees - although predictable based on agent count, Agency Fees do not renew like New Business Commissions and Renewal Commissions.
Cost Recovery Revenue:
•Initial Franchise Fees - Cost Recovery Revenue stream charged one time per franchise unit that covers the Company's costs to recruit, train, and onboard the franchisee, and to provide ongoing support over the life
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of the franchise agreement. These fees are fully earned and non-refundable when a franchise attends our initial training and are recognized in revenue over the life of the franchise agreement.
•Interest Income - like Initial Franchise Fees, interest income is a Cost Recovery Revenue stream that reimburses the Company for those franchises on a payment plan. Interest income is recognized over the term of the franchise fee payment plan.
Ancillary Revenue:
•Contingent Commissions - although high margin, Contingent Commissions are unpredictable and susceptible to weather events and Carrier underwriting results. Management does not rely on Contingent Commissions for operating cash flow or budget planning.
•Other Income - book transfer fees, marketing investments from Carriers and other items that are unpredictable and supplemental to other revenue streams.
We discuss below the breakdown of our revenue by stream:
| Years ended December 31, | 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands) | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | % Growth | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Core Revenue: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Renewal Commissions(1) | $ | 78,621 | 22 | % | $ | 74,938 | 24 | % | $ | 70,730 | 27 | % | 5 | % | ||||||||||
| Renewal Royalty Fees(2) | 170,767 | 46 | % | 138,942 | 44 | % | 107,524 | 41 | % | 23 | % | |||||||||||||
| New Business Commissions(1) | 27,985 | 8 | % | 24,608 | 8 | % | 23,411 | 9 | % | 14 | % | |||||||||||||
| New Business Royalty Fees(2) | 30,153 | 8 | % | 27,122 | 9 | % | 23,168 | 9 | % | 11 | % | |||||||||||||
| Agency Fees(1) | 10,404 | 3 | % | 8,127 | 3 | % | 8,174 | 3 | % | 28 | % | |||||||||||||
| Total Core Revenue | 317,930 | 87 | % | 273,737 | 87 | % | 233,007 | 89 | % | 16 | % | |||||||||||||
| Cost Recovery Revenue: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Initial Franchise Fees(2) | 5,594 | 2 | % | 6,620 | 2 | % | 11,238 | 4 | % | (15) | % | |||||||||||||
| Interest Income | 670 | — | % | 932 | — | % | 1,443 | 1 | % | (28) | % | |||||||||||||
| Total Cost Recovery Revenue | 6,264 | 2 | % | 7,552 | 2 | % | 12,681 | 5 | % | (17) | % | |||||||||||||
| Ancillary Revenue: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Contingent Commissions(1) | 38,376 | 10 | % | 31,385 | 10 | % | 13,746 | 5 | % | 22 | % | |||||||||||||
| Other Income(2) | 2,734 | 1 | % | 1,831 | 1 | % | 1,843 | 1 | % | 49 | % | |||||||||||||
| Total Ancillary Revenue | 41,110 | 11 | % | 33,216 | 11 | % | 15,588 | 6 | % | 24 | % | |||||||||||||
| Total Revenues | $ | 365,304 | 100 | % | $ | 314,505 | 100 | % | $ | 261,276 | 100 | % | 16 | % |
(1) Renewal Commissions, New Business Commissions, Agency Fees, and Contingent Commissions are included in "Commissions and agency fees" as shown on the Consolidated statements of operations.
(2) Renewal Royalty Fees, New Business Royalty Fees, Initial Franchise Fees, and Other Income are included in "Franchise revenues" as shown on the Consolidated statements of operations.
Core Revenue:
The Company's primary source of revenue is through the placement of insurance policies. We are paid a percentage of the premium from the Carriers in the form of New Business Commissions and, in states which allow it, we charge Agency Fees for the placement of the policy. For policies placed through franchise sales, we receive 20% of the commissions and fees received as New Business Royalties during the first term of the policy. All clients are serviced by our world-class service centers, allowing for predictable retention of our Book of Business. Client retention was 85% as of December 31, 2025. All commissions received in corporate sales after the first term of the policy are recognized as Renewal Commissions, which are higher margin due to lower commissions and servicing costs. For all policies that renew related to franchise sales, we receive as Renewal Royalty Fees 50% of the commissions received from the Carrier, creating a mechanical increase in revenue of 150% in the first renewal term. Renewal Royalty Fees are higher margin compared to New Business Royalty Fees due to lower servicing costs on higher revenue. Because of the lower royalty fees on New Business Commissions as compared to Renewal Commissions, and because we are placing an increasing percentage of Total Written Premium in franchise sales, Core Revenue growth will lag that of Total Written Premium.
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Cost Recovery Revenue:
The Company charges every franchise an Initial Franchise Fee, which, on a cash flow basis, helps to cover our costs to recruit, train, onboard, and to provide ongoing support over the life of the franchise agreement. The Company recognizes revenue over the 10-year life of the contract. For franchises that have elected the payment plan, the difference between the pay-in-full and the payment plan amounts is recognized as Interest Income using the interest rate method over the 5-year term of the payment plan.
Ancillary Revenue:
With certain Carriers, the Company has the opportunity to earn additional revenue in the form of Contingent Commissions, typically based on the volume, growth, and loss ratios of the business placed with the select Carriers. The Contingent Commissions are extremely difficult to predict in any given period and can vary greatly from year to year. Although the Company can control the amount of business placed with the Carriers, loss ratios depend on many factors that are outside of our control, such as weather events and Carrier underwriting accuracy. The Company estimates the amount to be received during the period over which the Contingent Commissions are earned.
Below is a summary showing the historical Contingent Commissions as a percentage of Total Written Premiums Placed for the period in which the Contingent Commissions were earned (in thousands).
| Total Written Premium | Contingent Commission Revenue | % of Premium | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $ | 2,963,984 | $ | 13,746 | 0.46 | % | ||||
| 2024 | 3,811,992 | 31,385 | 0.82 | % | ||||||
| 2025 | 4,448,095 | 38,376 | 0.86 | % | ||||||
| 3-year average | 0.71 | % |
Contingent Commissions can vary significantly from year-to-year and should be viewed over several years. Since 2023, revenue from Contingent Commissions has represented approximately 0.71% of Total Written Premium at year-end. Most of our Contingent Commissions are earned in the year prior to when they are received. For the year ended December 31, 2023, $13.7 million of Contingent Commissions were earned (below our historical average as a percentage of premium), of which $6.9 million was still receivable at December 31, 2023. For the year ended December 31, 2024, $31.4 million of Contingent Commissions were earned (above our historical average as a percentage of premium), of which $25.5 million was still receivable at December 31, 2024. For the year ended December 31, 2025, $38.4 million of Contingent Commissions were earned (above our historical average as a percentage of premium), of which $29.1 million was still receivable at December 31, 2025.
Premium by line of business
We are a distributor of insurance policies in a range of primarily personal lines of business including homeowner’s insurance; automotive insurance; dwelling property insurance; flood, wind and earthquake insurance; excess liability or umbrella insurance; specialty lines insurance (motorcycle, recreational vehicle, and other insurance); commercial lines insurance (general liability, property and auto insurance for small businesses) and life insurance. The following table sets forth our Total Written Premium placed by line of business by amount and as a percentage of our Total Written Premium for the periods indicated (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||||
| Line of business | |||||||||||||||||
| Homeowner | $ | 2,816,235 | 63 | % | $ | 2,338,616 | 61 | % | $ | 1,729,138 | 58 | % | |||||
| Automotive | 1,509,451 | 34 | % | 1,367,578 | 36 | % | 1,149,737 | 39 | % | ||||||||
| Commercial | 84,916 | 2 | % | 72,804 | 2 | % | 57,207 | 2 | % | ||||||||
| Other | 37,493 | 1 | % | 32,994 | 1 | % | 27,903 | 1 | % | ||||||||
| Total Written Premium | $ | 4,448,095 | 100 | % | $ | 3,811,992 | 100 | % | $ | 2,963,985 | 100 | % |
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Expenses
Due to our organic-focused growth strategy, virtually all of our investments in future growth are in people and technology. The majority of our investments in people, such as in sales and service functions, are not capitalizable and are recognized immediately on our statement of operations, while investments in software are capitalized as intangible assets and recognized as expense over the useful life of the software.
Employee compensation and benefits. Employee compensation and benefits is our largest expense and consists of (a) base compensation comprising salary, bonuses, commissions, and benefits paid and payable to employees, and (b) stock option awards for our senior employees. We expect to continue to experience a general rise in compensation and benefits expense commensurate with expected growth in headcount and with the need to maintain competitive compensation levels as we expand geographically and create new products and services.
General and administrative expenses. General and administrative expenses include technology, travel, professional services, marketing and advertising, occupancy, depreciation and other costs associated with our operations. Our occupancy-related costs and professional services expenses, in particular, generally increase or decrease in relative proportion to the number of our employees and the overall size and scale of our business operations.
Key performance indicators
Our key operating metrics are discussed below:
Total Written Premium
Total Written Premium represents the total amount of current (non-cancelled) gross premium that is placed with Goosehead’s portfolio of Carriers for a reporting period. We believe that Total Written Premium is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it reflects growth of our business relative to other insurance agencies.
For the year ended December 31, 2025, we had $4.4 billion in Total Written Premium, representing a 17% increase, compared to $3.8 billion for the year ended December 31, 2024. The following table shows Total Written Premium by channel for the years ended 2025 and 2024 (in thousands).
| Year Ended December 31 | % Change | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | ||||||||||
| Corporate Sales Total Written Premium | $ | 793,735 | $ | 765,485 | 4 | % | |||||
| Franchise Sales Total Written Premium | 3,654,360 | 3,046,507 | 20 | % | |||||||
| Total Written Premium | $ | 4,448,095 | $ | 3,811,992 | 17 | % |
Policies in Force
Policies in Force means the total count of current (non-cancelled) policies placed with Goosehead’s portfolio of Carriers as of a reported date. We believe that Policies in Force is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it reflects growth of our business relative to other insurance agencies.
As of December 31, 2025, we had 1,900,000 Policies in Force compared to 1,674,000 as of December 31, 2024, representing a 14% increase.
NPS
Net Promoter Score (NPS) is calculated based on a single question: “How likely are you to refer Goosehead Insurance to a friend, family member or colleague?” Clients that respond with a 6 or below are Detractors, with a 7 or 8 are Passives, and with a 9 or 10 are Promoters. NPS is calculated by subtracting the percentage of Detractors from the percentage of Promoters. For example, if 50% of respondents were Promoters and 10% were Detractors, NPS is a 40. NPS is a useful gauge of the loyalty of client relationships and can be compared across companies and industries. NPS is calculated on a trailing twelve-month basis.
NPS has decreased to 77 as of December 31, 2025 from 89 at December 31, 2024.
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Client Retention
Client Retention is calculated by comparing the number of all clients that had at least one policy in force twelve months prior to the date of measurement and still have at least one policy in force at the date of measurement. We believe Client Retention is useful as a measure of how well Goosehead retains clients year-over-year and minimizes defections.
Client Retention increased to 85% at December 31, 2025 when compared to 84% at December 31, 2024, reflecting continued execution by our service teams in delivering highly differentiated service levels and moderating premium rate increases. Our retention rate is even stronger on a premium basis, driven from increases in premium taken by our Carriers and additional coverages sold by our sales agents. In 2025, we retained 90% of the premiums we distributed in 2024, a decrease from premium retention in 2024 of 98%.
New Business Revenue
New Business Revenue is commissions received from the Carrier, Agency Fees received from clients, and Royalty Fees relating to policies in their first term.
For the year ended December 31, 2025, New Business Revenue grew 15% to $68.5 million, from $59.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. Growth in New Business Revenue is primarily attributable to increases in the number of sales agents, growth in Franchise productivity, and rising premium rates.
Any diminished capacity of Carriers to place new business (including as a result of 2025 wildfires in Southern California, severe floods in Central Texas, or other natural disasters) could slow the growth of our New Business Revenue in the future.
Renewal Revenue
Renewal Revenue is commissions received from the Carrier and Royalty Fees from franchises after the first term of a policy.
For the year ended December 31, 2025, Renewal Revenue grew 17% to $249.4 million, from $213.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. Growth in Renewal Revenue was driven primarily by an increase in the number of policies in a renewal term assisted by Client Retention of 85% at December 31, 2025, and premium rate increases over the prior year. The increase during the year ended December 31, 2025 also reflects the release of the constraint on certain variable consideration related to policies placed and made effective in previous periods.
Increases in premium rates may continue to exert pressure on client retention and could slow the growth of our Renewal Revenue in the future.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Core Revenue, Cost Recovery Revenue, Ancillary Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, and Adjusted EPS are not measures of financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered substitutes for total revenue, net income, net income margin or earnings per share, which we consider to be the most directly comparable GAAP measure. We refer to these measures as "non-GAAP financial measures." We consider these non-GAAP financial measures to be useful metrics for management and investors to facilitate operating performance comparisons from period to period by excluding potential differences caused by variations in capital structures, tax position, depreciation, amortization and certain other items that we believe are not representative of our core business. Core Revenue, Cost Recovery Revenue, Ancillary Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, and Adjusted EPS have limitations as analytical tools, and when assessing our operating performance, you should not consider Core Revenue, Cost Recovery Revenue, Ancillary Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, or Adjusted EPS in isolation or as substitutes for net income, earnings per share or other consolidated income statement data prepared in accordance with GAAP. Other companies may calculate Core Revenue, Cost Recovery Revenue, Ancillary Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, and Adjusted EPS differently than we do, limiting their usefulness as comparative measures.
Core Revenue
Core Revenue is a supplemental measure of our performance and includes Renewal Commissions, Renewal Royalty Fees, New Business Commissions, New Business Royalty Fees, and Agency Fees. We believe that Core Revenue is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it summarizes all of our revenues from sales of individual insurance policies.
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Core Revenue increased by $44.2 million, or 16%, to $317.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 from $273.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The primary drivers of the increase from December 31, 2024 to December 31, 2025 are an increase in policies in their renewal term, assisted by Client Retention of 85% at December 31, 2025; the release of the constraint on certain variable consideration related to policies placed and made effective in previous periods; more new policies written driven by increases in the number of sales agents and growth in Franchise productivity; and rising premium rates.
Cost Recovery Revenue
Cost Recovery Revenue is a supplemental measure of our performance and includes Initial Franchise Fees and Interest Income. We believe that Cost Recovery Revenue is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it summarizes revenues that are viewed by management as cost recovery mechanisms.
Cost Recovery Revenue decreased by $1.3 million, or 17%, to $6.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 from $7.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The primary drivers of the decrease were a decrease in total franchises and fewer franchise terminations during the period, resulting in less acceleration of initial franchise fee revenue.
Ancillary Revenue
Ancillary Revenue is a supplemental measure of our performance and includes Contingent Commissions and Other Income. We believe that Ancillary Revenue is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it summarizes revenues that are ancillary to our core business.
Ancillary Revenue increased by $7.9 million, or 24%, to $41.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 from $33.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The primary drivers of the increase from December 31, 2024 to December 31, 2025 were an increase in Total Written Premium and receiving and qualifying for additional Contingent Commissions, assisted by improved loss ratios.
Contingent Commissions are inherently volatile as they are based on carrier underwriting profitability and may be impacted by catastrophic losses resulting from natural or man-made disasters.
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA is a supplemental measure of our performance. We believe that Adjusted EBITDA is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it eliminates the impact of items that do not relate to underlying business performance. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income (the most directly comparable GAAP measure) before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, adjusted to exclude equity-based compensation, impairment expense, and other non-operating items, including, among other things, certain non-cash charges and certain non-recurring or non-operating gains or losses.
Adjusted EBITDA increased by $13.7 million, or 14%, to $113.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, from $99.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, driven by a 16% increase in Core Revenue, a $7.0 million increase in high-margin Contingent Commissions, partially offset by growth of 19% in employee compensation and benefits excluding equity-based compensation and 15% in general and administrative expenses excluding impairment. Additionally, the increase for the year ended December 31, 2025 included $4.0 million of Renewal Revenues recognized due to the release of a constraint on certain variable consideration related to policies placed and made effective in previous periods.
Adjusted EBITDA Margin
Adjusted EBITDA Margin is Adjusted EBITDA as defined above, divided by total revenue excluding other non-operating items. Adjusted EBITDA Margin is helpful in measuring profitability of operations on a consolidated level.
For the year ended December 31, 2025, Adjusted EBITDA Margin was 31% compared to 32% for the year ended December 31, 2024. The Adjusted EBITDA margin decrease came as a result of employee compensation and benefits, excluding equity-based compensation, growing faster than total revenue.
Adjusted EPS
Adjusted EPS is a supplemental measure of our performance, defined as earnings per share (the most directly comparable GAAP measure) before non-recurring or non-operating income and expenses, adjusted to assume a single class of stock (Class A) and assuming noncontrolling interest does not exist. Adjusted EPS is a useful measure to management because it eliminates the impact of items that do not relate to business performance and helps compare companies that may not have a dual-share class structure.
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Adjusted EPS decreased by $0.13 to $1.86 for the year ended December 31, 2025, from $1.99 for the year ended December 31, 2024, driven by a decrease in basic EPS and equity-based compensation, partially offset by an increase in impairment and other gains and losses.
GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliations
The following table shows a reconciliation of total revenues to other non-GAAP measures of revenue for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023 (in thousands):
| Year ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||
| Total Revenues | $ | 365,304 | $ | 314,505 | $ | 261,276 | ||||
| Core Revenue: | ||||||||||
| Renewal Commissions(1) | $ | 78,621 | $ | 74,938 | $ | 70,730 | ||||
| Renewal Royalty Fees(2) | 170,767 | 138,942 | 107,524 | |||||||
| New Business Commissions(1) | 27,985 | 24,608 | 23,411 | |||||||
| New Business Royalty Fees(2) | 30,153 | 27,122 | 23,168 | |||||||
| Agency Fees(1) | 10,404 | 8,127 | 8,174 | |||||||
| Total Core Revenue | 317,930 | 273,737 | 233,007 | |||||||
| Cost Recovery Revenue: | ||||||||||
| Initial Franchise Fees(2) | 5,594 | 6,620 | 11,238 | |||||||
| Interest Income | 670 | 932 | 1,443 | |||||||
| Total Cost Recovery Revenue | 6,264 | 7,552 | 12,681 | |||||||
| Ancillary Revenue: | ||||||||||
| Contingent Commissions(1) | 38,376 | 31,385 | 13,746 | |||||||
| Other Income(2) | 2,734 | 1,831 | 1,843 | |||||||
| Total Ancillary Revenue | 41,110 | 33,216 | 15,588 | |||||||
| Total Revenues | $ | 365,304 | $ | 314,505 | $ | 261,276 |
(1) Renewal Commissions, New Business Commissions, Agency Fees, and Contingent Commissions are included in "Commissions and agency fees" as shown on the Consolidated statements of operations.
(2) Renewal Royalty Fees, New Business Royalty Fees, Initial Franchise Fees, and Other Income are included in "Franchise revenues" as shown on the Consolidated statements of operations.
The following table shows a reconciliation from net income to Adjusted EBITDA for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023 (in thousands):
| Year ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||
| Net income | $ | 44,451 | $ | 49,113 | $ | 23,696 | |||||
| Interest expense | 23,793 | 7,339 | 6,568 | ||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 11,270 | 10,453 | 9,244 | ||||||||
| Tax expense (benefit) | 6,397 | (2,413) | 2,692 | ||||||||
| Equity-based compensation | 23,375 | 27,971 | 23,989 | ||||||||
| Impairment and other gains and losses | 4,505 | 347 | 3,628 | ||||||||
| Other (income) expense | (192) | 7,101 | — | ||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 113,599 | $ | 99,911 | $ | 69,817 | |||||
| Net Income Margin(1) | 12 | % | 16 | % | 9 | % | |||||
| Adjusted EBITDA Margin(2) | 31 | % | 32 | % | 27 | % |
(1) Net Income Margin is calculated as Net Income divided by Total Revenue ($44,451 / $365,304), ($49,113 / $314,505), and ($23,696 / $261,276) for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively.
(2) Adjusted EBITDA Margin is calculated as Adjusted EBITDA divided by Total Revenue excluding other non-operating items ($113,599 / $365,304), ($99,911 / $314,505), and ($69,817 /$261,276) for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively.
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The following tables show a reconciliation from basic earnings per share to Adjusted EPS for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023. Note that totals may not sum due to rounding:
| Year ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||
| Earnings per share - basic (GAAP) | $ | 1.11 | $ | 1.23 | $ | 0.59 | |||||
| Add: equity-based compensation(1) | 0.63 | 0.75 | 0.64 | ||||||||
| Add: impairment and other gains and losses(2) | 0.12 | 0.01 | 0.10 | ||||||||
| Adjusted EPS (non-GAAP) | $ | 1.86 | $ | 1.99 | $ | 1.33 |
(1) Calculated as equity-based compensation divided by the sum of the weighted average number of shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock outstanding during the period 2025 - [$23.4 million / ( 25.0 million + 12.2 million )] 2024 - [ $28.0 million / ( 24.7 million + 12.7 million )] 2023 - [ $24.0 million / ( 23.9 million + 13.8 million )]
(2) Calculated as impairment and other gains and losses divided by the sum of the weighted average number of shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock [ $4.5 million / ( 25.0 million + 12.2 million )] for the year ended December 31, 2025, [ $0.3 million/ ( 24.7 million + 12.7 million )] for the year ended December 31, 2024, and [ $3.6 million/ ( 23.9 million + 13.8 million )] for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Consolidated results of operations
The following is a discussion of our consolidated results of operations for each of the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023. This information is derived from our accompanying consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. For further discussion regarding our consolidated results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, refer to "Part II, Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024.
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The following table summarizes our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023 (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Revenues: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Commissions and agency fees | $ | 155,386 | 43 | % | $ | 139,059 | 44 | % | $ | 116,061 | 44 | % | ||||||||
| Franchise revenues | 209,248 | 57 | % | 174,514 | 56 | % | 143,772 | 55 | % | |||||||||||
| Interest income | 670 | — | % | 932 | — | % | 1,443 | 1 | % | |||||||||||
| Total revenues | 365,304 | 100 | % | 314,505 | 100 | % | 261,276 | 100 | % | |||||||||||
| Operating Expenses: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Employee compensation and benefits | 196,364 | 67 | % | 172,942 | 68 | % | 152,604 | 67 | % | |||||||||||
| General and administrative expenses | 81,379 | 28 | % | 67,069 | 27 | % | 62,111 | 27 | % | |||||||||||
| Bad debts | 1,842 | 1 | % | 2,901 | 1 | % | 4,361 | 2 | % | |||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 11,270 | 4 | % | 10,453 | 4 | % | 9,244 | 4 | % | |||||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 290,855 | 100 | % | 253,365 | 100 | % | 228,320 | 100 | % | |||||||||||
| Income from operations | 74,449 | 61,140 | 32,956 | |||||||||||||||||
| Other Income: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (23,793) | (7,339) | (6,568) | |||||||||||||||||
| Other income (expense) | 192 | (7,101) | — | |||||||||||||||||
| Income before taxes | 50,848 | 46,700 | 26,388 | |||||||||||||||||
| Tax expense (benefit) | 6,397 | (2,413) | 2,692 | |||||||||||||||||
| Net Income | 44,451 | 49,113 | 23,696 | |||||||||||||||||
| Less: net income attributable to noncontrolling interests | 16,620 | 18,687 | 9,556 | |||||||||||||||||
| Net Income attributable to Goosehead Insurance, Inc. | $ | 27,831 | $ | 30,426 | $ | 14,140 |
Revenues
In 2025, revenue increased by 16% to $365.3 million from $314.5 million in 2024.
Commissions and agency fees
Commissions and agency fees consist of Core Revenue from New Business Commissions, Renewal Commissions, and Agency Fees, and Ancillary Revenue from Contingent Commissions generated from corporate sales.
The following table sets forth our commissions and agency fees by amount and as a percentage of our revenues for the periods indicated (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Core Revenue: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Renewal Commissions | $ | 78,621 | 50 | % | $ | 74,938 | 54 | % | $ | 70,730 | 61 | % | ||||||||
| New Business Commissions | 27,985 | 18 | % | 24,608 | 18 | % | 23,411 | 20 | % | |||||||||||
| Agency Fees | 10,404 | 7 | % | 8,127 | 6 | % | 8,174 | 7 | % | |||||||||||
| Total | 117,010 | 75 | % | 107,673 | 77 | % | 102,315 | 88 | % | |||||||||||
| Ancillary Revenue: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Contingent Commissions | 38,376 | 25 | % | 31,385 | 23 | % | 13,746 | 12 | % | |||||||||||
| Commissions and agency fees | $ | 155,386 | 100 | % | $ | 139,059 | 100 | % | $ | 116,061 | 100 | % |
Renewal Commissions increased by $3.7 million, or 5%, to $78.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 from $74.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. This increase is primarily attributable to the recognition of
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$3.0 million due to the release of the constraint on certain variable consideration related to policies placed and made effective in previous periods as well as an increase in the number of policies in the renewal term from December 31, 2024 to December 31, 2025, assisted by client retention of 85% and premium rate increases.
New Business Commissions increased by $3.4 million, or 14%, to $28.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 from $24.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. This increase in New Business Commissions was primarily attributable to an increase in total sales agent head count to 489 at December 31, 2025, from 417 at December 31, 2024, a 17% increase. Revenue from Agency Fees increased by $2.3 million, or 28%, to $10.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 from $8.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. This increase in Agency Fees was primarily attributable to increases in the average fee charged as well as an increase in the number of policies written where an agency fee was charged.
Revenue from Contingent Commissions increased by $7.0 million, or 22%, to $38.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, from $31.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase is primarily attributable to growth in Total Written Premium as well as receiving and qualifying for additional Contingent Commissions.
Franchise Revenues
Franchise Revenues consist of Core Revenues from Royalty Fees, Cost Recovery Revenues from Initial Franchise Fees, and Ancillary Revenues from Other Franchise Revenues.
The following table sets forth our franchise revenues by amount and as a percentage of our revenues for the periods indicated (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Core Revenues: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Renewal Royalty Fees | $ | 170,767 | 82 | % | $ | 138,942 | 80 | % | $ | 107,524 | 75 | % | ||||||||
| New Business Royalty Fees | 30,153 | 14 | % | 27,122 | 16 | % | 23,168 | 16 | % | |||||||||||
| Total | 200,920 | 96 | % | 166,064 | 96 | % | 130,692 | 91 | % | |||||||||||
| Cost Recovery Revenues: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Initial Franchise Fees | 5,594 | 3 | % | 6,620 | 4 | % | 11,238 | 8 | % | |||||||||||
| Ancillary Revenues: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other Franchise Revenues | 2,734 | 1 | % | 1,831 | 1 | % | 1,843 | 1 | % | |||||||||||
| Franchise revenues | $ | 209,248 | 100 | % | $ | 174,514 | 100 | % | $ | 143,772 | 100 | % |
Revenue from Renewal Royalty Fees increased by $31.8 million, or 23%, to $170.8 million, for the year ended December 31, 2025 from $138.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase in revenue from Renewal Royalty Fees was primarily attributable to an increase in the number of policies in the renewal term from December 31, 2024 to December 31, 2025, assisted by client retention of 85% and premium rate increases. The increase was also impacted by the recognition of $1.0 million due to the release of the constraint on certain variable consideration related to policies placed and made effective in previous periods.
Revenue from New Business Royalty Fees increased by $3.0 million, or 11%, to $30.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 from $27.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase in revenue from New Business Royalty Fees was driven primarily by an increase in the number of franchise agents, an increase in Franchise productivity, and rising premium rates.
Initial Franchise Fee revenue decreased by $1.0 million, or 15%, to $5.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 from $6.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The primary drivers of the decrease in Initial Franchise Fees were a decrease in total franchises and lower turnover of franchises during the period, which avoids accelerated recognition of Initial Franchise Fees for terminated franchises.
Interest Income
Interest Income decreased to $0.7 million for 2025 compared to $0.9 million for 2024, driven by fewer franchises on a payment plan in the current period.
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Expenses
Employee compensation and benefits
Employee compensation and benefits expenses increased by $23.4 million, or 14%, to $196.4 million for 2025 from $172.9 million for 2024. The increase was primarily related to investments in corporate producers and our service and technology functions, partially offset by a decrease in equity-based compensation.
General and administrative expenses
General and administrative expenses increased by $14.3 million, or 21%, to $81.4 million for 2025 from $67.1 million for 2024. This increase was primarily attributable to increases in spend on technology and professional services as well as an increase of $4.3 million in asset impairment charges.
Bad debts
Bad debts decreased by $1.1 million, or 36%, to $1.8 million for 2025 from $2.9 million for 2024. This decrease was primarily attributable to lower franchise turnover and an increase in average cash collections relative to revenue recognized for terminated franchises on the payment plan.
Depreciation and amortization
Depreciation and amortization increased by $0.8 million, or 8%, to $11.3 million for 2025 from $10.5 million for 2024. This increase was primarily attributable to the increase in investments in software development during 2025.
Interest expense
Interest expense increased by $16.5 million, or 224%, to $23.8 million for 2025 from $7.3 million for 2024. This increase is attributable to an increase in total borrowings outstanding.
Other income (expense)
Other income (expense) consists of interest earned on cash deposits, loss on debt extinguishment, debt modification expense, and operating remeasurements of our tax receivable agreement liability. Other income (expense) increased by $7.3 million to $0.2 million for 2025, primarily due to remeasurements of our tax receivable agreement liability during 2024 due to increases in our effective tax rate as we identified additional state filing requirements.
Tax expense (benefit)
Tax expense (benefit) increased by $8.8 million, or 365%, to $6.4 million expense for 2025 from $2.4 million benefit for 2024. This increase is primarily attributable to the increase in income before taxes during 2025 and the benefit in 2024 attributable to the remeasurement of our deferred tax assets due to increases in our effective tax rate as we identified additional state filing requirements.
Liquidity and capital resources
Historical liquidity and capital resources
We have managed our historical liquidity and capital requirements primarily through the receipt of revenues from our corporate and franchise sales. Our primary cash flow activities involve: (1) generating cash flow from Commissions and Fees, which largely includes New Business Commissions, Renewal Commissions and Agency Fees; (2) generating cash flow from Franchise Revenue operations, which largely includes Royalty Fees and Initial Franchise Fees; (3) borrowings, interest payments and repayments under our credit agreement; and (4) issuing shares of Class A common stock. As of December 31, 2025, our unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, and restricted cash was $37.9 million. We have used cash flow from operations primarily to pay compensation and related expenses; general, administrative and other expenses; investments in strategic technologies; debt service; special dividends, share repurchases, and distributions to our owners.
Credit agreement
See "Note 9. Debt" in the consolidated financial statements included herein for a discussion of the Company's credit facilities.
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Comparative cash flows
The following table summarizes our cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities for the periods indicated:
| Year Ended December 31 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 91,757 | $ | 71,544 | $ | 50,833 | ||||
| Net cash used for investing activities | (23,543) | (12,419) | (19,182) | |||||||
| Net cash used for financing activities | (88,250) | (45,199) | (17,991) | |||||||
| Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | (20,036) | 13,926 | 13,660 | |||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents, and restricted cash, beginning of period | 57,973 | 44,047 | 30,387 | |||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents, and restricted cash, end of period | $ | 37,937 | $ | 57,973 | $ | 44,047 |
Operating activities
Net cash provided by operating activities was $91.8 million for 2025 as compared to net cash provided by operating activities of $71.5 million for 2024. The increase in net cash provided by operating activities was primarily attributable to an increase in revenues of $50.8 million, including improved cash collections on commissions and agency fees. This increase was partially offset by a $37.5 million increase in operating expenses, which included noncash impairment expense of $4.7 million. Operating activities also reflected a $9.6 million operating increase in our deferred tax assets.
Investing activities
Net cash used for business investment activities was $23.5 million for 2025 as compared to net cash used for business investment activities of $12.4 million for 2024. This increase in net cash used in business investment activities was primarily attributable to a $4.9 million increase in purchases of books of business and a $4.7 million increase in cash purchases of property and equipment.
Financing activities
Net cash used for financing activities was $88.3 million for 2025 as compared to net cash used for financing activities of $45.2 million for 2024. This increase in net cash used for financing activities was primarily driven by issuance of a $300.0 million term loan, which was used to repay our previous term loan of $93.1 million and fund a special distribution and dividend of $205.0 million. We also made share repurchases during the year of $81.7 million.
Future sources and uses of liquidity
Our sources of liquidity are (1) cash on hand, (2) net working capital, (3) cash flows from operations and (4) our Revolving Credit Facility or other sources of debt financing. Based on our current expectations, we believe that these sources of liquidity will be sufficient to fund our working capital requirements and to meet our commitments in the foreseeable future.
Our primary liquidity needs comprise cash to (1) provide capital to facilitate the organic growth of our business, (2) pay operating expenses, including cash compensation to our employees, (3) make payments under the tax receivable agreement, (4) pay interest and principal due on borrowings under our Credit Agreement (5) pay income taxes, (6) repurchase shares under our Share Repurchase Program, and (7) pay dividends when deemed advisable by our board of directors.
Dividend policy
Assuming Goosehead Financial, LLC makes distributions to its members in any given year, the determination to pay dividends, if any, to our Class A common stockholders out of the portion, if any, of such distributions remaining after our payment of taxes and tax receivable agreement payments (any such portion, an “excess distribution”) will be made at the sole discretion of our board of directors. Our board of directors may change our dividend policy at any
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time. See “Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities — Dividend policy".
Share Repurchase Program
On April 24, 2024, our board of directors approved a share repurchase program with authorization to purchase up to $100 million of our Class A common stock, which expired on March 31, 2025. On April 23, 2025, our board of directors approved a new share repurchase program with authorization to purchase up to $100 million of our Class A common stock through May 1, 2026. On February 17, 2026, our board of directors extended our share repurchase program, increasing the authorization by $180.0 million and extending the program through May 1, 2027. See "Note 11. Stockholders' Equity" in the consolidated financial statements included herein for a discussion of the repurchase programs.
Tax receivable agreement
We entered into the tax receivable agreement with the Pre-IPO LLC Members on May 1, 2018 that provides for the payment by us to the Pre-IPO LLC Members of 85% of the amount of cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax or franchise tax that we actually realize as a result of (i) any increase in tax basis in Goosehead Insurance, Inc.’s assets and (ii) tax benefits related to imputed interest deemed arising as a result of payments made under the tax receivable agreement. See "Item 13. Certain relationships and related transactions, and director independence".
Holders of Goosehead Financial, LLC Units (other than Goosehead Insurance, Inc.) may, subject to certain conditions and transfer restrictions described above, redeem or exchange their LLC Units for shares of Class A common stock of Goosehead Insurance, Inc. on a one-for-one basis. Goosehead Financial, LLC has made an election under Section 754 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the regulations thereunder (the “Code”) effective for each taxable year in which a redemption or exchange of LLC Units for shares of Class A common stock occurs, which has resulted and is expected to result in increases to the tax basis of the assets of Goosehead Financial, LLC at the time of a redemption or exchange of LLC Units. Prior redemptions and exchanges have resulted, and we expect future redemptions and exchanges will result in increases in the tax basis of the tangible and intangible assets of Goosehead Financial, LLC. These increases in tax basis have reduced the amount of tax we are required to pay, and may reduce the amount of tax that Goosehead Insurance, Inc. would otherwise be required to pay in the future. We have entered into a tax receivable agreement with the Pre-IPO LLC Members that provides for the payment by us to the Pre-IPO LLC Members of 85% of the amount of cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax or franchise tax that we actually realize as a result of (i) any increase in tax basis in Goosehead Insurance, Inc.’s assets resulting from (a) the purchase of LLC Units from any of the Pre-IPO LLC Members using the net proceeds from any future offering, (b) redemptions or exchanges by the Pre-IPO LLC Members of LLC Units for shares of our Class A common stock or (c) payments under the tax receivable agreement and (ii) tax benefits related to imputed interest deemed arising as a result of payments made under the tax receivable agreement. This payment obligation is an obligation of Goosehead Insurance, Inc. and not of Goosehead Financial, LLC. For purposes of the tax receivable agreement, the cash tax savings in income tax will be computed by comparing the actual income tax liability of Goosehead Insurance, Inc. (calculated with certain assumptions) to the amount of such taxes that Goosehead Insurance, Inc. would have been required to pay had there been no increase to the tax basis of the assets of Goosehead Financial, LLC as a result of the redemptions or exchanges and had Goosehead Insurance, Inc. not entered into the tax receivable agreement. Estimating the amount of payments that may be made under the tax receivable agreement is by its nature imprecise, insofar as the calculation of amounts payable depends on a variety of factors. While the actual increase in tax basis from future purchases, redemptions or exchanges, as well as the amount and timing of any payments under the tax receivable agreement, will vary depending upon a number of factors, including the timing of redemptions or exchanges, the price of shares of our Class A common stock at the time of the redemption or exchange, the extent to which such redemptions or exchanges are taxable and the amount and timing of our income. See "Item 13. Certain relationships and related transactions, and director independence". We historically accounted, and anticipate that we will continue to account for the effects of these increases in tax basis and associated payments under the tax receivable agreement arising from redemptions or exchanges as follows:
•we will record an increase in deferred tax assets for the estimated income tax effects of the increases in tax basis based on enacted federal and state tax rates at the date of the redemption or exchange;
•to the extent we estimate that we will not realize the full benefit represented by the deferred tax asset, based on an analysis that will consider, among other things, our expectation of future earnings, we will reduce the deferred tax asset with a valuation allowance; and
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•we will record 85% of the estimated realizable tax benefit (which is the recorded deferred tax asset less any recorded valuation allowance) as an increase to the liability due under the tax receivable agreement and the remaining 15% of the estimated realizable tax benefit as an increase to additional paid-in capital.
All of the effects of changes in any of our estimates after the date of the redemption or exchange will be included in net income. Similarly, the effect of subsequent changes in the enacted tax rates will be included in net income.
Contractual obligations, commitments and contingencies
The following table represents our contractual obligations as of December 31, 2025, aggregated by type.
| Contractual obligations, commitments and contingencies | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands) | Total | Less than 1 year | 1-3 years | 3-5 years | More than 5 years | |||||||||||||
| Operating leases(1) | $ | 70,861 | $ | 11,483 | $ | 25,431 | $ | 19,533 | $ | 14,414 | ||||||||
| Debt obligations payable(2) | 298,502 | 2,993 | 5,986 | 5,986 | 283,537 | |||||||||||||
| Interest expense(3) | 119,514 | 20,352 | 40,144 | 39,270 | 19,748 | |||||||||||||
| Liabilities under tax receivable agreement(4) | 171,922 | 6,237 | 21,058 | 41,135 | 103,492 | |||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 660,799 | $ | 41,065 | $ | 92,619 | $ | 105,924 | $ | 421,191 |
(1)The Company leases its facilities under non-cancelable operating leases. In addition to monthly lease payments, the lease agreements require the Company to reimburse the lessors for its portion of operating costs each year. Rent expense was $6.8 million, $7.5 million, and $7.8 million for years ending December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023.
(2)The Company entered into a new credit agreement on January 8, 2025 for a $300 million term loan and a $75 million revolving credit facility, of which nothing was drawn as of December 31, 2025. See "Note 9. Debt" under Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K.
(3)Interest payments on our outstanding debt obligations under our Credit Agreement. Our debt obligations have variable interest rates. We have calculated future interest obligations based on the interest rate for our debt obligations as of December 31, 2025.
(4)See "Item 7. Management's discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operation - Tax receivable agreement."
Critical accounting policies and estimates
We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP. In applying many of these accounting principles, we need to make assumptions, estimates or judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses in our consolidated financial statements. We base our estimates and judgments on historical experience and other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances. These assumptions, estimates or judgments, however, are both subjective and subject to change, and actual results may differ from our assumptions and estimates. If actual amounts are ultimately different from our estimates, the revisions are included in our results of operations for the period in which the actual amounts become known. We believe the following critical accounting policies could potentially produce materially different results if we were to change underlying assumptions, estimates or judgments. See “Item 8. Financial statements and supplementary data - Summary of significant accounting policies” for a summary of our significant accounting policies, and discussion of recent accounting pronouncements.
Revenue recognition
Goosehead provides personal and commercial property and casualty insurance brokerage services for its clients through a network of corporate-owned offices and franchise units. Goosehead is compensated for the insurance brokerage services that it provides for clients in the form of commission revenue, agency fees, royalty fees, and contingent commissions.
The transaction price for commissions revenue and royalty fees is set as an estimate of the variable consideration to be received for the current policy term. This estimate includes the fixed consideration due based on the contractual terms of the current policy and adjustments for estimates of modifications of the contractual terms of the current policy and/or termination of the policy before the end of the current term. This variable consideration is constrained to the extent that it is probable there will not be a significant reversal of revenue. The Company adjusts its estimate of revenue recognized for commissions and royalty fees based on cash collections during the term of the policy. Commissions revenue is earned at a point in time on the effective date of the policy. Royalty fees are earned over time as the underlying policies are placed.
The transaction price for contingent commissions is estimated based on all available information and constrained such that it is probable there will not be a significant reversal of revenue. Contingent commissions revenue is
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recognized over time as the Company completes its performance obligations as the underlying policies are placed and other contractual obligations are met.
Certain costs to obtain or fulfill a contract are capitalized. The Company capitalizes the incremental costs to obtain franchise contracts. These deferred costs are amortized over the expected life of the underlying franchise fee and are included in Other assets in the Company's consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2025.
Liabilities under tax receivable agreement
In connection with the Offering, we entered into a tax receivable agreement with the Pre-IPO LLC Members that provides for the payment by us to the Pre-IPO LLC Members of 85% of the amount of cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax or franchise tax that we actually realize as a result of (i) any increase in tax basis in Goosehead Financial, LLC’s assets resulting from (a) the acquisition of LLC Units using the net proceeds from any future offering, (b) redemptions or exchanges by the Pre-IPO LLC Members of LLC Units and the corresponding number of shares of Class B common stock for shares of our Class A common stock or (c) payments under the tax receivable agreement, and (ii) tax benefits related to imputed interest deemed arising as a result of payments made under the tax receivable agreement.
The actual increase in tax basis from future redemptions and exchanges, as well as the amount and timing of any payments under the tax receivable agreement, will vary depending on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the timing of any future redemptions, exchanges or purchases of the LLC Units held by Pre-IPO LLC Members, the price of our Class A common stock at the time of the purchase, redemption or exchange, the extent to which redemptions or exchanges are taxable, the amount and timing of the taxable income that we generate in the future, the tax rates then applicable and the portion of our payments under the tax receivable agreement constituting imputed interest.
As of December 31, 2025, as a result of the prior redemptions of LLC Units, we recognized liabilities totaling $171.9 million relating to our obligations under the tax receivable agreement.
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MD&A history
Prior-year 10-K MD&A spans are extracted from SEC filings with the same bounded parser used for the latest filing. The latest 10-K appears above; prior years are below.
FY 2024 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001726978-25-000016.
Item 7. Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations
Overview
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes and other financial information included elsewhere in this Annual Report. In addition to historical financial information, the following discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. Our actual results and timing of selected events may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those discussed under “Risk factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report.
This discussion includes references to non-GAAP financial measures as defined in the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("the SEC"). We present such non-GAAP financial measures, specifically, Core Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS non-GAAP financial measures, as we believe such information is of interest to the investment community because it provides additional meaningful methods of evaluating certain aspects of the Company’s operating performance from period to period on a basis that may not be otherwise apparent under U.S. GAAP, and these provide a measure against which our businesses may be assessed in the future.
Our methods of calculating these measures may differ from those used by other companies and therefore comparability may be limited. These financial measures should be viewed in addition to, not in lieu of, the consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024. See "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below for further discussion of our Core Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS non-GAAP financial measures
We are a rapidly growing personal lines independent insurance agency, reinventing the traditional approach to distributing personal lines products and services throughout the United States. We were founded with one vision in mind—to provide clients with superior insurance coverage at the best available price and in a timely manner. By leveraging our differentiated business model and innovative technology platform, we are able to deliver a superior insurance experience to our clients.
The following discussion contains references to the years ended December 31, 2024, December 31, 2023, and December 31, 2022. See Goosehead’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 for a discussion of the changes from year ended December 31, 2022 to the year ended December 31, 2023.
Financial Highlights for 2024:
•Total revenue increased 20% from 2023 to $314.5 million; Core Revenues*, a non-GAAP measure, of $273.7 million increased 17% over 2023
•Total Written Premiums Placed increased 29% from 2023 to $3.8 billion
•Net income increased by $25.4 million from 2023 to $49.1 million, or 16% of total revenues
•Adjusted EBITDA*, a non-GAAP measure, increased by 43% from 2023 to $99.9 million, or 32% of total revenues
•Basic earnings per share was $1.23 and Adjusted EPS*, a non-GAAP measure, was $1.99 for the year ended December 31, 2024.
•Policies in Force increased 13% from December 31, 2023 to 1,674,000 at December 31, 2024.
•Corporate sales headcount increased 39% from December 31, 2023 to 417 at December 31, 2024.
◦As of December 31, 2024, 253 of these corporate sales agents had less than one year of tenure and 164 had greater than one year of tenure.
•Operating franchises decreased 10% from December 31, 2023 to 1,103 at December 31, 2024.
◦As of December 31, 2024, 90 operating franchises had less than one year of tenure and 1,013 operating franchisees had greater than one year of tenure.
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*Core Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS are non-GAAP measures. Reconciliation of Total Core Revenue to Total Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA to net income and Adjusted EPS to EPS, the most directly comparable financial measures presented in accordance with GAAP, are set forth in "Key performance indicators" below.
Factors affecting our results of operations
We believe that the most significant factors affecting our results of operations include:
•Investment in growth. We continue to invest in expanding our national footprint, increasing our revenue-producing headcount, and increasing the level of support provided to our salespeople. Our ability to attract and retain top corporate sales agents and franchise owners, ramp up new agent productivity, and retain existing and future Policies in Force are key to continued profitable growth.
•Investment in technology. We continue to develop and invest in our technology platform to drive scalability, adaptability, and efficiency. We believe our significant investment in proprietary technology is a key competitive advantage that supports, and will continue to support, our growth and operating margins.
•Continued penetration of Franchisees into existing markets. We will continue to market actively for new franchises in our established markets, which represent over 98% of the U.S. population. We are now licensed with the necessary state departments of commerce and insurance and registered as a franchisor in all 50 states in the U.S.
•Continued retention of existing Book of Business. We have navigated macroeconomic challenges to maintain high levels of Client Retention. Client Retention is key to future profitability.
•Increase in margins as business shifts from new to renewal. Because we are entitled to a higher percentage of Royalty Fees after the first term of a policy and the higher level of back-office support needed during the first term of an insurance policy, the Company begins to see higher levels of profitability on Renewal Revenue. We will focus simultaneously on converting New Business Revenue to Renewal Revenue through our retention efforts, and on continuing to grow New Business Revenue that will convert and allow us to expand our margins in future periods.
•Strength of the insurance market or particular lines of business. We generate the majority of our revenues through commissions, which are calculated as a percentage of the total insurance policy premium. A softening of the insurance market or the particular lines of business that are our focus, characterized by a period of declining premium rates, could negatively impact our profitability.
•Seasonality and cyclicality of housing market conditions. The majority of our new accounts are sourced by referral sources tied to home closing transactions. Major slowdowns in the various housing markets Goosehead serves, including as a result of changes in prevailing interest rates or U.S. monetary policies that affect interest rates, could impact our ability to generate new business. We experience seasonality and revenue related to the sale of insurance policies throughout the course of a calendar year that is tied to the seasonality of new home sales. Revenue from home insurance leads is higher from April to August and lower from October through January. While this can impact month-to-month or quarter-to-quarter results, we expect productivity to normalize year-over-year.
•Increases in interest rates. Our variable rate debt, including our Credit Agreement, exposes us to interest rate risk. If interest rates were to increase, our debt service obligations on our variable rate indebtedness would increase even if the amount borrowed remained the same. To the extent that interest rate risk materializes and is not fully mitigated, the resulting increase in interest expense could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
•Effect of natural or man-made disasters. Any increases in loss ratios due to natural or man-made disasters could impact our Contingent Commissions, which are primarily driven by both growth and loss ratio metrics.
•Cost of being a public company. To operate as a public company, we are required to continue to implement changes in certain aspects of our business and develop, manage, and train management-level and other employees to comply with on-going public company requirements. We also incur expenses as a public company, including public reporting obligations, proxy statements, stockholder meetings, stock exchange fees and transfer agent fees.
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Effects of the reorganization on our corporate structure
Goosehead Insurance, Inc. was formed for the purpose of the Offering and has engaged to date only in activities related to Goosehead Financial, LLC. Goosehead Insurance, Inc. is a holding company and its sole material asset is a controlling ownership and profits interest in Goosehead Financial, LLC. All of our business is conducted through Goosehead Financial, LLC and its consolidated subsidiaries, and the financial results of Goosehead Financial, LLC and its consolidated subsidiaries are included in the consolidated financial statements of Goosehead Insurance, Inc. Goosehead Financial, LLC is currently taxed as a partnership for federal income tax purposes and, as a result, its members, including Goosehead Insurance, Inc., pay taxes with respect to their allocable shares of its net taxable income.
Prior redemptions and exchanges of LLC Units have resulted, and we expect future redemptions and exchanges will result in increases in the tax basis in our share of the tangible and intangible assets of Goosehead Financial, LLC that otherwise would not have been available. These increases in tax basis have reduced the amount of tax we are required to pay, and may reduce the amount of tax that we would otherwise be required to pay in the future. The tax receivable agreement requires Goosehead Insurance, Inc. to pay 85% of the amount of cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax or franchise tax that we actually realize to the Pre-IPO LLC Members. Furthermore, payments under the tax receivable agreement give rise to additional tax benefits and therefore additional payments under the tax receivable agreement itself. See "Item 13. Certain relationships and related transactions, and director independence".
Certain income statement line items
Revenues
In 2024, revenue increased by 20% to $314.5 million from $261.3 million in 2023. Total Written Premium growth, which is the best indicator of future revenue growth, increased 29% to $3.8 billion in 2024 from $3.0 billion in 2023. Total Written Premiums Placed drive our current and future Core Revenue and give us potential opportunities to earn Ancillary Revenue in the form of Contingent Commissions. Our various revenue streams do not equally contribute to the long-term value of Goosehead. For instance, Renewal Revenue and Renewal Royalty Fees are more predictable and have higher margin profiles, thus are higher quality revenue streams for the Company. Alternatively, Contingent Commissions, while high margin, are unpredictable and dependent on insurance company underwriting and forces of nature and thus are lower quality revenue for the Company. Our revenue streams can be viewed in three distinct categories: Core Revenue, Cost Recovery Revenue, and Ancillary Revenue, which are non-GAAP measures. A reconciliation of Core Revenue, Cost Recovery Revenue, and Ancillary Revenue to total revenue, the most directly comparable financial measures presented in accordance with GAAP, are set forth in the "Key performance indicators" section of Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations of this Form 10-K.
Core Revenue:
•Renewal Commissions - highly predictable, higher-margin revenue stream, which is managed by our service team.
•Renewal Royalty Fees - highly predictable, higher-margin revenue stream, which is managed by our service team. For policies in their first renewal term, we see an increase in our share of royalties from 20% to 50% on the commission paid by the Carriers.
•New Business Commissions - predictable based on agent headcount and consistent ramp-up of agents, but lower margin than Renewal Commissions because of higher commissions paid to agents and higher back-office costs associated with policies in their first term. This revenue stream has predictably converted into higher-margin Renewal Commissions historically, and we expect this to continue moving forward.
•New Business Royalty Fees - predictable based on franchise count and consistent ramp-up of franchises, but lower margin than Renewal Royalty Fees because the Company only receives a royalty fee of 20% on the commissions paid by the Carrier in the first term of every policy and higher back-office costs associated with policies in their first term. This revenue stream has predictably converted into higher-margin Renewal Royalty Fees historically, and we expect this to continue moving forward.
•Agency Fees - although predictable based on agent count, Agency Fees do not renew like New Business Commissions and Renewal Commissions.
Cost Recovery Revenue:
•Initial Franchise Fees - Cost Recovery Revenue stream charged one time per franchise unit that covers the Company's costs to recruit, train, onboard, and support the franchise for the first year. These fees are fully
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earned and non-refundable when a franchise attends our initial training and are recognized in revenue over the life of the franchise agreement.
•Interest Income - like Initial Franchise Fees, interest income is a Cost Recovery Revenue stream that reimburses the Company for those franchises on a payment plan. Interest income is recognized over the term of the franchise fee payment plan.
Ancillary Revenue:
•Contingent Commissions - although high margin, Contingent Commissions are unpredictable and susceptible to weather events and Carrier underwriting results. Management does not rely on Contingent Commissions for operating cash flow or budget planning.
•Other Income - book transfer fees, marketing investments from Carriers and other items that are unpredictable and supplemental to other revenue streams.
We discuss below the breakdown of our revenue by stream:
| Years ended December 31, | 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands) | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | % Growth | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Core Revenue: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Renewal Commissions(1) | $ | 74,938 | 24 | % | $ | 70,730 | 27 | % | $ | 57,543 | 27 | % | 6 | % | ||||||||||
| Renewal Royalty Fees(2) | 138,942 | 44 | % | 107,524 | 41 | % | 77,346 | 37 | % | 29 | % | |||||||||||||
| New Business Commissions(1) | 24,608 | 8 | % | 23,411 | 9 | % | 24,126 | 12 | % | 5 | % | |||||||||||||
| New Business Royalty Fees(2) | 27,122 | 9 | % | 23,168 | 9 | % | 18,244 | 9 | % | 17 | % | |||||||||||||
| Agency Fees(1) | 8,127 | 3 | % | 8,174 | 3 | % | 10,912 | 4 | % | (1) | % | |||||||||||||
| Total Core Revenue | 273,737 | 87 | % | 233,007 | 89 | % | 188,171 | 89 | % | 17 | % | |||||||||||||
| Cost Recovery Revenue: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Initial Franchise Fees(2) | 6,620 | 2 | % | 11,238 | 4 | % | 10,853 | 5 | % | (41) | % | |||||||||||||
| Interest Income | 932 | — | % | 1,443 | 1 | % | 1,403 | 1 | % | (35) | % | |||||||||||||
| Total Cost Recovery Revenue | 7,552 | 2 | % | 12,681 | 5 | % | 12,256 | 6 | % | (40) | % | |||||||||||||
| Ancillary Revenue: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Contingent Commissions(1) | 31,385 | 10 | % | 13,746 | 5 | % | 7,684 | 4 | % | 128 | % | |||||||||||||
| Other Income(2) | 1,831 | 1 | % | 1,843 | 1 | % | 1,279 | 1 | % | (1) | % | |||||||||||||
| Total Ancillary Revenue | 33,216 | 11 | % | 15,588 | 6 | % | 8,963 | 5 | % | 113 | % | |||||||||||||
| Total Revenues | $ | 314,505 | 100 | % | $ | 261,276 | 100 | % | $ | 209,390 | 100 | % | 20 | % |
(1) Renewal Commissions, New Business Commissions, Agency Fees, and Contingent Commissions are included in "Commissions and agency fees" as shown on the Consolidated statements of operations.
(2) Renewal Royalty Fees, New Business Royalty Fees, Initial Franchise Fees, and Other Income are included in "Franchise revenues" as shown on the Consolidated statements of operations.
Core Revenue:
The Company's primary source of revenue is through the placement of insurance policies. We are paid a percentage of the premium from the Carriers in the form of New Business Commissions and, in states which allow it, we charge Agency Fees for the placement of the policy. For policies placed through franchise sales, we receive 20% of the commissions and fees received as New Business Royalties during the first term of the policy. All clients are serviced by our world-class service centers, allowing for predictable retention of our Book of Business, which has historically been 84%. All commissions received in corporate sales after the first term of the policy are recognized as Renewal Commissions, which are higher margin due to lower commissions and servicing costs. For all policies that renew related to franchise sales, we receive as Renewal Royalty Fees 50% of the commissions received from the Carrier, creating a mechanical increase in revenue of 150% in the first renewal term. Renewal Royalty Fees are higher margin compared to New Business Royalty Fees due to lower servicing costs on higher revenue. Because of the lower royalty fees on New Business Commissions as compared to Renewal Commissions, and because we are placing an increasing percentage of Total Written Premium in franchise sales, Core Revenue growth will lag that of Total Written Premium.
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Cost Recovery Revenue:
The Company charges every franchise an Initial Franchise Fee, which, on a cash flow basis, covers our costs to recruit, train, onboard, and support the franchise for the first year. The Initial Franchise Fee is determined by the state of the Franchise location and the payment terms. The Company recognizes revenue over the 10-year life of the contract. If the franchise elects the payment plan, the difference between the pay-in-full and the payment plan amounts is recognized as Interest Income using the interest rate method over the 5-year term of the payment plan.
Ancillary Revenue:
With certain Carriers, the Company has the opportunity to earn additional revenue in the form of Contingent Commissions, typically based on the volume, growth, and loss ratio of the business placed with the select Carriers. The Contingent Commissions are extremely difficult to predict in any given period and can vary greatly from year to year. Although the Company can control the amount of business placed with the Carriers, loss ratios depend on many factors that are outside of our control, such as weather events and Carrier underwriting accuracy. The Company estimates the amount to be received during the period over which the Contingent Commissions are earned.
Below is a summary showing the historical Contingent Commissions as a percentage of Total Written Premiums Placed for the period in which the Contingent Commissions were earned (in thousands).
| Total Written Premium | Contingent Commission Revenue | % of Premium | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $ | 2,217,023 | $ | 7,684 | 0.35 | % | ||||
| 2023 | 2,963,984 | 13,746 | 0.46 | % | ||||||
| 2024 | 3,811,992 | 31,385 | 0.82 | % | ||||||
| 3-year average | 0.54 | % |
Contingent Commissions can vary significantly from year-to-year and should be viewed over several years. Since 2022, revenue from Contingent Commissions have historically represented approximately 0.54% of Total Written Premium at year-end. Most of our Contingent Commissions are earned in the year prior to when they are received. For the year ended December 31, 2022, $7.7 million of Contingent Commissions were earned (below our historical average as a percentage of premium), of which $7.4 million was still receivable at December 31, 2022. For the year ended December 31, 2023, $13.7 million of Contingent Commissions were earned (below our historical average as a percentage of premium), of which $6.9 million was still receivable at December 31, 2023. For the year ended December 31, 2024, $31.4 million of Contingent Commissions were earned (above our historical average as a percentage of premium), of which $25.5 million was still receivable at December 31, 2024.
Premium by line of business
We are a distributor of insurance policies in a range of primarily personal lines of business including homeowner’s insurance; automotive insurance; dwelling property insurance; flood, wind and earthquake insurance; excess liability or umbrella insurance; specialty lines insurance (motorcycle, recreational vehicle, and other insurance); commercial lines insurance (general liability, property and auto insurance for small businesses) and life insurance. The following table sets forth our Total Written Premium placed by line of business by amount and as a percentage of our Total Written Premium for the periods indicated (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||||||
| Line of business | |||||||||||||||||
| Homeowner | $ | 2,338,616 | 61 | % | $ | 1,729,138 | 58 | % | $ | 1,268,217 | 57 | % | |||||
| Automotive | 1,367,578 | 36 | % | 1,149,737 | 39 | % | 874,505 | 40 | % | ||||||||
| Commercial | 72,804 | 2 | % | 57,207 | 2 | % | 49,582 | 2 | % | ||||||||
| Other | 32,994 | 1 | % | 27,903 | 1 | % | 24,719 | 1 | % | ||||||||
| Total Written Premium | $ | 3,811,992 | 100 | % | $ | 2,963,985 | 100 | % | $ | 2,217,023 | 100 | % |
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Expenses
Due to our organic-focused growth strategy, virtually all of our investments in future growth are in people and technology. The majority of our investments are not capitalizable and are recognized immediately on our statement of operations, while investments in software are capitalized as intangible assets and recognized as expense over the useful life of the software.
Employee compensation and benefits. Employee compensation and benefits is our largest expense and consists of (a) base compensation comprising salary, bonuses and benefits paid and payable to employees, and (b) stock option awards for our senior employees. We expect to continue to experience a general rise in compensation and benefits expense commensurate with expected growth in headcount and with the need to maintain competitive compensation levels as we expand geographically and create new products and services.
General and administrative expenses. General and administrative expenses include technology, travel, accounting, legal and other professional fees, placement fees, office expenses, depreciation and other costs associated with our operations. Our occupancy-related costs and professional services expenses, in particular, generally increase or decrease in relative proportion to the number of our employees and the overall size and scale of our business operations.
Key performance indicators
Our key operating metrics are discussed below:
Total Written Premium
Total Written Premium represents the total amount of current (non-cancelled) gross premium that is placed with Goosehead’s portfolio of Carriers for a reporting period. We believe that Total Written Premium is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it reflects growth of our business relative to other insurance agencies.
For the year ended December 31, 2024, we had $3.8 billion in Total Written Premium, representing a 29% increase, compared to $3.0 billion for the year ended December 31, 2023. The following table shows Total Written Premium by channel for the years ended 2024 and 2023 (in thousands).
| Year Ended December 31 | % Change | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||
| Corporate Sales Total Written Premium | $ | 765,485 | $ | 681,025 | 12 | % | |||||
| Franchise Sales Total Written Premium | 3,046,507 | 2,282,959 | 33 | % | |||||||
| Total Written Premium | $ | 3,811,992 | $ | 2,963,984 | 29 | % |
Policies in Force
Policies in Force means the total count of current (non-cancelled) policies placed with Goosehead’s portfolio of Carriers as of a reported date. We believe that Policies in Force is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it reflects growth of our business relative to other insurance agencies.
As of December 31, 2024, we had 1,674,000 Policies in Force compared to 1,486,000 as of December 31, 2023, representing a 13% increase.
NPS
Net Promoter Score (NPS) is calculated based on a single question: “How likely are you to refer Goosehead Insurance to a friend, family member or colleague?” Clients that respond with a 6 or below are Detractors, with a 7 or 8 are Passives, and with a 9 or 10 are Promoters. NPS is calculated by subtracting the percentage of Detractors from the percentage of Promoters. For example, if 50% of respondents were Promoters and 10% were Detractors, NPS is a 40. NPS is a useful gauge of the loyalty of client relationships and can be compared across companies and industries.
NPS has decreased modestly to 89 as of December 31, 2024 from 92 at December 31, 2023, primarily driven by rapid premium increases offset by our service team's consistent delivery.
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Client Retention
Client Retention is calculated by comparing the number of all clients that had at least one policy in force twelve months prior to the date of measurement and still have at least one policy in force at the date of measurement. We believe Client Retention is useful as a measure of how well Goosehead retains clients year-over-year and minimizes defections.
Client Retention decreased modestly to 84% at December 31, 2024 when compared to 86% at December 31, 2023, impacted modestly by premium rate increases yet supported by the service team’s continued focus on delivering highly differentiated service levels. Our retention rate is even stronger on a premium basis, driven from increases in premium taken by our Carriers and additional coverages sold by our sales agents. In 2024, we retained 98% of the premiums we distributed in 2023, a decrease from premium retention in 2023 of 101%.
New Business Revenue
New Business Revenue is commissions received from the Carrier, Agency Fees received from clients, and Royalty Fees relating to policies in their first term.
For the year ended December 31, 2024, New Business Revenue grew 9% to $59.9 million, from $54.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. Growth in New Business Revenue is primarily attributable to increases in the number of sales agents, increased New Business Production per Agency, and rising premium rates.
Any diminished capacity of Carriers to place new business (including as a result of the recent wildfires in Southern California and hurricanes in Florida) could slow the growth of our New Business Revenue in the future.
Renewal Revenue
Renewal Revenue is commissions received from the Carrier and Royalty Fees from franchises after the first term of a policy.
For the year ended December 31, 2024, Renewal Revenue grew 20% to $213.9 million, from $178.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. Growth in Renewal Revenue was driven primarily by Client Retention of 84% at December 31, 2024, and premium rate increases over the prior year. As our agent force matures, the policies they wrote in prior years begin to convert from New Business Revenue to more profitable Renewal Revenue.
Continued declines in client retention caused by increases in premium rates could slow the growth of our Renewal Revenue in the future.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Core Revenue, Cost Recovery Revenue, Ancillary Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, and Adjusted EPS are not measures of financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered substitutes for total revenue, net income, net income margin or earnings per share, which we consider to be the most directly comparable GAAP measure. We refer to these measures as "non-GAAP financial measures." We consider these non-GAAP financial measures to be useful metrics for management and investors to facilitate operating performance comparisons from period to period by excluding potential differences caused by variations in capital structures, tax position, depreciation, amortization and certain other items that we believe are not representative of our core business. Core Revenue, Cost Recovery Revenue, Ancillary Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, and Adjusted EPS have limitations as analytical tools, and when assessing our operating performance, you should not consider Core Revenue, Cost Recovery Revenue, Ancillary Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, or Adjusted EPS in isolation or as substitutes for net income, earnings per share or other consolidated income statement data prepared in accordance with GAAP. Other companies may calculate Core Revenue, Cost Recovery Revenue, Ancillary Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, and Adjusted EPS differently than we do, limiting their usefulness as comparative measures.
Core Revenue
Core Revenue is a supplemental measure of our performance and includes Renewal Commissions, Renewal Royalty Fees, New Business Commissions, New Business Royalty Fees, and Agency Fees. We believe that Core Revenue is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it summarizes all of our revenues from sales of individual insurance policies.
Core Revenue increased by $40.7 million, or 17%, to $273.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 from $233.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The primary drivers of the increase from December 31, 2023 to December 31, 2024 are more new policies written driven by increases in the number of sales agents and
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increased New Business Production per Agency, an increase in policies in the renewal term assisted by client retention of 84%, and rising premium rates.
Cost Recovery Revenue
Cost Recovery Revenue is a supplemental measure of our performance and includes Initial Franchise Fees and Interest Income. We believe that Cost Recovery Revenue is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it summarizes revenues that are viewed by management as cost recovery mechanisms.
Cost Recovery Revenue decreased by $5.1 million, or 40%, to $7.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 from $12.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The primary driver of the decrease was a decrease in terminations of franchises, which resulted in less accelerated recognition of initial franchise fee revenue.
Ancillary Revenue
Ancillary Revenue is a supplemental measure of our performance and includes Contingent Commissions and Other Income. We believe that Ancillary Revenue is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it summarizes revenues that are ancillary to our core business.
Ancillary Revenue increased by $17.6 million, or 113%, to $33.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 from $15.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The primary drivers of the increase from December 31, 2023 to December 31, 2024 were improved loss ratios as well as growth in Total Written Premiums leading to attaining higher Contingent Commissions.
Contingent Commissions are inherently volatile as they are based on carrier underwriting profitability and may be impacted by catastrophic losses resulting from natural or man-made disasters.
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA is a supplemental measure of our performance. We believe that Adjusted EBITDA is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it eliminates the impact of items that do not relate to underlying business performance. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income (the most directly comparable GAAP measure) before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, adjusted to exclude equity-based compensation, impairment expense, and other non-operating items, including, among other things, certain non-cash charges and certain non-recurring or non-operating gains or losses.
Adjusted EBITDA increased by $30.1 million, or 43%, to $99.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, from $69.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, driven by a 17% increase in Core Revenue with slower growth of 13% in employee compensation and benefits excluding equity-based compensation and of 14% in general and administrative expenses excluding impairment as well as a $17.6 million increase in high-margin Contingent Commissions.
Adjusted EBITDA Margin
Adjusted EBITDA Margin is Adjusted EBITDA as defined above, divided by total revenue excluding other non-operating items. Adjusted EBITDA Margin is helpful in measuring profitability of operations on a consolidated level.
For the year ended December 31, 2024, Adjusted EBITDA Margin was 32% compared to 27% for the year ended December 31, 2023. The Adjusted EBITDA margin increase came from a 17% increase in Core Revenue with slower growth of 13% in employee compensation and benefits excluding equity-based compensation and of 14% in general and administrative expenses excluding impairment as well as a $17.6 million increase in high-margin Contingent Commissions.
Adjusted EPS
Adjusted EPS is a supplemental measure of our performance, defined as earnings per share (the most directly comparable GAAP measure) before non-recurring or non-operating income and expenses, adjusted to assume a single class of stock (Class A) and assuming noncontrolling interest does not exist. Adjusted EPS is a useful measure to management because it eliminates the impact of items that do not relate to business performance and helps compare companies that may not have a dual-share class structure.
Adjusted EPS increased by $0.66 to $1.99 for the year ended December 31, 2024, from $1.33 for the year ended December 31, 2023, driven by a significant increase in income from operations driven by strong growth in Core Revenue and Contingent Commissions with slower growth in operating expenses and the repurchase of 1,045 thousand Class A shares as part of our share repurchase program.
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GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliations
The following table shows a reconciliation of total revenues to other non-GAAP measures of revenue for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022 (in thousands):
| Year ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||
| Total Revenues | $ | 314,505 | $ | 261,276 | $ | 209,390 | ||||
| Core Revenue: | ||||||||||
| Renewal Commissions(1) | $ | 74,938 | $ | 70,730 | $ | 57,543 | ||||
| Renewal Royalty Fees(2) | 138,942 | 107,524 | 77,346 | |||||||
| New Business Commissions(1) | 24,608 | 23,411 | 24,126 | |||||||
| New Business Royalty Fees(2) | 27,122 | 23,168 | 18,244 | |||||||
| Agency Fees(1) | 8,127 | 8,174 | 10,912 | |||||||
| Total Core Revenue | 273,737 | 233,007 | 188,171 | |||||||
| Cost Recovery Revenue: | ||||||||||
| Initial Franchise Fees(2) | 6,620 | 11,238 | 10,853 | |||||||
| Interest Income | 932 | 1,443 | 1,403 | |||||||
| Total Cost Recovery Revenue | 7,552 | 12,681 | 12,256 | |||||||
| Ancillary Revenue: | ||||||||||
| Contingent Commissions(1) | 31,385 | 13,746 | 7,684 | |||||||
| Other Income(2) | 1,831 | 1,843 | 1,279 | |||||||
| Total Ancillary Revenue | 33,216 | 15,588 | 8,963 | |||||||
| Total Revenues | $ | 314,505 | $ | 261,276 | $ | 209,390 |
(1) Renewal Commissions, New Business Commissions, Agency Fees, and Contingent Commissions are included in "Commissions and agency fees" as shown on the Consolidated statements of operations.
(2) Renewal Royalty Fees, New Business Royalty Fees, Initial Franchise Fees, and Other Income are included in "Franchise revenues" as shown on the Consolidated statements of operations.
The following table shows a reconciliation from net income to Adjusted EBITDA for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022 (in thousands):
| Year ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||
| Net income | $ | 49,113 | $ | 23,696 | $ | 2,630 | |||||
| Interest expense | 7,339 | 6,568 | 4,999 | ||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 10,453 | 9,244 | 6,884 | ||||||||
| Tax expense (benefit) | (2,413) | 2,692 | 2,499 | ||||||||
| Equity-based compensation | 27,971 | 23,989 | 19,642 | ||||||||
| Impairment expense | 347 | 3,628 | — | ||||||||
| Other (income) expense | 7,101 | — | — | ||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 99,911 | $ | 69,817 | $ | 36,654 | |||||
| Net Income Margin(1) | 16 | % | 9 | % | 1 | % | |||||
| Adjusted EBITDA Margin(2) | 32 | % | 27 | % | 18 | % |
(1) Net Income Margin is calculated as Net Income divided by Total Revenue ($49,113 / $314,505), ($23,696 / $261,276), and ($2,630 / $209,390) for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022.
(2) Adjusted EBITDA Margin is calculated as Adjusted EBITDA divided by Total Revenue excluding other non-operating items ($99,911 / $314,505) for the year ended December 31, 2024, ($69,817 / $261,276) for the year ended December 31, 2023, and ($36,654 /$209,390) for the year ended December 31, 2022.
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The following tables show a reconciliation from basic earnings per share to Adjusted EPS for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022. Note that totals may not sum due to rounding:
| Year ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||
| Earnings per share - basic (GAAP) | $ | 1.23 | $ | 0.59 | $ | 0.03 | |||||
| Add: equity-based compensation(1) | 0.75 | 0.64 | 0.52 | ||||||||
| Add: impairment expense(2) | 0.01 | 0.10 | — | ||||||||
| Adjusted EPS (non-GAAP) | $ | 1.99 | $ | 1.33 | $ | 0.55 |
(1) Calculated as equity-based compensation divided by the sum of the weighted average number of shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock outstanding during the period 2024 - [$28.0 million / ( 24.7 million + 12.7 million )] 2023 - [ $24.0 million / ( 23.9 million + 13.8 million )] 2022 - [ $19.6 million / ( 21.0 million + 16.2 million )]
(2) Calculated as impairment expense divided by the sum of the weighted average number of shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock [ $0.3 million / ( 24.7 million + 12.7 million )] for the year ended December 31, 2024 and [ $3.6 million/ ( 23.9 million + 13.8 million )]. No impairment was recorded for the year ended December 31, 2022.
Consolidated results of operations
The following is a discussion of our consolidated results of operations for each of the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022. This information is derived from our accompanying consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. For further discussion regarding our consolidated results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2022, refer to "Part II, Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.
The following table summarizes our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022 (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Revenues: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Commissions and agency fees | $ | 139,059 | 44 | % | $ | 116,061 | 44 | % | $ | 100,265 | 48 | % | ||||||||
| Franchise revenues | 174,514 | 56 | % | 143,772 | 55 | % | 107,722 | 51 | % | |||||||||||
| Interest income | 932 | — | % | 1,443 | 1 | % | 1,403 | 1 | % | |||||||||||
| Total revenues | 314,505 | 100 | % | 261,276 | 100 | % | 209,390 | 100 | % | |||||||||||
| Operating Expenses: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Employee compensation and benefits | 172,942 | 68 | % | 152,604 | 67 | % | 133,293 | 67 | % | |||||||||||
| General and administrative expenses | 67,069 | 27 | % | 62,111 | 27 | % | 52,887 | 27 | % | |||||||||||
| Bad debts | 2,901 | 1 | % | 4,361 | 2 | % | 6,198 | 3 | % | |||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 10,453 | 4 | % | 9,244 | 4 | % | 6,884 | 3 | % | |||||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 253,365 | 100 | % | 228,320 | 100 | % | 199,262 | 100 | % | |||||||||||
| Income from operations | 61,140 | 32,956 | 10,128 | |||||||||||||||||
| Other Income: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (7,339) | (6,568) | (4,999) | |||||||||||||||||
| Other (expense) income, net | (7,101) | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| Income before taxes | 46,700 | 26,388 | 5,129 | |||||||||||||||||
| Tax expense (benefit) | (2,413) | 2,692 | 2,499 | |||||||||||||||||
| Net Income | 49,113 | 23,696 | 2,630 | |||||||||||||||||
| Less: net income attributable to noncontrolling interests | 18,687 | 9,556 | 2,065 | |||||||||||||||||
| Net Income attributable to Goosehead Insurance, Inc. | $ | 30,426 | $ | 14,140 | $ | 565 |
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Revenues
In 2024, revenue increased by 20% to $314.5 million from $261.3 million in 2023.
Commissions and agency fees
Commissions and agency fees consist of Core Revenue from New Business Commissions, Renewal Commissions, and Agency Fees, and Ancillary Revenue from Contingent Commissions generated from corporate sales.
The following table sets forth our commissions and agency fees by amount and as a percentage of our revenues for the periods indicated (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Core Revenue: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Renewal Commissions | $ | 74,938 | 54 | % | $ | 70,730 | 61 | % | $ | 57,543 | 57 | % | ||||||||
| New Business Commissions | 24,608 | 18 | % | 23,411 | 20 | % | 24,126 | 24 | % | |||||||||||
| Agency Fees | 8,127 | 6 | % | 8,174 | 7 | % | 10,912 | 11 | % | |||||||||||
| Total | 107,673 | 77 | % | 102,315 | 88 | % | 92,581 | 92 | % | |||||||||||
| Ancillary Revenue: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Contingent Commissions | 31,385 | 23 | % | 13,746 | 12 | % | 7,684 | 8 | % | |||||||||||
| Commissions and agency fees | $ | 139,059 | 100 | % | $ | 116,061 | 100 | % | $ | 100,265 | 100 | % |
Renewal Commissions increased by $4.2 million, or 6%, to $74.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 from $70.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. This increase is primarily attributable to an increase in the number of policies in the renewal term from December 31, 2023 to December 31, 2024, assisted by client retention of 84%, and premium rate increases.
New Business Commissions increased by $1.2 million, or 5%, to $24.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 from $23.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. This increase in New Business Commissions was primarily attributable to an increase in total sales agent head count to 417 at December 31, 2024, from 300 at December 31, 2023, a 39% increase. Revenue from Agency Fees decreased by $0.1 million, or 1%, to $8.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 from $8.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. This decrease in Agency Fees was primarily attributable to slight decreases in both the percentage of policies written where an agency fee was charged and the average amount of an agency fee charge.
Revenue from Contingent Commissions increased by $17.6 million, or 128%, to $31.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, from $13.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase is primarily attributable to growth in total written premiums as well as receiving and qualifying for additional Contingent Commissions.
Franchise Revenues
Franchise Revenues consist of Core Revenues from Royalty Fees, Cost Recovery Revenues from Initial Franchise Fees, and Ancillary Revenues from Other Franchise Revenues.
The following table sets forth our franchise revenues by amount and as a percentage of our revenues for the periods indicated (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Core Revenues: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Renewal Royalty Fees | $ | 138,942 | 80 | % | $ | 107,524 | 75 | % | $ | 77,346 | 72 | % | ||||||||
| New Business Royalty Fees | 27,122 | 16 | % | 23,168 | 16 | % | 18,244 | 17 | % | |||||||||||
| Total | 166,064 | 96 | % | 130,692 | 91 | % | 95,590 | 89 | % | |||||||||||
| Cost Recovery Revenues: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Initial Franchise Fees | 6,620 | 4 | % | 11,238 | 8 | % | 10,853 | 10 | % | |||||||||||
| Ancillary Revenues: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other Franchise Revenues | 1,831 | 1 | % | 1,843 | 1 | % | 1,279 | 1 | % | |||||||||||
| Franchise revenues | $ | 174,514 | 100 | % | $ | 143,772 | 100 | % | $ | 107,722 | 100 | % |
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Revenue from Renewal Royalty Fees increased by $31.4 million, or 29%, to $138.9 million, for the year ended December 31, 2024 from $107.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase in revenue from Renewal Royalty Fees was primarily attributable to an increase in the number of policies in the renewal term from December 31, 2023 to December 31, 2024, assisted by client retention of 84%, and premium rate increases.
Revenue from New Business Royalty Fees increased by $4.0 million, or 17%, to $27.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 from $23.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase in revenue from New Business Royalty Fees was driven primarily by an increase in New Business Production per Agency and rising premium rates.
Initial Franchise Fee revenue decreased approximately $4.6 million, or 41%, to $6.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 from $11.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The primary driver of the decrease in Initial Franchise Fees was a decrease in terminations of franchises, which reduced the accelerated recognition of initial franchise fee revenue.
Interest Income
Interest Income decreased to $0.9 million for 2024 compared to $1.4 million for 2023, driven by fewer franchises on a payment plan in the current period.
Expenses
Employee compensation and benefits
Employee compensation and benefits expenses increased by $20.3 million, or 13%, to $172.9 million for 2024 from $152.6 million for 2023. This was primarily related to investments in corporate producers and technology functions, and increases in equity-based compensation of 17% related to additional stock options granted during 2024.
General and administrative expenses
General and administrative expenses increased by $5.0 million, or 8%, to $67.1 million for 2024 from $62.1 million for 2023. This increase was primarily attributable to increased spending on software offset by a decrease in asset impairment charges.
Bad debts
Bad debts decreased by $1.5 million, or 33%, to $2.9 million for 2024 from $4.4 million for 2023. This decrease was primarily attributable to lower franchise turnover and an increase in average cash collections relative to revenue recognized for terminated franchises on the payment plan.
Depreciation and amortization
Depreciation and amortization increased by $1.2 million, or 13%, to $10.5 million for 2024 from $9.2 million for 2023. This increase was primarily attributable to the increase in investments in software development during 2024.
Interest expense
Interest expenses increased by $0.8 million, or 12%, to $7.3 million for 2024 from $6.6 million for 2023. This increase is attributable to an increase in total borrowings outstanding.
Other income (expense)
Other income (expense) consists of remeasurements of our tax receivable agreement liability and interest income. Other income (expense) decreased by $7.1 million for 2024 to $(7.1) million, primarily due to remeasurements of our tax receivable agreement liability due to an increase in the effective tax rate resulting from changes in state apportionment and related state filing requirements, offset by interest income generated by cash held in interest-bearing checking accounts.
Tax expense (benefit)
Tax expense (benefit) decreased by $5.1 million, or 190%, to $(2.4) million for 2024 from $2.7 million for 2023. This decrease is primarily attributable to the deferred tax impact of changes in state apportionment and related state filing requirements.
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Liquidity and capital resources
Historical liquidity and capital resources
We have managed our historical liquidity and capital requirements primarily through the receipt of revenues from our corporate and franchise sales. Our primary cash flow activities involve: (1) generating cash flow from Commissions and Fees, which largely includes New Business Commissions, Renewal Commissions and Agency Fees; (2) generating cash flow from Franchise Revenue operations, which largely includes Royalty Fees and Initial Franchise Fees; (3) borrowings, interest payments and repayments under our credit agreement; (4) issuing shares of Class A common stock. As of December 31, 2024, our unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, and restricted cash was $58.0 million. We have used cash flow from operations primarily to pay compensation and related expenses; general, administrative and other expenses; and debt service.
Credit agreement
See "Note 9. Debt" in the consolidated financial statements included herein for a discussion of the Company's credit facilities.
Comparative cash flows
The following table summarizes our cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities for the periods indicated:
| Year Ended December 31 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 71,544 | $ | 50,833 | $ | 36,033 | ||||
| Net cash used for investing activities | (12,419) | (19,182) | (12,571) | |||||||
| Net cash used for financing activities | (45,199) | (17,991) | (23,554) | |||||||
| Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | 13,926 | 13,660 | (92) | |||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents, and restricted cash, beginning of period | 44,047 | 30,387 | 30,479 | |||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents, and restricted cash, end of period | $ | 57,973 | $ | 44,047 | $ | 30,387 |
Operating activities
Net cash provided by operating activities was $71.5 million for 2024 as compared to net cash provided by operating activities of $50.8 million for 2023. This increase in net cash provided by operating activities was primarily attributable to a $25.4 million increase in net income, with an $(15.0) million adjustment due to a non-cash loss on the remeasurement of our tax receivable agreement liability, and a $10.8 million lower decrease in our contract liabilities driven by fewer franchise terminations in 2024. These increases were partially offset by a $19.9 million increase in commissions and agency fees receivable, which is primarily related to an increase in contingent commissions receivable.
Investing activities
Net cash used for business investment activities was $12.4 million for 2024 as compared to net cash used for business investment activities of $19.2 million for 2023. This decrease in net cash used in business investment activities was primarily attributable to a $6.9 million decrease in purchases of books of business and a $3.5 million decrease in cash purchases of property and equipment offset by a $3.5 million increase in cash paid for software development.
Financing activities
Net cash used for financing activities was $45.2 million for 2024 as compared to net cash used for financing activities of $18.0 million for 2023. This increase in net cash used for financing activities was primarily driven by repurchases of our Class A common stock for $63.2 million and a $5.4 million increase in tax receivable agreement payments, offset by new borrowings under our term loan of $25.0 million, a $7.5 million decrease in payments on our term loan due to an additional $10 million principal payment made in 2023 offset by higher quarterly payments in 2024, and a $6.1 million decrease in member distributions.
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Future sources and uses of liquidity
Our sources of liquidity are (1) cash on hand, (2) net working capital, (3) cash flows from operations and (4) our Revolving Credit Facility or other sources of debt financing. Based on our current expectations, we believe that these sources of liquidity will be sufficient to fund our working capital requirements and to meet our commitments in the foreseeable future.
Our primary liquidity needs comprise cash to (1) provide capital to facilitate the organic growth of our business, (2) pay operating expenses, including cash compensation to our employees, (3) make payments under the tax receivable agreement, (4) pay interest and principal due on borrowings under our Credit Agreement (5) pay income taxes, (6) repurchase shares under our Share Repurchase Program, and (7) when deemed advisable by our board of directors, pay dividends.
Dividend policy
Assuming Goosehead Financial, LLC makes distributions to its members in any given year, the determination to pay dividends, if any, to our Class A common stockholders out of the portion, if any, of such distributions remaining after our payment of taxes and tax receivable agreement payments (any such portion, an “excess distribution”) will be made at the sole discretion of our board of directors. Our board of directors may change our dividend policy at any time. See “Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities — Dividend policy".
Tax receivable agreement
We entered into the tax receivable agreement with the Pre-IPO LLC Members on May 1, 2018 that provides for the payment by us to the Pre-IPO LLC Members of 85% of the amount of cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax or franchise tax that we actually realize as a result of (i) any increase in tax basis in Goosehead Insurance, Inc.’s assets and (ii) tax benefits related to imputed interest deemed arising as a result of payments made under the tax receivable agreement. See "Item 13. Certain relationships and related transactions, and director independence".
Holders of Goosehead Financial, LLC Units (other than Goosehead Insurance, Inc.) may, subject to certain conditions and transfer restrictions described above, redeem or exchange their LLC Units for shares of Class A common stock of Goosehead Insurance, Inc. on a one-for-one basis. Goosehead Financial, LLC has made an election under Section 754 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the regulations thereunder (the “Code”) effective for each taxable year in which a redemption or exchange of LLC Units for shares of Class A common stock occurs, which has resulted and is expected to result in increases to the tax basis of the assets of Goosehead Financial, LLC at the time of a redemption or exchange of LLC Units. Prior redemptions and exchanges have resulted, and we expect future redemptions and exchanges will result in increases in the tax basis of the tangible and intangible assets of Goosehead Financial, LLC. These increases in tax basis have reduced the amount of tax we are required to pay, and may reduce the amount of tax that Goosehead Insurance, Inc. would otherwise be required to pay in the future. We have entered into a tax receivable agreement with the Pre-IPO LLC Members that provides for the payment by us to the Pre-IPO LLC Members of 85% of the amount of cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax or franchise tax that we actually realize as a result of (i) any increase in tax basis in Goosehead Insurance, Inc.’s assets resulting from (a) the purchase of LLC Units from any of the Pre-IPO LLC Members using the net proceeds from any future offering, (b) redemptions or exchanges by the Pre-IPO LLC Members of LLC Units for shares of our Class A common stock or (c) payments under the tax receivable agreement and (ii) tax benefits related to imputed interest deemed arising as a result of payments made under the tax receivable agreement. This payment obligation is an obligation of Goosehead Insurance, Inc. and not of Goosehead Financial, LLC. For purposes of the tax receivable agreement, the cash tax savings in income tax will be computed by comparing the actual income tax liability of Goosehead Insurance, Inc. (calculated with certain assumptions) to the amount of such taxes that Goosehead Insurance, Inc. would have been required to pay had there been no increase to the tax basis of the assets of Goosehead Financial, LLC as a result of the redemptions or exchanges and had Goosehead Insurance, Inc. not entered into the tax receivable agreement. Estimating the amount of payments that may be made under the tax receivable agreement is by its nature imprecise, insofar as the calculation of amounts payable depends on a variety of factors. While the actual increase in tax basis from future purchases, redemptions or exchanges, as well as the amount and timing of any payments under the tax receivable agreement, will vary depending upon a number of factors, including the timing of redemptions or exchanges, the price of shares of our Class A common stock at the time of the redemption or exchange, the extent to which such redemptions or exchanges are taxable and the amount and timing of our income. See "Item 13. Certain relationships and related transactions, and director independence". We historically accounted, and anticipate that
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we will continue to account for the effects of these increases in tax basis and associated payments under the tax receivable agreement arising from redemptions or exchanges as follows:
•we will record an increase in deferred tax assets for the estimated income tax effects of the increases in tax basis based on enacted federal and state tax rates at the date of the redemption or exchange;
•to the extent we estimate that we will not realize the full benefit represented by the deferred tax asset, based on an analysis that will consider, among other things, our expectation of future earnings, we will reduce the deferred tax asset with a valuation allowance; and
•we will record 85% of the estimated realizable tax benefit (which is the recorded deferred tax asset less any recorded valuation allowance) as an increase to the liability due under the tax receivable agreement and the remaining 15% of the estimated realizable tax benefit as an increase to additional paid-in capital.
All of the effects of changes in any of our estimates after the date of the redemption or exchange will be included in net income. Similarly, the effect of subsequent changes in the enacted tax rates will be included in net income.
Contractual obligations, commitments and contingencies
The following table represents our contractual obligations as of December 31, 2024, aggregated by type.
| Contractual obligations, commitments and contingencies | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands) | Total | Less than 1 year | 1-3 years | 3-5 years | More than 5 years | |||||||||||||
| Operating leases(1) | $ | 74,246 | $ | 7,910 | $ | 24,162 | $ | 20,997 | $ | 21,177 | ||||||||
| Debt obligations payable(2)(4) | 93,078 | 10,063 | 83,016 | — | — | |||||||||||||
| Interest expense(3)(4) | 8,392 | 5,556 | 2,835 | — | — | |||||||||||||
| Liabilities under tax receivable agreement(5) | 160,142 | — | 41,467 | 19,947 | 98,727 | |||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 335,858 | $ | 23,529 | $ | 151,480 | $ | 40,944 | $ | 119,904 |
(1)The Company leases its facilities under non-cancelable operating leases. In addition to monthly lease payments, the lease agreements require the Company to reimburse the lessors for its portion of operating costs each year. Rent expense was $7.5 million, $7.8 million, and $7.0 million for years ending December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022.
(2)The Company further amended its credit facilities on April 24, 2024 increasing term loan borrowings by $25 million and increasing the revolving credit facility by $25 million to $75 million, of which nothing was drawn on the revolving credit facility as of December 31, 2024.
(3)Interest payments on our outstanding debt obligations under our Credit Agreement. Our debt obligations have variable interest rates. We have calculated future interest obligations based on the interest rate for our debt obligations as of December 31, 2024.
(4)On January 8, 2025, the Company closed on a $300 million term loan and retired our existing $93 million term loan. See "Note 9. Debt" in the consolidated financial statements.
(5)See "Item 7. Management's discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operation - Tax receivable agreement."
Critical accounting policies and estimates
We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP. In applying many of these accounting principles, we need to make assumptions, estimates or judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses in our consolidated financial statements. We base our estimates and judgments on historical experience and other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances. These assumptions, estimates or judgments, however, are both subjective and subject to change, and actual results may differ from our assumptions and estimates. If actual amounts are ultimately different from our estimates, the revisions are included in our results of operations for the period in which the actual amounts become known. We believe the following critical accounting policies could potentially produce materially different results if we were to change underlying assumptions, estimates or judgments. See “Item 8. Financial statements and supplementary data - Summary of significant accounting policies” for a summary of our significant accounting policies, and discussion of recent accounting pronouncements.
Revenue recognition
Goosehead provides personal and commercial property and casualty insurance brokerage services for its clients through a network of corporate-owned offices and franchise units. Goosehead is compensated for the insurance brokerage services that it provides for clients in the form of commission revenue, agency fees, royalty fees, and contingent commissions.
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The transaction price for commissions revenue and royalty fees is set as an estimate of the variable consideration to be received for the current policy term. This estimate includes the fixed consideration due based on the contractual terms of the current policy and adjustments for estimates of modifications of the contractual terms of the current policy and/or termination of the policy before the end of the current term. This variable consideration is constrained to the extent that it is probable there will not be a significant reversal of revenue. The Company adjusts its estimate of revenue recognized for commissions and royalty fees based on cash collections during the term of the policy. Commissions revenue is earned at a point in time on the effective date of the policy. Royalty fees are earned over time as the underlying policies are placed.
The transaction price for contingent commissions is estimated based on all available information and constrained such that it is probable there will not be a significant reversal of revenue. Contingent commissions revenue is recognized over time as the Company completes its performance obligations as the underlying policies are placed and other contractual obligations are met.
Certain costs to obtain or fulfill a contract are capitalized. The Company capitalizes the incremental costs to obtain franchise contracts. These deferred costs are amortized over the expected life of the underlying franchise fee and are included in Other assets in the Company's consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2024.
Liabilities under tax receivable agreement
In connection with the Offering, we entered into a tax receivable agreement with the Pre-IPO LLC Members that provides for the payment by us to the Pre-IPO LLC Members of 85% of the amount of cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax or franchise tax that we actually realize as a result of (i) any increase in tax basis in Goosehead Financial, LLC’s assets resulting from (a) the acquisition of LLC Units using the net proceeds from any future offering, (b) redemptions or exchanges by the Pre-IPO LLC Members of LLC Units and the corresponding number of shares of Class B common stock for shares of our Class A common stock or (c) payments under the tax receivable agreement, and (ii) tax benefits related to imputed interest deemed arising as a result of payments made under the tax receivable agreement.
The actual increase in tax basis from future redemptions and exchanges, as well as the amount and timing of any payments under the tax receivable agreement, will vary depending on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the timing of any future redemptions, exchanges or purchases of the LLC Units held by Pre-IPO LLC Members, the price of our Class A common stock at the time of the purchase, redemption or exchange, the extent to which redemptions or exchanges are taxable, the amount and timing of the taxable income that we generate in the future, the tax rates then applicable and the portion of our payments under the tax receivable agreement constituting imputed interest.
As of December 31, 2024, as a result of the prior redemptions of LLC Units, we recognized liabilities totaling $160.1 million relating to our obligations under the tax receivable agreement.
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FY 2023 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001726978-24-000018.
Item 7. Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations
Overview
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes and other financial information included elsewhere in this Annual Report. In addition to historical financial information, the following discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. Our actual results and timing of selected events may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those discussed under “Risk factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report.
This discussion includes references to non-GAAP financial measures as defined in the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("the SEC"). We present such non-GAAP financial measures, specifically, Core Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS non-GAAP financial measures, as we believe such information is of interest to the investment community because it provides additional meaningful methods of evaluating certain aspects of the Company’s operating performance from period to period on a basis that may not be otherwise apparent under U.S. GAAP, and these provide a measure against which our businesses may be assessed in the future.
Our methods of calculating these measures may differ from those used by other companies and therefore comparability may be limited. These financial measures should be viewed in addition to, not in lieu of, the consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023. See "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below for further discussion of our Core Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS non-GAAP financial measures
We are a rapidly growing personal lines independent insurance agency, reinventing the traditional approach to distributing personal lines products and services throughout the United States. We were founded with one vision in mind—to provide consumers with superior insurance coverage at the best available price and in a timely manner. By leveraging our differentiated business model and innovative technology platform, we are able to deliver a superior insurance experience to our clients.
The following discussion contains references to the years ended December 31, 2023, December 31, 2022, and December 31, 2021. See Goosehead’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 for a discussion of the changes from year ended December 31, 2021 to the year ended December 31, 2022.
Financial Highlights for 2023:
•Total revenue increased 25% from 2022 to $261.3 million; Core Revenues*, a non-GAAP measure, of $233.0 million increased 24% over 2022
•Total Written Premiums Placed increased 34% from 2022 to $3.0 billion
•Net income increased by $21.1 million from 2022 to $23.7 million, or 9% of total revenues
•Adjusted EBITDA*, a non-GAAP measure, increased by 90% from 2022 to $69.8 million, or 27% of total revenues
•Basic earnings per share was $0.59 and Adjusted EPS*, a non-GAAP measure, was $1.33 for the year ended December 31, 2023.
•Policies in Force increased 16% from December 31, 2022 to 1,486,000 at December 31, 2023.
•Corporate sales headcount decreased 6% from December 31, 2022 to 300 at December 31, 2023.
◦As of December 31, 2023, 135 of these corporate sales agents had less than one year of tenure and 165 had greater than one year of tenure.
•Operating franchises decreased 13% from December 31, 2022 to 1,226 at December 31, 2023.
◦As of December 31, 2023, 183 operating franchises had less than one year of tenure and 1,043 operating franchisees had greater than one year of tenure.
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*Core Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS are non-GAAP measures. Reconciliation of Total Core Revenue to Total Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA to net income and Adjusted EPS to EPS, the most directly comparable financial measures presented in accordance with GAAP, are set forth in "Key performance indicators" below.
Factors affecting our results of operations
We believe that the most significant factors affecting our results of operations include:
•Investment in growth. We continue to invest in expanding our national footprint, increasing our revenue-producing headcount, and increasing the level of support provided to our salespeople. Our ability to attract and retain top corporate sales agents and franchise owners, ramp up new agent productivity, and retain existing and future Policies in Force are key to continued profitable growth.
•Investment in technology. We continue to develop and invest in our technology platform to drive scalability, adaptability, and efficiency. We believe our significant investment in proprietary technology is a key competitive advantage that supports, and will continue to support our growth and operating margins.
•Continued penetration of Franchisees into existing markets. We will continue to market actively for new franchises in our established markets, which represent over 99% of the U.S. population. We are now licensed with the necessary state departments of commerce and insurance and registered as a franchisor in all 50 states in the U.S.
•Continued retention of existing Book of Business. We have made significant progress in recent years in Client Retention metrics, and maintaining these high levels of Client Retention is key to future profitability.
•Increase in margins as business shifts from new to renewal. Because we are entitled to a higher percentage of Royalty Fees after the first term of a policy and the higher level of back-office support needed during the first term of an insurance policy, the Company begins to see higher levels of profitability on Renewal Revenue. We will focus simultaneously on converting New Business Revenue to Renewal Revenue through our retention efforts, and on continuing to grow New Business Revenue that will convert and allow us to expand our margins in future periods.
•Strength of the insurance market or particular lines of business. We generate the majority of our revenues through commissions, which are calculated as a percentage of the total insurance policy premium. A softening of the insurance market or the particular lines of business that are our focus, characterized by a period of declining premium rates, could negatively impact our profitability.
•Seasonality and cyclicality of housing market conditions. The majority of our new accounts are sourced by referral sources tied to home closing transactions. Major slowdowns in the various housing markets Goosehead serves, including as a result of changes in prevailing interest rates or U.S. monetary policies that affect interest rates, could impact our ability to generate new business. We experience seasonality and revenue related to the sale of insurance policies throughout the course of a calendar year that is tied to the seasonality of new home sales. Revenue from home insurance leads is higher from April to August and lower from October through January. While this can impact month-to-month or quarter-to-quarter results, we expect productivity to normalize year-over-year.
•Increases in interest rates. Our variable rate debt, including our Credit Agreement, exposes us to interest rate risk. If interest rates were to increase, as they have increased recently, our debt service obligations on our variable rate indebtedness would increase even if the amount borrowed remained the same. To the extent that interest rate risk materializes and is not fully mitigated, the resulting increase in interest expense could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
•Effect of natural or man-made disasters. Any increases in loss ratios due to natural or man-made disasters could impact our Contingent Commissions, which are primarily driven by both growth and loss ratio metrics.
•Cost of being a public company. To operate as a public company, we are required to continue to implement changes in certain aspects of our business and develop, manage, and train management level and other employees to comply with on-going public company requirements. We also incur expenses as a public company, including public reporting obligations, proxy statements, stockholder meetings, stock exchange fees and transfer agent fees.
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Effects of the reorganization on our corporate structure
Goosehead Insurance, Inc. was formed for the purpose of the Offering and has engaged to date only in activities related to Goosehead Financial, LLC. Goosehead Insurance, Inc. is a holding company and its sole material asset is a controlling ownership and profits interest in Goosehead Financial, LLC. All of our business is conducted through Goosehead Financial, LLC and its consolidated subsidiaries, and the financial results of Goosehead Financial, LLC and its consolidated subsidiaries are included in the consolidated financial statements of Goosehead Insurance, Inc. Goosehead Financial, LLC is currently taxed as a partnership for federal income tax purposes and, as a result, its members, including Goosehead Insurance, Inc., pay taxes with respect to their allocable shares of its net taxable income.
Prior redemptions and exchanges of LLC Units have resulted, and we expect future redemptions and exchanges will result in increases in the tax basis in our share of the tangible and intangible assets of Goosehead Financial, LLC that otherwise would not have been available. These increases in tax basis have reduced the amount of tax we are required to pay, and may reduce the amount of tax that we would otherwise be required to pay in the future. The tax receivable agreement requires Goosehead Insurance, Inc. to pay 85% of the amount of cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax or franchise tax that we actually realize to the Pre-IPO LLC Members. Furthermore, payments under the tax receivable agreement give rise to additional tax benefits and therefore additional payments under the tax receivable agreement itself. See "Item 13. Certain relationships and related transactions, and director independence".
Certain income statement line items
Revenues
In 2023, revenue increased by 25% to $261.3 million from $209.4 million in 2022. Total Written Premium growth, which is the best indicator of future revenue growth, increased 34% to $3.0 billion in 2023 from $2.2 billion in 2022. Total Written Premiums Placed drive our current and future Core Revenue and gives us potential opportunities to earn Ancillary Revenue in the form of Contingent Commissions. Our various revenue streams do not equally contribute to the long-term value of Goosehead. For instance, Renewal Revenue and Renewal Royalty Fees are more predictable and have higher margin profiles, thus are higher quality revenue streams for the Company. Alternatively, Contingent Commissions, while high margin, are unpredictable and dependent on insurance company underwriting and forces of nature and thus are lower quality revenue for the Company. Our revenue streams can be viewed in three distinct categories: Core Revenue, Cost Recovery Revenue, and Ancillary Revenue, which are non-GAAP measures. A reconciliation of Core Revenue, Cost Recovery Revenue, and Ancillary Revenue to total revenue, the most directly comparable financial measures presented in accordance with GAAP, are set forth in the "Key performance indicators" section of Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations of this Form 10-K.
Core Revenue:
•Renewal Commissions - highly predictable, higher-margin revenue stream, which is managed by our service team.
•Renewal Royalty Fees - highly predictable, higher-margin revenue stream, which is managed by our service team. For policies in their first renewal term, we see an increase in our share of royalties from 20% to 50% on the commission paid by the Carriers.
•New Business Commissions - predictable based on agent headcount and consistent ramp-up of agents, but lower margin than Renewal Commissions because of higher commissions paid to agents and higher back-office costs associated with policies in their first term. This revenue stream has predictably converted into higher-margin Renewal Commissions historically, and we expect this to continue moving forward.
•New Business Royalty Fees - predictable based on franchise count and consistent ramp-up of franchises, but lower margin than Renewal Royalty Fees because the Company only receives a royalty fee of 20% on the commissions paid by the Carrier in the first term of every policy and higher back-office costs associated with policies in their first term. This revenue stream has predictably converted into higher-margin Renewal Royalty Fees historically, and we expect this to continue moving forward.
•Agency Fees - although predictable based on agent count, Agency Fees do not renew like New Business Commissions and Renewal Commissions.
Cost Recovery Revenue:
•Initial Franchise Fees - Cost Recovery Revenue stream charged one time per franchise unit that covers the Company's costs to recruit, train, onboard, and support the franchise for the first year. These fees are fully
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earned and non-refundable when a franchise attends our initial training and are recognized in revenue over the life of the franchise agreement.
•Interest Income - like Initial Franchise Fees, interest income is a Cost Recovery Revenue stream that reimburses the Company for those franchises on a payment plan. Interest income is recognized over the term of the franchise fee payment plan.
Ancillary Revenue:
•Contingent Commissions - although high margin, Contingent Commissions are unpredictable and susceptible to weather events and Carrier underwriting results. Management does not rely on Contingent Commissions for operating cash flow or budget planning.
•Other Income - book transfer fees, marketing investments from Carriers and other items that are unpredictable and supplemental to other revenue streams.
We discuss below the breakdown of our revenue by stream:
| Years ended December 31, | 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands) | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | % Growth | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Core Revenue: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Renewal Commissions(1) | $ | 70,730 | 27 | % | $ | 57,543 | 27 | % | $ | 39,111 | 26 | % | 23 | % | ||||||||||
| Renewal Royalty Fees(2) | 107,524 | 41 | % | 77,346 | 37 | % | 46,079 | 30 | % | 39 | % | |||||||||||||
| New Business Commissions(1) | 23,411 | 9 | % | 24,126 | 12 | % | 22,108 | 15 | % | (3) | % | |||||||||||||
| New Business Royalty Fees(2) | 23,168 | 9 | % | 18,244 | 9 | % | 14,616 | 10 | % | 27 | % | |||||||||||||
| Agency Fees(1) | 8,174 | 3 | % | 10,912 | 4 | % | 11,506 | 7 | % | (25) | % | |||||||||||||
| Total Core Revenue | 233,007 | 89 | % | 188,171 | 89 | % | 133,420 | 88 | % | 24 | % | |||||||||||||
| Cost Recovery Revenue: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Initial Franchise Fees(2) | 11,238 | 4 | % | 10,853 | 5 | % | 6,516 | 4 | % | 4 | % | |||||||||||||
| Interest Income | 1,443 | 1 | % | 1,403 | 1 | % | 1,153 | 1 | % | 3 | % | |||||||||||||
| Total Cost Recovery Revenue | 12,681 | 5 | % | 12,256 | 6 | % | 7,669 | 6 | % | 3 | % | |||||||||||||
| Ancillary Revenue: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Contingent Commissions(1) | 13,746 | 5 | % | 7,684 | 4 | % | 9,926 | 7 | % | 79 | % | |||||||||||||
| Other Income(2) | 1,843 | 1 | % | 1,279 | 1 | % | 297 | — | % | 44 | % | |||||||||||||
| Total Ancillary Revenue | 15,588 | 6 | % | 8,963 | 5 | % | 10,223 | 7 | % | 74 | % | |||||||||||||
| Total Revenues | $ | 261,276 | 100 | % | $ | 209,390 | 100 | % | $ | 151,312 | 100 | % | 25 | % |
(1) Renewal Commissions, New Business Commissions, Agency Fees, and Contingent Commissions are included in "Commissions and agency fees" as shown on the Consolidated statements of operations.
(2) Renewal Royalty Fees, New Business Royalty Fees, Initial Franchise Fees, and Other Income are included in "Franchise revenues" as shown on the Consolidated statements of operations.
Core Revenue:
The Company's primary source of revenue is through the placement of insurance policies. We are paid a percentage of the premium from the Carriers in the form of New Business Commissions and, in states which allow it, we charge Agency Fees for the placement of the policy. For policies placed through franchise sales, we receive 20% of the commissions and fees received as New Business Royalties during the first term of the policy. All clients are serviced by our world-class service centers, allowing for predictable retention of our Book of Business, which has historically been 86%. All commissions received in corporate sales after the first term of the policy are recognized as Renewal Commissions, which are higher margin due to lower commissions and servicing costs. For all policies that renew related to franchise sales, we receive as Renewal Royalty Fees 50% of the commissions received from the Carrier, creating a mechanical increase in revenue of 129% if we renew at historical rates. Renewal Royalty Fees are higher margin compared to New Business Royalty Fees due to lower servicing costs on higher revenue. Because of the lower royalty fees on New Business Commissions as compared to Renewal Commissions, and because we are placing an increasing percentage of Total Written Premium in franchise sales, Core Revenue growth will lag that of Total Written Premium.
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Cost Recovery Revenue:
The Company charges every franchise an Initial Franchise Fee, which, on a cash flow basis, covers our costs to recruit, train, onboard, and support the franchise for the first year. The Initial Franchise Fee is determined by the state of the Franchise location and the payment terms. The Company recognizes revenue over the 10-year life of the contract. If the franchise elects the payment plan, the difference between the pay-in-full and the payment plan amounts is recognized as Interest Income using the interest rate method over the 5-year term of the payment plan.
Ancillary Revenue:
With certain Carriers, the Company has the opportunity to earn additional revenue in the form of Contingent Commissions, typically based on the volume, growth, and loss ratio of the business placed with the select Carriers. The Contingent Commissions are extremely difficult to predict in any given period and can vary greatly from year to year. Although the Company can control the amount of business placed with the Carriers, loss ratios depend on many factors that are outside of our control, such as weather events and Carrier underwriting accuracy. The Company estimates the amount to be received during the period over which the Contingent Commissions are earned.
Below is a summary showing the historical Contingent Commissions as a percentage of Total Written Premiums Placed for the period in which the Contingent Commissions were earned (in thousands).
| Total Written Premium | Contingent Commission Revenue | % of Premium | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $ | 1,559,858 | $ | 9,926 | 0.64 | % | ||||
| 2022 | 2,217,023 | 7,684 | 0.35 | % | ||||||
| 2023 | 2,963,984 | 13,746 | 0.46 | % | ||||||
| 3-year average | 0.48 | % |
Contingent Commissions can vary significantly from year-to-year and should be viewed over several years. Since 2021, revenue from Contingent Commissions have historically represented approximately 0.48% of Total Written Premium at year-end. Most of our Contingent Commissions are earned in the year prior to when they are received. For the year ended December 31, 2021, $9.9 million of Contingent Commissions were earned (above our historical average as a percentage of premium), of which $7.4 million was still receivable at December 31, 2021. For the year ended December 31, 2022, $7.7 million of Contingent Commissions were earned (below our historical average as a percentage of premium), of which $7.4 million was still receivable at December 31, 2022. For the year ended December 31, 2023, $13.7 million of Contingent Commissions were earned (below our historical average as a percentage of premium), of which $6.9 million was still receivable at December 31, 2023.
Premium by line of business
We are a distributor of insurance policies in a range of primarily personal lines of business including homeowner’s insurance, automotive, dwelling property insurance, flood, wind and earthquake insurance, excess liability or umbrella insurance, specialty lines insurance (motorcycle, recreational vehicle, and other insurance), commercial lines insurance (general liability, property and auto insurance for small businesses) and life insurance. The following table sets forth our Total Written Premium placed by line of business by amount and as a percentage of our Total Written Premium for the periods indicated (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||||||||
| Line of business | |||||||||||||||||
| Homeowner | $ | 1,729,138 | 58 | % | $ | 1,268,217 | 57 | % | $ | 885,130 | 56 | % | |||||
| Automotive | 1,149,737 | 39 | % | 874,505 | 40 | % | 618,483 | 40 | % | ||||||||
| Commercial | 57,207 | 2 | % | 49,582 | 2 | % | 39,254 | 3 | % | ||||||||
| Other | 27,903 | 1 | % | 24,719 | 1 | % | 16,991 | 1 | % | ||||||||
| Total Written Premium | $ | 2,963,985 | 100 | % | $ | 2,217,023 | 100 | % | $ | 1,559,858 | 100 | % |
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Expenses
Due to our organic-focused growth strategy, virtually all of our investments in future growth are in people and certain technologies. Therefore, the majority of our investments are not capitalizable and are recognized immediately on our statement of operations.
Employee compensation and benefits. Employee compensation and benefits is our largest expense and consists of (a) base compensation comprising salary, bonuses and benefits paid and payable to employees, and (b) stock option awards for our senior employees. We expect to continue to experience a general rise in compensation and benefits expense commensurate with expected growth in headcount and with the need to maintain competitive compensation levels as we expand geographically and create new products and services.
General and administrative expenses. General and administrative expenses include technology, travel, accounting, legal and other professional fees, commissions, placement fees, office expenses, depreciation and other costs associated with our operations. Our occupancy-related costs and professional services expenses, in particular, generally increase or decrease in relative proportion to the number of our employees and the overall size and scale of our business operations.
Key performance indicators
Our key operating metrics are discussed below:
Total Written Premium
Total Written Premium represents the total amount of current (non-cancelled) gross premium that is placed with Goosehead’s portfolio of Carriers for a reporting period. We believe that Total Written Premium is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it reflects growth of our business relative to other insurance agencies.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, we had $3.0 billion in Total Written Premium, representing a 34% increase, compared to $2.2 billion for the year ended December 31, 2022. The following table shows Total Written Premium by channel for the years ended 2023 and 2022 (in thousands).
| Year Ended December 31 | % Change | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||
| Corporate Sales Total Written Premium | $ | 681,025 | $ | 554,764 | 23 | % | |||||
| Franchise Sales Total Written Premium | 2,282,959 | 1,662,260 | 37 | % | |||||||
| Total Written Premium | $ | 2,963,984 | $ | 2,217,024 | 34 | % |
Policies in Force
Policies in Force means the total count of current (non-cancelled) policies placed with Goosehead’s portfolio of Carriers as of a reported date. We believe that Policies in Force is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it reflects growth of our business relative to other insurance agencies.
As of December 31, 2023, we had 1,486,000 Policies in Force compared to 1,284,000 as of December 31, 2022, representing a 16% increase.
NPS
Net Promoter Score (NPS) is calculated based on a single question: “How likely are you to refer Goosehead Insurance to a friend, family member or colleague?” Clients that respond with a 6 or below are Detractors, with a 7 or 8 are Passives, and with a 9 or 10 are Promoters. NPS is calculated by subtracting the percentage of Detractors from the percentage of Promoters. For example, if 50% of respondents were Promoters and 10% were Detractors, NPS is a 40. NPS is a useful gauge of the loyalty of client relationships and can be compared across companies and industries.
NPS has increased modestly to 92 as of December 31, 2023 from 90 at December 31, 2022, primarily driven by the service team’s continued focus on delivering highly differentiated service levels.
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Client Retention
Client Retention is calculated by comparing the number of all clients that had at least one policy in force twelve months prior to the date of measurement and still have at least one policy in force at the date of measurement. We believe Client Retention is useful as a measure of how well Goosehead retains clients year-over-year and minimizes defections.
Client Retention decreased modestly to 86% at December 31, 2023 when compared to 88% at December 31, 2022, again driven by the service team’s continued focus on delivering highly differentiated service levels. Our retention rate is even stronger on a premium basis. In 2023, we retained 101% of the premiums we distributed in 2022, an increase from premium retention in 2022 of 100% primarily due to premium increases from our Carriers during the year. Our premium retention rate is higher than our Client Retention rate as a result of both premiums increasing year over year and additional coverages sold by our sales and service teams.
New Business Revenue
New Business Revenue is commissions received from the Carrier, Agency Fees received from clients, and Royalty Fees relating to policies in their first term.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, New Business Revenue grew 3% to $54.8 million, from $53.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. Growth in New Business Revenue is primarily attributable to an increase in agent productivity and rising premium rates.
Renewal Revenue
Renewal Revenue is commissions received from the Carrier and Royalty Fees after the first term of a policy.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, Renewal Revenue grew 32% to $178.3 million, from $134.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. Growth in Renewal Revenue was driven primarily by Client Retention of 86% at December 31, 2023, and premium rate increases over the prior year. As our agent force matures, the policies they wrote in prior years begin to convert from New Business Revenue to more profitable Renewal Revenue.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Core Revenue, Cost Recovery Revenue, Ancillary Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, and Adjusted EPS are not measures of financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered substitutes for total revenue, net income, net income margin or earnings per share, which we consider to be the most directly comparable GAAP measure. We refer to these measures as "non-GAAP financial measures." We consider these non-GAAP financial measures to be useful metrics for management and investors to facilitate operating performance comparisons from period to period by excluding potential differences caused by variations in capital structures, tax position, depreciation, amortization and certain other items that we believe are not representative of our core business. Core Revenue, Cost Recovery Revenue, Ancillary Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, and Adjusted EPS have limitations as analytical tools, and when assessing our operating performance, you should not consider Core Revenue, Cost Recovery Revenue, Ancillary Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, or Adjusted EPS in isolation or as substitutes for net income, earnings per share or other consolidated income statement data prepared in accordance with GAAP. Other companies may calculate Core Revenue, Cost Recovery Revenue, Ancillary Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, and Adjusted EPS differently than we do, limiting their usefulness as comparative measures.
Core Revenue
Core Revenue is a supplemental measure of our performance and includes Renewal Commissions, Renewal Royalty Fees, New Business Commissions, New Business Royalty Fees, and Agency Fees. We believe that Core Revenue is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it summarizes all of our revenues from sales of individual insurance policies.
Core Revenue increased by $44.8 million, or 24%, to $233.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 from $188.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The primary drivers of the increase are increased agent productivity, growth in premiums, high levels of client and premium retention, and the number of policies in the renewal term from December 31, 2022 to December 31, 2023.
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Cost Recovery Revenue
Cost Recovery Revenue is a supplemental measure of our performance and includes Initial Franchise Fees and Interest Income. We believe that Cost Recovery Revenue is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it summarizes revenues that are viewed by management as cost recovery mechanisms.
Cost Recovery Revenue increased by $0.4 million, or 3%, to $12.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 from $12.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The primary driver of the increase was an increase in terminations of franchises, which accelerates recognition of initial franchise fee revenue.
Ancillary Revenue
Ancillary Revenue is a supplemental measure of our performance and includes Contingent Commissions and Other Income. We believe that Ancillary Revenue is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it summarizes revenues that are ancillary to our core business.
Ancillary Revenue increased by $6.6 million, or 74%, to $15.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 from $9.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The primary drivers of the increase from December 31, 2022 to December 31, 2023 were improved loss ratios as well as growth in Total Written Premiums.
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA is a supplemental measure of our performance. We believe that Adjusted EBITDA is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it eliminates the impact of items that do not relate to underlying business performance. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income (the most directly comparable GAAP measure) before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, adjusted to exclude equity-based compensation, impairment expense, and other non-operating items, including, among other things, certain non-cash charges and certain non-recurring or non-operating gains or losses.
Adjusted EBITDA increased by $33.2 million, or 90%, to $69.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, from $36.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, driven by a significant increase in core revenue and slower growth in both employee compensation and benefits and general and administrative expenses.
Adjusted EBITDA Margin
Adjusted EBITDA Margin is Adjusted EBITDA as defined above, divided by total revenue excluding other non-operating items. Adjusted EBITDA Margin is helpful in measuring profitability of operations on a consolidated level.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, Adjusted EBITDA Margin was 27% compared to 18% for the year ended December 31, 2022. The Adjusted EBITDA margin increase came from a significant increase in Core Revenue and slower growth in both employee compensation and benefits and general and administrative expenses.
Adjusted EPS
Adjusted EPS is a supplemental measure of our performance, defined as earnings per share (the most directly comparable GAAP measure) before non-recurring or non-operating income and expenses, adjusted to assume a single class of stock (Class A) and assuming non-controlling interest does not exist. Adjusted EPS is a useful measure to management because it eliminates the impact of items that do not relate to business performance and helps compare companies that may not have a dual-share class structure.
Adjusted EPS increased by $0.78 to $1.33 for the year ended December 31, 2023, from $0.55 for the year ended December 31, 2022, driven by a significant increase in Core Revenue and slower growth in both employee compensation and benefits and general and administrative expenses.
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GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliations
The following table shows a reconciliation of total revenues to other non-GAAP measures of revenue for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021 (in thousands):
| Year ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||
| Total Revenues | $ | 261,276 | $ | 209,390 | $ | 151,312 | ||||
| Core Revenue: | ||||||||||
| Renewal Commissions(1) | $ | 70,730 | $ | 57,543 | $ | 39,111 | ||||
| Renewal Royalty Fees(2) | 107,524 | 77,346 | 46,079 | |||||||
| New Business Commissions(1) | 23,411 | 24,126 | 22,108 | |||||||
| New Business Royalty Fees(2) | 23,168 | 18,244 | 14,616 | |||||||
| Agency Fees(1) | 8,174 | 10,912 | 11,506 | |||||||
| Total Core Revenue | 233,007 | 188,171 | 133,420 | |||||||
| Cost Recovery Revenue: | ||||||||||
| Initial Franchise Fees(2) | 11,238 | 10,853 | 6,516 | |||||||
| Interest Income | 1,443 | 1,403 | 1,153 | |||||||
| Total Cost Recovery Revenue | 12,681 | 12,256 | 7,669 | |||||||
| Ancillary Revenue: | ||||||||||
| Contingent Commissions(1) | 13,746 | 7,684 | 9,926 | |||||||
| Other Income(2) | 1,843 | 1,279 | 297 | |||||||
| Total Ancillary Revenue | 15,588 | 8,963 | 10,223 | |||||||
| Total Revenues | $ | 261,276 | $ | 209,390 | $ | 151,312 |
(1) Renewal Commissions, New Business Commissions, Agency Fees, and Contingent Commissions are included in "Commissions and agency fees" as shown on the Consolidated statements of operations.
(2) Renewal Royalty Fees, New Business Royalty Fees, Initial Franchise Fees, and Other Income are included in "Franchise revenues" as shown on the Consolidated statements of operations.
The following table shows a reconciliation from net income to Adjusted EBITDA for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021 (in thousands):
| Year ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||
| Net income | $ | 23,696 | $ | 2,630 | $ | 8,296 | |||||
| Interest expense | 6,568 | 4,999 | 2,854 | ||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 9,244 | 6,884 | 4,873 | ||||||||
| Tax expense (benefit) | 2,692 | 2,499 | (2,292) | ||||||||
| Equity-based compensation | 23,989 | 19,642 | 7,292 | ||||||||
| Impairment expense | 3,628 | — | — | ||||||||
| Other (income) expense | — | — | (185) | ||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 69,817 | $ | 36,654 | $ | 20,838 | |||||
| Net Income Margin(1) | 9 | % | 1 | % | 5 | % | |||||
| Adjusted EBITDA Margin(2) | 27 | % | 18 | % | 14 | % |
(1) Net Income Margin is calculated as Net Income divided by Total Revenue ($23,696 / $261,276), ($2,630 / $209,390), and ($8,296 / $151,312) for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021.
(2) Adjusted EBITDA Margin is calculated as Adjusted EBITDA divided by Total Revenue excluding other non-operating items ($69,818 / $261,276) for the year ended December 31, 2023, ($36,654 / $209,390) for the year ended December 31, 2022, and ($20,838 /$151,312) for the year ended December 31, 2021.
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The following tables show a reconciliation from basic earnings per share to Adjusted EPS for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021. Note that totals may not sum due to rounding:
| Year ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||
| Earnings per share - basic (GAAP) | $ | 0.59 | $ | 0.03 | $ | 0.28 | |||||
| Add: equity-based compensation(1) | 0.64 | 0.52 | 0.20 | ||||||||
| Add: impairment expense(2) | 0.10 | — | — | ||||||||
| Adjusted EPS (non-GAAP) | $ | 1.33 | $ | 0.55 | $ | 0.48 |
(1) Calculated as equity-based compensation divided by the sum of the weighted average number of shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock outstanding during the period 2023 - [$24.0 million / ( 23.9 million + 13.8 million )] 2022 - [ $19.6 million / ( 21.0 million + 16.2 million )] 2021 - [ $7.3 million / ( 19.2 million + 17.7 million )]
(2) Calculated as impairment expense divided by the sum of the weighted average number of shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock [ $3.6 million / (23.9 million + 13.8 million )] for the year ended December 31, 2023. No impairment was recorded for the years ended December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021.
Consolidated results of operations
The following is a discussion of our consolidated results of operations for each of the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021. This information is derived from our accompanying consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. For further discussion regarding our consolidated results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2022 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2021, refer to "Part II, Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022.
The following table summarizes our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021 (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Revenues: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Commissions and agency fees | $ | 116,061 | 44 | % | $ | 100,265 | 48 | % | $ | 82,651 | 54 | % | ||||||||
| Franchise revenues | 143,772 | 55 | % | 107,722 | 51 | % | 67,508 | 45 | % | |||||||||||
| Interest income | 1,443 | 1 | % | 1,403 | 1 | % | 1,153 | 1 | % | |||||||||||
| Total revenues | 261,276 | 100 | % | 209,390 | 100 | % | 151,312 | 100 | % | |||||||||||
| Operating Expenses: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Employee compensation and benefits | 152,604 | 67 | % | 133,293 | 67 | % | 94,978 | 67 | % | |||||||||||
| General and administrative expenses | 62,111 | 27 | % | 52,887 | 27 | % | 39,789 | 28 | % | |||||||||||
| Bad debts | 4,361 | 2 | % | 6,198 | 3 | % | 2,999 | 2 | % | |||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 9,244 | 4 | % | 6,884 | 3 | % | 4,873 | 3 | % | |||||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 228,320 | 100 | % | 199,262 | 100 | % | 142,639 | 100 | % | |||||||||||
| Income from operations | 32,956 | 10,128 | 8,673 | |||||||||||||||||
| Other Income: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other income | — | — | 185 | |||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (6,568) | (4,999) | (2,854) | |||||||||||||||||
| Income before taxes | 26,388 | 5,129 | 6,004 | |||||||||||||||||
| Tax expense (benefit) | 2,692 | 2,499 | (2,292) | |||||||||||||||||
| Net Income | 23,696 | 2,630 | 8,296 | |||||||||||||||||
| Less: net income attributable to non-controlling interests | 9,556 | 2,065 | 2,893 | |||||||||||||||||
| Net Income attributable to Goosehead Insurance Inc. | $ | 14,140 | $ | 565 | $ | 5,403 |
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Revenues
In 2023, revenue increased by 25% to $261.3 million from $209.4 million in 2022.
Commissions and agency fees
Commissions and agency fees consist of Core Revenue from New Business Commissions, Renewal Commissions, and Agency Fees, and Ancillary Revenue from Contingent Commissions generated from corporate sales and franchise sales and other income.
The following table sets forth our commissions and agency fees by amount and as a percentage of our revenues for the periods indicated (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Core Revenue: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Renewal Commissions | $ | 70,730 | 61 | % | $ | 57,543 | 57 | % | $ | 39,111 | 47 | % | ||||||||
| New Business Commissions | 23,411 | 20 | % | 24,126 | 24 | % | 22,108 | 27 | % | |||||||||||
| Agency Fees | 8,174 | 7 | % | 10,912 | 11 | % | 11,506 | 14 | % | |||||||||||
| Total | 102,315 | 88 | % | 92,581 | 92 | % | 72,725 | 88 | % | |||||||||||
| Ancillary Revenue: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Contingent Commissions | 13,746 | 12 | % | 7,684 | 8 | % | 9,926 | 12 | % | |||||||||||
| Commissions and agency fees | $ | 116,061 | 100 | % | $ | 100,265 | 100 | % | $ | 82,651 | 100 | % |
Renewal Commissions increased by $13.2 million, or 23%, to $70.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 from $57.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. This increase is primarily attributable to strong premium retention and more policies in the renewal term, offset by a slight decline in client retention to 86% at December 31, 2023 from 88% at December 31, 2022.
New Business Commissions decreased by $0.7 million, or 3%, to $23.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 from $24.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. Revenue from Agency Fees decreased by $2.7 million, or 25%, to $8.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 from $10.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. This decrease in New Business Commissions and Agency Fees was primarily attributable to a decrease in total sales agent head count to 300 at December 31, 2023, from 320 at December 31, 2022, a 6% decrease.
Revenue from Contingent Commissions increased by $6.1 million, or 79%, to $13.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, from $7.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase is primarily attributable to growth in total written premiums as well as receiving and qualifying for additional contingent commissions.
Franchise Revenues
Franchise Revenues consist of Core Revenues from Royalty Fees, Cost Recovery Revenues from Initial Franchise Fees, and Ancillary Revenues from Interest Income.
The following table sets forth our franchise revenues by amount and as a percentage of our revenues for the periods indicated (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Core Revenues: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Renewal Royalty Fees | $ | 107,524 | 75 | % | $ | 77,346 | 72 | % | $ | 46,079 | 68 | % | ||||||||
| New Business Royalty Fees | 23,168 | 16 | % | 18,244 | 17 | % | 14,616 | 22 | % | |||||||||||
| Total | 130,692 | 91 | % | 95,590 | 89 | % | 60,695 | 90 | % | |||||||||||
| Cost Recovery Revenues: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Initial Franchise Fees | 11,238 | 8 | % | 10,853 | 10 | % | 6,516 | 10 | % | |||||||||||
| Ancillary Revenues: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other Franchise Revenues | 1,843 | 1 | % | 1,279 | 1 | % | 297 | — | % | |||||||||||
| Franchise revenues | $ | 143,772 | 100 | % | $ | 107,722 | 100 | % | $ | 67,508 | 100 | % |
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Revenue from Renewal Royalty Fees increased by $30.2 million, or 39%, to $107.5 million, for the year ended December 31, 2023 from $77.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase in revenue from Renewal Royalty Fees was primarily attributable to strong premium retention rate and more policies in the renewal term, offset by a slight decline in client retention to 86% at December 31, 2023 from 88% at December 31, 2022.
Revenue from New Business Royalty Fees increased by $4.9 million, or 27%, to $23.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 from $18.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase in revenue from New Business Royalty Fees was driven primarily by an increase in agency productivity and rising premium rates.
Initial Franchise Fee revenue increased approximately $0.4 million, or 4%, to $11.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 from $10.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The primary driver of the increase in Initial Franchise Fees was the acceleration of Initial Franchise Fee revenue from terminations of existing agencies.
Interest Income
Interest Income remained stable at $1.4 million for 2023 compared to $1.4 million for 2022, driven by a similar number of franchises on a payment plan in both periods.
Expenses
Employee compensation and benefits
Employee compensation and benefits expenses increased by $19.3 million, or 14%, to $152.6 million for 2023 from $133.3 million for 2022. This was primarily attributable to the hiring of more experienced team members, particularly at the leadership level, and an increase in equity-based compensation of 22% related to additional stock options granted during 2023.
General and administrative expenses
General and administrative expenses increased by $9.2 million, or 17%, to $62.1 million for 2023 from $52.9 million for 2022. This increase was primarily attributable to $3.6 million asset impairment charges related to internally developed software and impairment of two office locations the Company determined to sublease, increased spend on rent-related costs due to expansion of our corporate office space, and increased spending on software and professional services
Bad debts
Bad debts decreased by $1.8 million, or 30%, to $4.4 million for 2023 from $6.2 million for 2022. This decrease was primarily attributable to an increase in average cash collections relative to revenue recognized for terminated franchises on the payment plan.
Depreciation and amortization
Depreciation and amortization increased by $2.4 million, or 34%, to $9.2 million for 2023 from $6.9 million for 2022. This increase was primarily attributable to the increase in fixed assets due to the expansion of office space, additional investments in software development, and purchases of books of business.
Interest expense
Interest expenses increased by $1.6 million, or 31%, to $6.6 million for 2023 from $5.0 million for 2022. This increase is attributable to a rising interest rate environment during the year, partially offset by a decrease in total borrowings outstanding.
Tax expense
Tax expenses increased by $0.2 million, or 8%, to $2.7 million for 2023 from $2.5 million for 2022. This increase is attributable to an increase in income before taxes offset by a decrease in state and local deferred taxes.
Liquidity and capital resources
Historical liquidity and capital resources
We have managed our historical liquidity and capital requirements primarily through the receipt of revenues from our corporate and franchise sales. Our primary cash flow activities involve: (1) generating cash flow from corporate sales, which largely includes Renewal Revenue (Corporate) and New Business Revenue (Corporate); (2) generating cash flow from franchise sales, which largely includes Royalty Fees and Initial Franchise Fees;
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(3) making distributions to the Goosehead Management Holders and Texas Wasatch Holders; and (4) borrowings, interest payments and repayments under our Credit Agreement. As of December 31, 2023, our unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, and restricted cash was $44.0 million. We have used cash flow from operations primarily to pay compensation and related expenses, general, administrative and other expenses, and debt service.
Credit agreement
See "Note 9. Debt" in the consolidated financial statements included herein for a discussion of the Company's credit facilities.
Comparative cash flows
The following table summarizes our cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities for the periods indicated:
| Year Ended December 31 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 50,758 | $ | 35,724 | $ | 35,444 | ||||
| Net cash used for investing activities | (19,182) | (12,571) | (15,375) | |||||||
| Net cash used for financing activities | (17,916) | (23,245) | (15,826) | |||||||
| Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | 13,660 | (92) | 4,243 | |||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents, and restricted cash, beginning of period | 30,387 | 30,479 | 26,236 | |||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents, and restricted cash, end of period | $ | 44,047 | $ | 30,387 | $ | 30,479 |
Operating activities
Net cash provided by operating activities was $50.8 million for 2023 as compared to net cash provided by operating activities of $35.7 million for 2022. This increase in net cash provided by operating activities was primarily attributable to a $21.1 million increase in net income, an $8.4 million increase in cash provided by receivables from franchisees, a $4.5 million increase in cash provided by commissions and agency fees, and a $4.3 million increase in stock compensation expense offset by a $17.4 million decrease in cash provided by contract liabilities and a $4.0 million increase in prepaid expenses.
Investing activities
Net cash used for business investment activities was $19.2 million for 2023 as compared to net cash used for business investment activities of $12.6 million for 2022. This increase in net cash used in business investment activities was primarily attributable to $6.9 million for purchases of books of business in 2023 and a $5.2 million increase in cash paid for software development offset by $5.7 million decrease in the purchase of property and equipment.
Financing activities
Net cash used for financing activities was $17.9 million for 2023 as compared to net cash used for financing activities of $23.2 million for 2022. This decrease in net cash used for financing activities is due to the net repayment of $25.0 million of the revolving credit facility in 2022 and a $3.8 million increase in cash received from stock options exercises, offset by a $12.5 million increase in principal payments on notes payable, due primarily to an additional $10.0 million principal payment made in 2023, and a $10.9 million increase in member distributions paid during 2023.
Future sources and uses of liquidity
Our sources of liquidity are (1) cash on hand, (2) net working capital, (3) cash flows from operations and (4) our Revolving Credit Facility or other sources of debt financing. Based on our current expectations, we believe that these sources of liquidity will be sufficient to fund our working capital requirements and to meet our commitments in the foreseeable future.
Our primary liquidity needs comprise cash to (1) provide capital to facilitate the organic growth of our business, (2) pay operating expenses, including cash compensation to our employees, (3) make payments under the tax receivable agreement, (4) pay interest and principal due on borrowings under our Credit Agreement and (5) pay income taxes.
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Dividend policy
Assuming Goosehead Financial, LLC makes distributions to its members in any given year, the determination to pay dividends, if any, to our Class A common stockholders out of the portion, if any, of such distributions remaining after our payment of taxes, tax receivable agreement payments and expenses (any such portion, an “excess distribution”) will be made at the sole discretion of our board of directors. Our board of directors may change our dividend policy at any time. See “Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities — Dividend policy".
Tax receivable agreement
We entered into a tax receivable agreement with the Pre-IPO LLC Members on May 1, 2018 that provides for the payment by us to the Pre-IPO LLC Members of 85% of the amount of cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax or franchise tax that we actually realize as a result of (i) any increase in tax basis in Goosehead Insurance, Inc.’s assets and (ii) tax benefits related to imputed interest deemed arising as a result of payments made under the tax receivable agreement. See "Item 13. Certain relationships and related transactions, and director independence".
Holders of Goosehead Financial, LLC Units (other than Goosehead Insurance, Inc.) may, subject to certain conditions and transfer restrictions described above, redeem or exchange their LLC Units for shares of Class A common stock of Goosehead Insurance, Inc. on a one-for-one basis. Goosehead Financial, LLC has made an election under Section 754 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the regulations thereunder (the “Code”) effective for each taxable year in which a redemption or exchange of LLC Units for shares of Class A common stock occurs, which has resulted and is expected to result in increases to the tax basis of the assets of Goosehead Financial, LLC at the time of a redemption or exchange of LLC Units. Prior redemptions and exchanges have resulted, and we expect future redemptions and exchanges will result in increases in the tax basis of the tangible and intangible assets of Goosehead Financial, LLC. These increases in tax basis have reduced the amount of tax we are required to pay, and may reduce the amount of tax that Goosehead Insurance, Inc. would otherwise be required to pay in the future. We have entered into a tax receivable agreement with the Pre-IPO LLC Members that provides for the payment by us to the Pre-IPO LLC Members of 85% of the amount of cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax or franchise tax that we actually realize as a result of (i) any increase in tax basis in Goosehead Insurance, Inc.’s assets resulting from (a) the purchase of LLC Units from any of the Pre-IPO LLC Members using the net proceeds from any future offering, (b) redemptions or exchanges by the Pre-IPO LLC Members of LLC Units for shares of our Class A common stock or (c) payments under the tax receivable agreement and (ii) tax benefits related to imputed interest deemed arising as a result of payments made under the tax receivable agreement. This payment obligation is an obligation of Goosehead Insurance, Inc. and not of Goosehead Financial, LLC. For purposes of the tax receivable agreement, the cash tax savings in income tax will be computed by comparing the actual income tax liability of Goosehead Insurance, Inc. (calculated with certain assumptions) to the amount of such taxes that Goosehead Insurance, Inc. would have been required to pay had there been no increase to the tax basis of the assets of Goosehead Financial, LLC as a result of the redemptions or exchanges and had Goosehead Insurance, Inc. not entered into the tax receivable agreement. Estimating the amount of payments that may be made under the tax receivable agreement is by its nature imprecise, insofar as the calculation of amounts payable depends on a variety of factors. While the actual increase in tax basis from future purchases, redemptions or exchanges, as well as the amount and timing of any payments under the tax receivable agreement, will vary depending upon a number of factors, including the timing of redemptions or exchanges, the price of shares of our Class A common stock at the time of the redemption or exchange, the extent to which such redemptions or exchanges are taxable and the amount and timing of our income. See "Item 13. Certain relationships and related transactions, and director independence". We historically accounted, and anticipate that we will continue to account for the effects of these increases in tax basis and associated payments under the tax receivable agreement arising from redemptions or exchanges as follows:
•we will record an increase in deferred tax assets for the estimated income tax effects of the increases in tax basis based on enacted federal and state tax rates at the date of the redemption or exchange;
•to the extent we estimate that we will not realize the full benefit represented by the deferred tax asset, based on an analysis that will consider, among other things, our expectation of future earnings, we will reduce the deferred tax asset with a valuation allowance; and
•we will record 85% of the estimated realizable tax benefit (which is the recorded deferred tax asset less any recorded valuation allowance) as an increase to the liability due under the tax receivable agreement and the remaining 15% of the estimated realizable tax benefit as an increase to additional paid-in capital.
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All of the effects of changes in any of our estimates after the date of the redemption or exchange will be included in net income. Similarly, the effect of subsequent changes in the enacted tax rates will be included in net income.
Contractual obligations, commitments and contingencies
The following table represents our contractual obligations as of December 31, 2023, aggregated by type.
| Contractual obligations, commitments and contingencies | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands) | Total | Less than 1 year | 1-3 years | 3-5 years | More than 5 years | |||||||||||||
| Operating leases(1) | $ | 75,265 | $ | 11,292 | $ | 23,245 | $ | 22,152 | $ | 18,576 | ||||||||
| Debt obligations payable(2) | 77,500 | 9,375 | 68,125 | — | — | |||||||||||||
| Interest expense(3) | 12,060 | 5,359 | 6,701 | — | — | |||||||||||||
| Liabilities under tax receivable agreement(4) | 149,302 | — | 34,912 | 17,828 | 96,562 | |||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 314,127 | $ | 26,026 | $ | 132,983 | $ | 39,980 | $ | 115,138 |
(1)The Company leases its facilities under non-cancelable operating leases. In addition to monthly lease payments, the lease agreements require the Company to reimburse the lessors for its portion of operating costs each year. Rent expense was $7.8 million, $7.0 million, and $4.8 million for year ending December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021.
(2)The Company refinanced its credit facilities on July 21, 2021 in the form of a $100 million term loan and $50 million revolving credit facility, of which nothing was drawn on the revolving credit facility as of December 31, 2023.
(3)Interest payments on our outstanding debt obligations under our Credit Agreement. Our debt obligations have variable interest rates. We have calculated future interest obligations based on the interest rate for our debt obligations as of December 31, 2023.
(4)See "Item 7. Management's discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operation - Tax receivable agreement."
Critical accounting policies and estimates
We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP. In applying many of these accounting principles, we need to make assumptions, estimates or judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses in our consolidated financial statements. We base our estimates and judgments on historical experience and other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances. These assumptions, estimates or judgments, however, are both subjective and subject to change, and actual results may differ from our assumptions and estimates. If actual amounts are ultimately different from our estimates, the revisions are included in our results of operations for the period in which the actual amounts become known. We believe the following critical accounting policies could potentially produce materially different results if we were to change underlying assumptions, estimates or judgments. See “Item 8. Financial statements and supplementary data - Summary of significant accounting policies” for a summary of our significant accounting policies, and discussion of recent accounting pronouncements.
Revenue recognition
Goosehead provides personal and commercial property and casualty insurance brokerage services for its clients through a network of corporate-owned offices and franchise units. Goosehead is compensated for the insurance brokerage services that it provides for clients in the form of commission revenue, agency fees, royalty fees, and contingent commissions.
The transaction price for commissions revenue and royalty fees is set as an estimate of the variable consideration to be received for the current policy term. This estimate includes the fixed consideration due based on the contractual terms of the current policy and adjustments for estimates of modifications of the contractual terms of the current policy and/or termination of the policy before the end of the current term. This variable consideration is constrained to the extent that it is probable there will not be a significant reversal of revenue. The Company adjusts its estimate of revenue recognized for commissions and royalty fees based on cash collections during the term of the policy. Commissions revenue is earned at a point in time on the effective date of the policy. Royalty fees are earned over time as the underlying policies are placed.
The transaction price for contingent commissions is estimated based on all available information and constrained such that it is probable there will not be a significant reversal of revenue. Contingent commissions revenue is recognized over time as the Company completes its performance obligations as the underlying policies are placed and other contractual obligations are met.
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Certain costs to obtain or fulfill a contract are capitalized. The Company capitalizes the incremental costs to obtain franchise contracts. These deferred costs are amortized over the expected life of the underlying franchise fee and are included in Other assets in the Company's consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2023.
Liabilities under Tax Receivable Agreement
In connection with the Offering we entered into a tax receivable agreement with the Pre-IPO LLC Members that provides for the payment by us to the Pre-IPO LLC Members of 85% of the amount of cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax or franchise tax that we actually realize as a result of (i) any increase in tax basis in Goosehead Financial, LLC’s assets resulting from (a) the acquisition of LLC Units using the net proceeds from any future offering, (b) redemptions or exchanges by the Pre-IPO LLC Members of LLC Units and the corresponding number of shares of Class B common stock for shares of our Class A common stock or (c) payments under the tax receivable agreement, and (ii) tax benefits related to imputed interest deemed arising as a result of payments made under the tax receivable agreement.
The actual increase in tax basis from future redemptions and exchanges, as well as the amount and timing of any payments under the tax receivable agreement, will vary depending on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the timing of any future redemptions, exchanges or purchases of the LLC Units held by Pre-IPO LLC Members, the price of our Class A common stock at the time of the purchase, redemption or exchange, the extent to which redemptions or exchanges are taxable, the amount and timing of the taxable income that we generate in the future, the tax rates then applicable and the portion of our payments under the tax receivable agreement constituting imputed interest.
As of December 31, 2023, as a result of the prior redemptions of LLC Units, we recognized liabilities totaling $149.3 million relating to our obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement.
FY 2022 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001726978-23-000020.
Item 7. Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations
Overview
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes and other financial information included elsewhere in this Annual Report. In addition to historical financial information, the following discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. Our actual results and timing of selected events may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those discussed under “Risk factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report.
This discussion includes references to non-GAAP financial measures as defined in the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (‘SEC’). We present such non-GAAP financial measures, specifically, Core Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS non-GAAP financial measures, as we believe such information is of interest to the investment community because it provides additional meaningful methods of evaluating certain aspects of the Company’s operating performance from period to period on a basis that may not be otherwise apparent under U.S. GAAP, and these provide a measure against which our businesses may be assessed in the future.
Our methods of calculating these measures may differ from those used by other companies and therefore comparability may be limited. These financial measures should be viewed in addition to, not in lieu of, the consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2022. See ‘Non-GAAP Financial Measures’ below for further discussion of our Core Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS non-GAAP financial measures
We are a rapidly growing personal lines independent insurance agency, reinventing the traditional approach to distributing personal lines products and services throughout the United States. We were founded with one vision in mind—to provide consumers with superior insurance coverage at the best available price and in a timely manner. By leveraging our differentiated business model and innovative technology platform, we are able to deliver a superior insurance experience to our clients.
The following discussion contains references to the years ended December 31, 2022, December 31, 2021, and December 31, 2020. See Goosehead’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 for a discussion of the changes from year ended December 31, 2020 to the year ended December 31, 2021.
Financial Highlights for 2022:
•Total revenue increased 38% from 2021 to $209.4 million; Core Revenues* of $188.2 million increased 41% over 2021
•Total Written Premiums Placed increased 42% from 2021 to $2.2 billion
•Net income decreased by $5.7 million from 2021 to $2.6 million, or 1% of total revenues
•Adjusted EBITDA*, a non-GAAP measure, increased by 76% from 2021 to $36.7 million, or 18% of total revenues
•Basic earnings per share was $0.03 and Adjusted EPS*, a non-GAAP measure, was $0.55 for the year ended December 31, 2022.
•Policies in Force increased 27% from December 31, 2021 to 1,284,000 at December 31, 2022.
•Corporate sales headcount decreased 37% from December 31, 2021 to 320 at December 31, 2022.
◦As of December 31, 2022, 165 of these corporate sales agents had less than one year of tenure and 155 had greater than one year of tenure.
•Operating franchises increased 18% from December 31, 2021 to 1,413 at December 31, 2022.
◦In Texas as of December 31, 2022, 71 operating franchises had less than one year of tenure and 236 operating franchisees had greater than one year of tenure.
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◦Outside of Texas as of December 31, 2022, 401 operating franchises had less than one year of tenure and 705 had greater than one year of tenure.
*Core Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS are non-GAAP measures. Reconciliation of Total Core Revenue to Total Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA to net income (loss) and Adjusted EPS to EPS, the most directly comparable financial measures presented in accordance with GAAP, are set forth in "Key performance indicators" below.
Factors affecting our results of operations
We believe that the most significant factors affecting our results of operations include:
•Investment in growth. We continue to invest in expanding our national footprint, increasing our revenue-producing headcount, and increasing the level of support provided to our salespeople. Our ability to attract and retain top corporate sales agents and franchise owners, ramp up new agent productivity, and retain existing and future Policies in Force are key to continued profitable growth.
•Investment in technology. We continue to develop and invest in our technology platform to drive scalability, adaptability, and efficiency. We believe our significant investment in proprietary technology is a key competitive advantage that supports, and will continue to support our growth and operating margins.
•Continued penetration of Franchisees into existing markets. We will continue to market actively for new franchises in our established markets, including Texas, which represent over 99% of the U.S. population. We are now licensed with the necessary state departments of commerce and insurance and registered as a franchisor in all 50 states in the U.S.
•Continued retention of existing Book of Business. We have made significant progress in recent years in Client Retention metrics, and maintaining these high levels of Client Retention is key to future profitability.
•Increase in margins as business shifts from new to renewal. Because we are entitled to a higher percentage of Royalty Fees after the first term of a policy and the higher level of back-office support needed during the first term of an insurance policy, the Company begins to see higher levels of profitability on Renewal Revenue. We will focus simultaneously on converting New Business Revenue to Renewal Revenue through our retention efforts, and on continuing to grow New Business Revenue that will convert and allow us to expand our margins in future periods.
•Strength of the insurance market or particular lines of business. We generate the majority of our revenues through commissions, which are calculated as a percentage of the total insurance policy premium. A softening of the insurance market or the particular lines of business that are our focus, characterized by a period of declining premium rates, could negatively impact our profitability.
•Seasonality and cyclicality of housing market conditions. The majority of our new accounts are sourced by referral sources tied to home closing transactions. Major slowdowns in the various housing markets Goosehead serves, including as a result of changes in prevailing interest rates or U.S. monetary policies that affect interest rates, could impact our ability to generate new business. We experience seasonality and revenue related to the sale of insurance policies throughout the course of a calendar year that is tied to the seasonality of new home sales. Revenue from home insurance leads is higher from April to August and lower from October through January. While this can impact month-to-month or quarter-to-quarter results, we expect productivity to normalize year-over-year.
•Increases in interest rates. Our variable rate debt, including our Credit Agreement, exposes us to interest rate risk. If interest rates were to increase, our debt service obligations on our variable rate indebtedness would increase even if the amount borrowed remained the same. To the extent that interest rate risk materializes and is not fully mitigated, the resulting increase in interest expense could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
•Effect of natural or man-made disasters. Any increases in loss ratios due to natural or man-made disasters could impact our Contingent Commissions, which are primarily driven by both growth and loss ratio metrics.
•Cost of being a public company. To operate as a public company, we are required to continue to implement changes in certain aspects of our business and develop, manage, and train management level and other employees to comply with on-going public company requirements. We also incur expenses as a public company, including public reporting obligations, proxy statements, stockholder meetings, stock exchange fees and transfer agent fees.
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Effects of the reorganization on our corporate structure
Goosehead Insurance, Inc. was formed for the purpose of the Offering and has engaged to date only in activities related to Goosehead Financial, LLC. Goosehead Insurance, Inc. is a holding company and its sole material asset is a controlling ownership and profits interest in Goosehead Financial, LLC. All of our business is conducted through Goosehead Financial, LLC and its consolidated subsidiaries, and the financial results of Goosehead Financial, LLC and its consolidated subsidiaries are included in the consolidated financial statements of Goosehead Insurance, Inc. Goosehead Financial, LLC is currently taxed as a partnership for federal income tax purposes and, as a result, its members, including Goosehead Insurance, Inc., pay taxes with respect to their allocable shares of its net taxable income.
Prior redemptions and exchanges of LLC Units have resulted, and we expect future redemptions and exchanges will result in increases in the tax basis in our share of the tangible and intangible assets of Goosehead Financial, LLC that otherwise would not have been available. These increases in tax basis have reduced the amount of tax we are required to pay, and may reduce the amount of tax that we would otherwise be required to pay in the future. The tax receivable agreement requires Goosehead Insurance, Inc. to pay 85% of the amount of cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax or franchise tax that we actually realize to the Pre-IPO LLC Members. Furthermore, payments under the tax receivable agreement give rise to additional tax benefits and therefore additional payments under the tax receivable agreement itself. See "Item 13. Certain relationships and related transactions, and director independence".
COVID-19
The spread of COVID-19 and mitigating measures caused unprecedented disruptions to the global economy and
normal business operations across sectors and countries, including the sectors and countries in which we, our clients, Carriers, suppliers and other third parties operate. Given the uncertainty regarding the adverse effects of COVID-19 on the national and global economy, the related financial impact on our business cannot be predicted with certainty at this time. While we intend to continue to execute on our strategic plans and operational initiatives, there may be developments outside our control requiring us to adjust our operating plan. See Part II, Item 1A. “Risk Factors—The ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the global economy in a significant manner and may continue to do so for an extended period of time, and could also materially adversely affect our business and operating results.”
Certain income statement line items
Revenues
In 2022, revenue increased by 38% to $209.4 million from $151.3 million in 2021. Total Written Premium growth, which is the best indicator of future revenue growth, increased 42% to $2.2 billion in 2022 from $1.6 billion in 2021. Total Written Premiums Placed drive our current and future Core Revenue and gives us potential opportunities to earn Ancillary Revenue in the form of Contingent Commissions. Our various revenue streams do not equally contribute to the long-term value of Goosehead. For instance, Renewal Revenue and Renewal Royalty Fees are more predictable and have higher margin profiles, thus are higher quality revenue streams for the Company. Alternatively, Contingent Commissions, while high margin, are unpredictable and dependent on insurance company underwriting and forces of nature and thus are lower quality revenue for the Company. Our revenue streams can be viewed in three distinct categories: Core Revenue, Cost Recovery Revenue, and Ancillary Revenue, which are non-GAAP measures. A reconciliation of Core Revenue, Cost Recovery Revenue, and Ancillary Revenue to total revenue, the most directly comparable financial measures presented in accordance with GAAP, are set forth in the "Key performance indicators" section of Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations of this Form 10-K.
Core Revenue:
•Renewal Commissions - highly predictable, higher-margin revenue stream, which is managed by our service team.
•Renewal Royalty Fees - highly predictable, higher-margin revenue stream, which is managed by our service team. For policies in their first renewal term, we see an increase in our share of royalties from 20% to 50% on the commission paid by the Carriers.
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•New Business Commissions - predictable based on agent headcount and consistent ramp-up of agents, but lower margin than Renewal Commissions because of higher commissions paid to agents and higher back-office costs associated with policies in their first term. This revenue stream has predictably converted into higher-margin Renewal Commissions historically, and we expect this to continue moving forward.
•New Business Royalty Fees - predictable based on franchise count and consistent ramp-up of franchises, but lower margin than Renewal Royalty Fees because the Company only receives a royalty fee of 20% on the commissions paid by the Carrier in the first term of every policy and higher back-office costs associated with policies in their first term. This revenue stream has predictably converted into higher-margin Renewal Royalty Fees historically, and we expect this to continue moving forward.
•Agency Fees - although predictable based on agent count, Agency Fees do not renew like New Business Commissions and Renewal Commissions.
Cost Recovery Revenue:
•Initial Franchise Fees - one-time Cost Recovery Revenue stream per franchise unit that covers the Company's costs to recruit, train, onboard, and support the franchise for the first year. These fees are fully earned and non-refundable when a franchise attends our initial training.
•Interest Income - like Initial Franchise Fees, interest income is a Cost Recovery Revenue stream that reimburses the Company for those franchises on a payment plan.
Ancillary Revenue:
•Contingent Commissions - although high margin, Contingent Commissions are unpredictable and susceptible to weather events and Carrier underwriting results. Management does not rely on Contingent Commissions for operating cash flow or budget planning.
•Other Income - book transfer fees, marketing investments from Carriers and other items that are unpredictable and supplemental to other revenue streams.
We discuss below the breakdown of our revenue by stream:
| Years ended December 31, | 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands) | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | % Growth | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Core Revenue: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Renewal Commissions(1) | $ | 57,543 | 27 | % | $ | 39,111 | 26 | % | $ | 28,891 | 25 | % | 47 | % | ||||||||||
| Renewal Royalty Fees(2) | 77,346 | 37 | % | 46,079 | 30 | % | 29,309 | 25 | % | 68 | % | |||||||||||||
| New Business Commissions(1) | 24,126 | 12 | % | 22,108 | 15 | % | 17,324 | 15 | % | 9 | % | |||||||||||||
| New Business Royalty Fees(2) | 18,244 | 9 | % | 14,616 | 10 | % | 10,623 | 9 | % | 25 | % | |||||||||||||
| Agency Fees(1) | 10,912 | 4 | % | 11,506 | 7 | % | 8,921 | 7 | % | (5) | % | |||||||||||||
| Total Core Revenue | 188,171 | 89 | % | 133,420 | 88 | % | 95,068 | 81 | % | 41 | % | |||||||||||||
| Cost Recovery Revenue: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Initial Franchise Fees(2) | 10,853 | 5 | % | 6,516 | 4 | % | 4,236 | 4 | % | 67 | % | |||||||||||||
| Interest Income | 1,403 | 1 | % | 1,153 | 1 | % | 813 | 1 | % | 22 | % | |||||||||||||
| Total Cost Recovery Revenue | 12,256 | 6 | % | 7,669 | 5 | % | 5,049 | 5 | % | 60 | % | |||||||||||||
| Ancillary Revenue: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Contingent Commissions(1) | 7,684 | 4 | % | 9,926 | 7 | % | 16,675 | 14 | % | (23) | % | |||||||||||||
| Other Income(2) | 1,279 | 1 | % | 297 | — | % | 222 | — | % | 331 | % | |||||||||||||
| Total Ancillary Revenue | 8,963 | 5 | % | 10,223 | 7 | % | 16,897 | 14 | % | (12) | % | |||||||||||||
| Total Revenues | $ | 209,390 | 100 | % | $ | 151,312 | 100 | % | $ | 117,014 | 100 | % | 38 | % |
(1) Renewal Commissions, New Business Commissions, Agency Fees, and Contingent Commissions are included in "Commissions and agency fees" as shown on the Consolidated statements of operations.
(2) Renewal Royalty Fees, New Business Royalty Fees, Initial Franchise Fees, and Other Income are included in "Franchise revenues" as shown on the Consolidated statements of operations.
Core Revenue:
The Company's primary source of revenue is through the placement of insurance policies. We are paid a percentage of the premium from the Carriers in the form of New Business Commissions and, in states which allow it, we charge Agency Fees for the placement of the policy. For policies placed through franchise sales, we receive
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20% of the commissions and fees received as New Business Royalties during the first term of the policy. All clients are serviced by our world-class service centers, allowing for predictable retention of our Book of Business, which has historically been 88%. All commissions received in corporate sales after the first term of the policy are recognized as Renewal Commissions, which are higher margin due to lower servicing costs. For all policies that renew related to franchise sales, we receive 50% of the commissions received from the Carrier as Renewal Royalty Fees, creating a mechanical increase in revenue of 120% if we renew at historical rates, and higher margin due to lower servicing costs on higher revenue. For this reason, and because we are placing an increasing percentage of Total Written Premium in franchise sales, Core Revenue growth will lag that of Total Written Premium.
Cost Recovery Revenue:
The Company charges every franchise an Initial Franchise Fee, which, on a cash flow basis, covers our costs to recruit, train, onboard, and support the franchise for the first year. The Initial Franchise Fee is determined by the state of the Franchise location and the payment terms. The Company recognizes revenue over the 10-year life of the contract. If the franchise elects the payment plan, the difference between the pay-in-full and the payment plan amounts is recognized as Interest Income using the interest rate method over the 5-year term of the payment plan.
Ancillary Revenue:
With certain Carriers, the Company has the opportunity to earn additional revenue in the form of Contingent Commissions, typically based on the growth and loss ratio of the business placed with the select Carriers. The Contingent Commissions are extremely difficult to predict in any given period. Although the Company can control the amount of business placed with the Carriers, loss ratios depend on many factors that are outside of our control, such as weather events and Carrier underwriting accuracy. As such, we view these Contingent Commissions as a bonus and have historically returned the cash from the Contingent Commissions to shareholders by way of a special dividend. The Company estimates the amount to be received during the period over which the Contingent Commissions are earned.
Below is a summary showing the historical Contingent Commissions as a percentage of Total Written Premiums Placed for the period in which the Contingent Commissions were earned (in thousands).
| Total Written Premium | Contingent Commission Revenue | % of Premium | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $ | 1,074,076 | $ | 16,675 | 1.55 | % | ||||
| 2021 | 1,559,858 | 9,926 | 0.64 | % | ||||||
| 2022 | 2,217,023 | 7,684 | 0.35 | % | ||||||
| 3-year average | 0.85 | % |
Contingent Commissions can vary significantly from year-to-year and should be viewed over several years. Since 2020, revenue from Contingent Commissions have historically represented approximately 0.85% of Total Written Premium at year-end. Most of our Contingent Commissions are earned in the year prior to when they are received. For the year ended December 31, 2020, $16.7 million of Contingent Commissions were earned (below our historical average as a percentage of premium), of which $15.1 million was still receivable at December 31, 2020. For the year ended December 31, 2021, $9.9 million of Contingent Commissions were earned (significantly above our historical average as a percentage of premium), of which $7.4 million was still receivable at December 31, 2021. For the year ended December 31, 2022, $7.7 million of Contingent Commissions were earned (significantly below our historical average as a percentage of premium), of which $7.4 million was still receivable at December 31, 2022. Contingent Commissions are paid by Carriers based upon the profitability, volume and/or growth of the business placed with such companies during the prior year, therefore, Contingent Commissions earned can vary greatly from year to year.
Premium by line of business
We are a distributor of insurance policies in a range of primarily personal lines of business including homeowner’s insurance, automotive, dwelling property insurance, flood, wind and earthquake insurance, excess liability or umbrella insurance, specialty lines insurance (motorcycle, recreational vehicle, and other insurance), commercial lines insurance (general liability, property and auto insurance for small businesses) and life insurance. The following table sets forth our Total Written Premium placed by line of business by amount and as a percentage of our Total
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Written Premium for the periods indicated (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||||||||
| Line of business | |||||||||||||||||
| Homeowner | $ | 1,268,217 | 57 | % | $ | 885,130 | 56 | % | $ | 585,515 | 55 | % | |||||
| Automotive | 874,505 | 40 | % | 618,483 | 40 | % | 456,320 | 42 | % | ||||||||
| Commercial | 49,582 | 2 | % | 39,254 | 3 | % | 20,730 | 2 | % | ||||||||
| Other | 24,719 | 1 | % | 16,991 | 1 | % | 11,511 | 1 | % | ||||||||
| Total Written Premium | $ | 2,217,023 | 100 | % | $ | 1,559,858 | 100 | % | $ | 1,074,076 | 100 | % |
Expenses
Due to our purely organic-focused growth strategy, virtually all of our investments in future growth are in people and certain technologies. Therefore, the majority of our investments are not capitalizable and are recognized immediately on our statement of operations.
Employee compensation and benefits. Employee compensation and benefits is our largest expense and consists of (a) base compensation comprising salary, bonuses and benefits paid and payable to employees, and (b) stock option awards for our senior employees. We expect to continue to experience a general rise in compensation and benefits expense commensurate with expected growth in headcount and with the need to maintain competitive compensation levels as we expand geographically and create new products and services.
General and administrative expenses. General and administrative expenses include technology, travel, accounting, legal and other professional fees, commissions, placement fees, office expenses, depreciation and other costs associated with our operations. Our occupancy-related costs and professional services expenses, in particular, generally increase or decrease in relative proportion to the number of our employees and the overall size and scale of our business operations.
Key performance indicators
Our key operating metrics are discussed below:
Total Written Premium
Total Written Premium represents for any reported period, the total amount of current (non-cancelled) gross premium that is placed with Goosehead’s portfolio of Carriers. We believe that Total Written Premium is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it reflects growth of our business relative to other insurance agencies.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, we had $2.2 billion in Total Written Premium, representing a 42% increase, compared to $1.6 billion for the year ended December 31, 2021. The following table shows Total Written Premium by channel for the years ended 2022 and 2021 (in thousands).
| Year Ended December 31 | % Change | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||
| Corporate Sales Total Written Premium | $ | 554,764 | $ | 421,792 | 32 | % | |||||
| Franchise Sales Total Written Premium | 1,662,259 | 1,138,067 | 46 | % | |||||||
| Total Written Premium | $ | 2,217,023 | $ | 1,559,859 | 42 | % |
Policies in Force
Policies in Force means as of any reported date, the total count of current (non-cancelled) policies placed with Goosehead’s portfolio of Carriers. We believe that Policies in Force is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it reflects growth of our business relative to other insurance agencies.
As of December 31, 2022, we had 1,284,000 Policies in Force compared to 1,011,000 as of December 31, 2021, representing a 27% increase.
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NPS
Net Promoter Score (NPS) is calculated based on a single question: “How likely are you to refer Goosehead Insurance to a friend, family member or colleague?” Clients that respond with a 6 or below are Detractors, a score of 7 or 8 are called Passives, and a 9 or 10 are Promoters. NPS is calculated by subtracting the percentage of Detractors from the percentage of Promoters. For example, if 50% of respondents were Promoters and 10% were Detractors, NPS is a 40. NPS is a useful gauge of the loyalty of client relationships and can be compared across companies and industries.
NPS has decreased modestly to 90 as of December 31, 2022 from 91 at December 31, 2021, primarily driven by the service team’s continued focus on delivering highly differentiated service levels.
Client Retention
Client Retention is calculated by comparing the number of all clients that had at least one policy in force twelve months prior to the date of measurement and still have at least one policy in force at the date of measurement. We believe Client Retention is useful as a measure of how well Goosehead retains clients year-over-year and minimizes defections.
Client Retention decreased modestly to 88% at December 31, 2022 when compared to 89% at December 31, 2021, again driven by the service team’s continued focus on delivering highly differentiated service levels. Our retention rate is even stronger on a premium basis. In 2022, we retained 100% of the premiums we distributed in 2021, an increase from premium retention in 2021 of 93% primarily due to high levels of client retention and premium increases from our Carriers during the year. Our premium retention rate is higher than our Client Retention rate as a result of both premiums increasing year over year and additional coverages sold by our sales and service teams.
New Business Revenue
New Business Revenue is commissions received from the Carrier, Agency Fees received from clients, and Royalty Fees relating to policies in their first term.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, New Business Revenue grew 10% to $53.3 million, from $48.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. Growth in New Business Revenue is driven primarily by growth in operating franchises of 18%.
Renewal Revenue
Renewal Revenue is commissions received from the Carrier and Royalty Fees after the first term of a policy.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, Renewal Revenue grew 58% to $134.9 million, from $85.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. Growth in Renewal Revenue was driven primarily by Client Retention of 88% at December 31, 2022, and premium rate increases over the prior year. As our agent force matures the policies they wrote in prior years begins to convert from New Business Revenue to more profitable Renewal Revenue.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Core Revenue, Cost Recovery Revenue, Ancillary Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, and Adjusted EPS are not measures of financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered substitutes for total revenue, net income, net income margin or earnings per share, which we consider to be the most directly comparable GAAP measure. We refer to these measures as "non-GAAP financial measures." We consider these non-GAAP financial measures to be useful metrics for management and investors to facilitate operating performance comparisons from period to period by excluding potential differences caused by variations in capital structures, tax position, depreciation, amortization and certain other items that we believe are not representative of our core business. Core Revenue, Cost Recovery Revenue, Ancillary Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, and Adjusted EPS have limitations as analytical tools, and when assessing our operating performance, you should not consider Core Revenue, Cost Recovery Revenue, Ancillary Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, or Adjusted EPS in isolation or as substitutes for net income, earnings per share or other consolidated income statement data prepared in accordance with GAAP. Other companies may calculate Core Revenue, Cost Recovery Revenue, Ancillary Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, and Adjusted EPS differently than we do, limiting their usefulness as comparative measures.
Core Revenue
Core Revenue is a supplemental measure of our performance and includes Renewal Commissions, Renewal Royalty Fees, New Business Commissions, New Business Royalty Fees, and Agency Fees. We believe that Core
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Revenue is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it summarizes all of our revenues from sales of individual insurance policies.
Core Revenue increased by $54.8 million, or 41%, to $188.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 from $133.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The primary driver of the increase is growth in operating franchises, high levels of client and premium retention, and number of policies in the renewal term from December 31, 2021 to December 31, 2022.
Cost Recovery Revenue
Cost Recovery Revenue is a supplemental measure of our performance and includes Initial Franchise Fees and Interest Income. We believe that Cost Recovery Revenue is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it summarizes revenues that are viewed by management as cost recovery mechanisms.
Cost Recovery Revenue increased by $4.6 million, or 60%, to $12.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 from $7.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The primary driver of the increase is a larger number of franchises in the system.
Ancillary Revenue
Ancillary Revenue is a supplemental measure of our performance and includes Contingent Commissions and Other Income. We believe that Ancillary Revenue is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it summarizes revenues that are ancillary to our core business.
Ancillary Revenue decreased by $1.3 million, or 12%, to $9.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 from $10.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The primary driver of the decrease from December 31, 2021 to December 31, 2022 was unfavorable loss ratios with our carriers.
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA is a supplemental measure of our performance. We believe that Adjusted EBITDA is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it eliminates the impact of items that do not relate to underlying business performance. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income (the most directly comparable GAAP measure) before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, adjusted to exclude equity-based compensation and other non-operating items, including, among other things, certain non-cash charges and certain non-recurring or non-operating gains or losses.
Adjusted EBITDA increased by $15.9 million, or 76%, to $36.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, from $20.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, driven primarily by a significant increase in core revenue.
Adjusted EBITDA Margin
Adjusted EBITDA Margin is Adjusted EBITDA as defined above, divided by total revenue excluding other non-operating items. Adjusted EBITDA Margin is helpful in measuring profitability of operations on a consolidated level.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, Adjusted EBITDA Margin was 18% compared to 14% for the year ended December 31, 2021. The Adjusted EBITDA margin increase came from a significant increase in core revenue and slower growth in both general and administrative and employee compensation and benefits expenses.
Adjusted EPS
Adjusted EPS is a supplemental measure of our performance, defined as earnings per share (the most directly comparable GAAP measure) before non-recurring or non-operating income and expenses, adjusted to assume a single class of stock (Class A) and assuming non-controlling interest does not exist. Adjusted EPS is a useful measure to management because it eliminates the impact of items that do not relate to business performance and helps compare companies that may not have a dual-share class structure.
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GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliations
| Year ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||
| Total Revenues | $ | 209,390 | $ | 151,312 | $ | 117,014 | ||||
| Core Revenue: | ||||||||||
| Renewal Commissions(1) | $ | 57,543 | $ | 39,111 | $ | 28,891 | ||||
| Renewal Royalty Fees(2) | 77,346 | 46,079 | 29,309 | |||||||
| New Business Commissions(1) | 24,126 | 22,108 | 17,324 | |||||||
| New Business Royalty Fees(2) | 18,244 | 14,616 | 10,623 | |||||||
| Agency Fees(1) | 10,912 | 11,506 | 8,921 | |||||||
| Total Core Revenue | 188,171 | 133,420 | 95,068 | |||||||
| Cost Recovery Revenue: | ||||||||||
| Initial Franchise Fees(2) | 10,853 | 6,516 | 4,236 | |||||||
| Interest Income | 1,403 | 1,153 | 813 | |||||||
| Total Cost Recovery Revenue | 12,256 | 7,669 | 5,049 | |||||||
| Ancillary Revenue: | ||||||||||
| Contingent Commissions(1) | 7,684 | 9,926 | 16,675 | |||||||
| Other Income(2) | 1,279 | 297 | 222 | |||||||
| Total Ancillary Revenue | 8,963 | 10,223 | 16,897 | |||||||
| Total Revenues | $ | 209,390 | $ | 151,312 | $ | 117,014 |
(1) Renewal Commissions, New Business Commissions, Agency Fees, and Contingent Commissions are included in "Commissions and agency fees" as shown on the Consolidated statements of operations.
(2) Renewal Royalty Fees, New Business Royalty Fees, Initial Franchise Fees, and Other Income are included in "Franchise revenues" as shown on the Consolidated statements of operations.
The following table shows a reconciliation from net income to Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2022, 2021, and 2020 (in thousands):
| Year ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | 2,630 | $ | 8,296 | $ | 18,755 | |||||
| Interest expense | 4,999 | 2,854 | 2,310 | ||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 6,884 | 4,873 | 3,147 | ||||||||
| Tax expense (benefit) | 2,499 | (2,292) | (1,035) | ||||||||
| Equity-based compensation | 19,642 | 7,292 | 4,745 | ||||||||
| Other income (expense, including state franchise tax) | — | (185) | (90) | ||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 36,654 | $ | 20,838 | $ | 27,832 | |||||
| Net Income Margin(1) | 1 | % | 5 | % | 16 | % | |||||
| Adjusted EBITDA Margin(2) | 18 | % | 14 | % | 24 | % |
(1) Net Income Margin is calculated as Net Income divided by Total Revenue ($2,630 / $209,390), ($8,296 / $151,312), and ($18,755 / $117,014) for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021, and 2020.
(2) Adjusted EBITDA Margin is calculated as Adjusted EBITDA divided by Total Revenue excluding other non-operating items ($36,654 / $209,390) for the year ended December 31, 2022, ($20,838 / $151,312) for the year ended December 31, 2021, and ($27,832 /$117,014) for the year ended December 31, 2020.
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The following tables show a reconciliation from basic earnings per share to Adjusted EPS for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021, and 2020. Note that totals may not sum due to rounding:
| Year ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||
| Earnings (loss) per share - basic (GAAP) | $ | 0.03 | $ | 0.28 | $ | 0.55 | |||||
| Add: equity-based compensation(1) | 0.52 | 0.20 | 0.13 | ||||||||
| Adjusted EPS (non-GAAP) | $ | 0.55 | $ | 0.48 | $ | 0.68 |
(1) Calculated as equity-based compensation divided by the weighted average of Class A and Class B shares outstanding during the period 2022 - [$19.6 million / ( 21.0 million + 16.2 million )] 2021 - [ $7.3 million / ( 19.2 million + 17.7 million )] 2020 - [ $4.7 million / ( 16.8 million + 19.7 million )]
Consolidated results of operations
The following is a discussion of our consolidated results of operations for each of the years ended December 31, 2022, December 31, 2021, and December 31, 2020. This information is derived from our accompanying consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. For further discussion regarding our consolidated results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020, refer to "Part II, Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021.
The following table summarizes our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021, and 2020 (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Revenues: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Commissions and agency fees | $ | 100,265 | 48 | % | $ | 82,651 | 54 | % | $ | 71,811 | 61 | % | ||||||||
| Franchise revenues | 107,722 | 51 | % | 67,508 | 45 | % | 44,390 | 38 | % | |||||||||||
| Interest income | 1,403 | 1 | % | 1,153 | 1 | % | 813 | 1 | % | |||||||||||
| Total revenues | 209,390 | 100 | % | 151,312 | 100 | % | 117,014 | 100 | % | |||||||||||
| Operating Expenses: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Employee compensation and benefits | 133,293 | 67 | % | 94,978 | 67 | % | 67,366 | 69 | % | |||||||||||
| General and administrative expenses | 52,887 | 27 | % | 39,789 | 28 | % | 24,985 | 26 | % | |||||||||||
| Bad debts | 6,198 | 3 | % | 2,999 | 2 | % | 1,576 | 2 | % | |||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 6,884 | 3 | % | 4,873 | 3 | % | 3,147 | 3 | % | |||||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 199,262 | 100 | % | 142,639 | 100 | % | 97,074 | 100 | % | |||||||||||
| Income from operations | 10,128 | 8,673 | 19,940 | |||||||||||||||||
| Other Income: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other income | — | 185 | 90 | |||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (4,999) | (2,854) | (2,310) | |||||||||||||||||
| Income before taxes | 5,129 | 6,004 | 17,720 | |||||||||||||||||
| Tax expense (benefit) | 2,499 | (2,292) | (1,035) | |||||||||||||||||
| Net Income | 2,630 | 8,296 | 18,755 | |||||||||||||||||
| Less: net income attributable to non-controlling interests | 2,065 | 2,893 | 9,468 | |||||||||||||||||
| Net Income attributable to Goosehead Insurance Inc. | $ | 565 | $ | 5,403 | $ | 9,287 |
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Revenues
In 2022, revenue increased by 38% to $209.4 million from $151.3 million in 2021.
Commissions and agency fees
Commissions and agency fees consist of Core Revenue from New Business Commissions, Renewal Commissions, and Agency Fees, and Ancillary Revenue from Contingent Commissions generated from corporate sales and franchise sales and other income.
The following table sets forth our commissions and agency fees by amount and as a percentage of our revenues for the periods indicated (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31 | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Core Revenue: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Renewal Commissions | $ | 57,543 | 57 | % | $ | 39,111 | 47 | % | $ | 28,891 | 40 | % | ||||||||
| New Business Commissions | 24,126 | 24 | % | 22,108 | 27 | % | 17,324 | 24 | % | |||||||||||
| Agency Fees | 10,912 | 11 | % | 11,506 | 14 | % | 8,921 | 13 | % | |||||||||||
| Total | 92,581 | 92 | % | 72,725 | 88 | % | 55,136 | 77 | % | |||||||||||
| Ancillary Revenue: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Contingent Commissions | 7,684 | 8 | % | 9,926 | 12 | % | 16,675 | 23 | % | |||||||||||
| Commissions and agency fees | $ | 100,265 | 100 | % | $ | 82,651 | 100 | % | $ | 71,811 | 100 | % |
Renewal Commissions increased by $18.4 million, or 47%, to $57.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 from $39.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. These increases are primarily attributable to an increase in the premium retention rate at December 31, 2022 compared to December 31, 2021.
New Business Commissions increased by $2.0 million, or 9%, to $24.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 from $22.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. Revenue from Agency Fees decreased by $0.6 million, or 5%, to $10.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 from $11.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. This increase in New Business Commissions is primarily driven by increases in premium per policy, while the decrease in Agency Fees was primarily attributable to a decrease in total sales agent head count to 320 at December 31, 2022, from 506 at December 31, 2021, a 37% decrease.
Revenue from Contingent Commissions decreased by $2.2 million, or 23%, to $7.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, from $9.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The decrease is primarily attributable to the increase in loss ratios in our book of business with the Carriers that offer contingency programs.
Franchise Revenues
Franchise Revenues consist of Core Revenues from Royalty Fees, Cost Recovery Revenues from Initial Franchise Fees, and Ancillary Revenues from Interest Income.
The following table sets forth our franchise revenues by amount and as a percentage of our revenues for the periods indicated (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Core Revenues: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Renewal Royalty Fees | $ | 77,346 | 72 | % | $ | 46,079 | 68 | % | $ | 29,309 | 65 | % | ||||||||
| New Business Royalty Fees | 18,244 | 17 | % | 14,616 | 22 | % | 10,623 | 24 | % | |||||||||||
| Total | 95,590 | 89 | % | 60,695 | 90 | % | 39,932 | 89 | % | |||||||||||
| Cost Recovery Revenues: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Initial Franchise Fees | 10,853 | 10 | % | 6,516 | 10 | % | 4,236 | 10 | % | |||||||||||
| Ancillary Revenues: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other Franchise Revenues | 1,279 | 1 | % | 297 | — | % | 222 | 1 | % | |||||||||||
| Franchise revenues | $ | 107,722 | 100 | % | $ | 67,508 | 100 | % | $ | 44,390 | 100 | % |
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Revenue from Renewal Royalty Fees increase by $31.3 million, or 68%, to $77.3 million, for the year ended December 31, 2022 from $46.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase in revenue from Renewal Royalty Fees was primarily attributable to an increase in premium retention rate, and the higher Royalty Fee rate on renewal business compared to new business (50% vs. 20%, respectively).
Revenue from New Business Royalty Fees increased by $3.6 million, or 25%, to $18.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 from $14.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase in revenue from New Business Royalty Fees was primarily attributable to an increase in the total number of operating franchises at December 31, 2022 compared to December 31, 2021.
Initial Franchise Fee revenue increased approximately $4.3 million, or 67%, to $10.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 from $6.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The primary driver of the increase in Initial Franchise Fees was the increase in total franchises, as well as the acceleration of Franchise Fee revenue from termination of existing agencies.
Interest Income
Interest Income increased $0.3 million, or 22% to $1.4 million for 2022 from $1.2 million for 2021. This increase was primarily attributable to additional Franchise Agreements signed under the payment plan option.
Expenses
Employee compensation and benefits
Employee compensation and benefits expenses increased by $38.3 million, or 40%, to $133.3 million for 2022 from $95.0 million for 2021. This was primarily attributable to an increase in total headcount from 2021 to 2022, as well as additional stock options granted during 2022.
General and administrative expenses
General and administrative expenses increased by $13.1 million, or 33%, to $52.9 million for 2022 from $39.8 million for 2021. This increase was primarily attributable to additional investment in the continued development of technology. The remainder of the increase is attributable to higher costs associated with an increase in operating franchises and employees.
Bad debts
Bad debts increased by $3.2 million, or 107%, to $6.2 million for 2022 from $3.0 million for 2021. This increase was primarily attributable to increases in terminations of signed but not launched franchises.
Depreciation and amortization
Depreciation and amortization increased by $2.0 million, or 41%, to $6.9 million for 2022 from $4.9 million for 2021. This increase was primarily attributable to the increase in fixed assets during the same period, including a full year of depreciation on the fixed assets put in place in connection with the additional hiring and lease space taken during the year.
Other income (expense)
During 2022 the Company had no other income, compared to $0.2 million in 2021.
Interest expense
Interest expenses increased by $2.2 million, or 75%, to $5.0 million for 2022 from $2.9 million for 2021. This increase is attributable to a rising interest rate environment during the year.
Liquidity and capital resources
Historical liquidity and capital resources
We have managed our historical liquidity and capital requirements primarily through the receipt of revenues from our corporate and franchise sales. Our primary cash flow activities involve: (1) generating cash flow from corporate sales, which largely includes Renewal Revenue (Corporate) and New Business Revenue (Corporate); (2) generating cash flow from franchise sales, which largely includes Royalty Fees and Initial Franchise Fees; (3) making distributions to the Goosehead Management Holders and Texas Wasatch Holders; and (4) borrowings, interest payments and repayments under our Credit Agreement. As of December 31, 2022, our unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, and restricted cash was $30.4 million. We have used cash flow from operations primarily to pay compensation and related expenses, general, administrative and other expenses, and debt service.
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Credit agreement
See "Note 9. Debt" in the consolidated financial statements included herein for a discussion of the Company's credit facilities.
Comparative cash flows
The following table summarizes our cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities for the periods indicated:
| Year Ended December 31 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 35,724 | $ | 35,444 | $ | 24,643 | ||||
| Net cash used for investing activities | (12,571) | (15,375) | (10,333) | |||||||
| Net cash used for financing activities | (23,245) | (15,826) | (3,334) | |||||||
| Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | (92) | 4,243 | 10,976 | |||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents, and restricted cash, beginning of period | 30,479 | 26,236 | 15,260 | |||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents, and restricted cash, end of period | $ | 30,387 | $ | 30,479 | $ | 26,236 |
Operating activities
Net cash provided by operating activities was $35.7 million for 2022 as compared to net cash provided by operating activities of $35.4 million for 2021. This increase in net cash provided by operating activities was primarily attributable to a $5.7 million decrease in net income offset by a $12.4 million increase in stock compensation expense and a $16.5 million decrease in cash provided by contract liabilities offset by a $10.9 million increase in cash provided by receivables from franchisees.
Investing activities
Net cash used in business investment activities was $12.6 million for 2022 as compared to net cash used in business investment activities of $15.4 million for 2021. This decrease in net cash used in business investment activities was primarily attributable to a decrease in cash paid for fixed assets due to a decrease in additional office space built out during 2022 as compared to 2021.
Financing activities
Net cash used in financing activities was $23.2 million for 2022 as compared to net cash used by financing activities of $15.8 million for 2021. This increase in net cash used in financing activities is due to the $24.6 million decrease in proceeds received from notes payable during 2022, a $50.0 million increase in repayments made on the revolving credit facility and a $60.0 million decrease in distributions and dividends paid during 2022.
Future sources and uses of liquidity
Our sources of liquidity are (1) cash on hand, (2) net working capital, (3) cash flows from operations and (4) our Revolving Credit Facility or other sources of debt financing. Based on our current expectations, we believe that these sources of liquidity will be sufficient to fund our working capital requirements and to meet our commitments in the foreseeable future.
Our primary liquidity needs comprise cash to (1) provide capital to facilitate the organic growth of our business, (2) pay operating expenses, including cash compensation to our employees, (3) make payments under the tax receivable agreement, (4) pay interest and principal due on borrowings under our Credit Agreement and (5) pay income taxes.
Dividend policy
Assuming Goosehead Financial, LLC makes distributions to its members in any given year, the determination to pay dividends, if any, to our Class A common stockholders out of the portion, if any, of such distributions remaining after our payment of taxes, tax receivable agreement payments and expenses (any such portion, an “excess distribution”) will be made at the sole discretion of our board of directors. Our board of directors may change our dividend policy at any time. See “Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities — Dividend policy".
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Tax receivable agreement
We entered into a tax receivable agreement with the Pre-IPO LLC Members on May 1, 2018 that provides for the payment by us to the Pre-IPO LLC Members of 85% of the amount of cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax or franchise tax that we actually realize as a result of (i) any increase in tax basis in Goosehead Insurance, Inc.’s assets and (ii) tax benefits related to imputed interest deemed arising as a result of payments made under the tax receivable agreement. See "Item 13. Certain relationships and related transactions, and director independence".
Holders of Goosehead Financial, LLC Units (other than Goosehead Insurance, Inc.) may, subject to certain conditions and transfer restrictions described above, redeem or exchange their LLC Units for shares of Class A common stock of Goosehead Insurance, Inc. on a one-for-one basis. Goosehead Financial, LLC has made an election under Section 754 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the regulations thereunder (the “Code”) effective for each taxable year in which a redemption or exchange of LLC Units for shares of Class A common stock occurs, which has resulted and is expected to result in increases to the tax basis of the assets of Goosehead Financial, LLC at the time of a redemption or exchange of LLC Units. Prior redemptions and exchanges have resulted, and we expect future redemptions and exchanges will result in increases in the tax basis of the tangible and intangible assets of Goosehead Financial, LLC. These increases in tax basis have reduced the amount of tax we are required to pay, and may reduce the amount of tax that Goosehead Insurance, Inc. would otherwise be required to pay in the future. We have entered into a tax receivable agreement with the Pre-IPO LLC Members that provides for the payment by us to the Pre-IPO LLC Members of 85% of the amount of cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax or franchise tax that we actually realize as a result of (i) any increase in tax basis in Goosehead Insurance, Inc.’s assets resulting from (a) the purchase of LLC Units from any of the Pre-IPO LLC Members using the net proceeds from any future offering, (b) redemptions or exchanges by the Pre-IPO LLC Members of LLC Units for shares of our Class A common stock or (c) payments under the tax receivable agreement and (ii) tax benefits related to imputed interest deemed arising as a result of payments made under the tax receivable agreement. This payment obligation is an obligation of Goosehead Insurance, Inc. and not of Goosehead Financial, LLC. For purposes of the tax receivable agreement, the cash tax savings in income tax will be computed by comparing the actual income tax liability of Goosehead Insurance, Inc. (calculated with certain assumptions) to the amount of such taxes that Goosehead Insurance, Inc. would have been required to pay had there been no increase to the tax basis of the assets of Goosehead Financial, LLC as a result of the redemptions or exchanges and had Goosehead Insurance, Inc. not entered into the tax receivable agreement. Estimating the amount of payments that may be made under the tax receivable agreement is by its nature imprecise, insofar as the calculation of amounts payable depends on a variety of factors. While the actual increase in tax basis from future purchases, redemptions or exchanges, as well as the amount and timing of any payments under the tax receivable agreement, will vary depending upon a number of factors, including the timing of redemptions or exchanges, the price of shares of our Class A common stock at the time of the redemption or exchange, the extent to which such redemptions or exchanges are taxable and the amount and timing of our income. See "Item 13. Certain relationships and related transactions, and director independence". We historically accounted, and anticipate that we will continue to account for the effects of these increases in tax basis and associated payments under the tax receivable agreement arising from redemptions or exchanges as follows:
•we will record an increase in deferred tax assets for the estimated income tax effects of the increases in tax basis based on enacted federal and state tax rates at the date of the redemption or exchange;
•to the extent we estimate that we will not realize the full benefit represented by the deferred tax asset, based on an analysis that will consider, among other things, our expectation of future earnings, we will reduce the deferred tax asset with a valuation allowance; and
•we will record 85% of the estimated realizable tax benefit (which is the recorded deferred tax asset less any recorded valuation allowance) as an increase to the liability due under the tax receivable agreement and the remaining 15% of the estimated realizable tax benefit as an increase to additional paid-in capital.
All of the effects of changes in any of our estimates after the date of the redemption or exchange will be included in net income. Similarly, the effect of subsequent changes in the enacted tax rates will be included in net income.
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Contractual obligations, commitments and contingencies
The following table represents our contractual obligations as of December 31, 2022, aggregated by type.
| Contractual obligations, commitments and contingencies | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands) | Total | Less than 1 year | 1-3 years | 3-5 years | More than 5 years | |||||||||||||
| Operating leases(1) | $ | 83,075 | $ | 8,816 | $ | 22,445 | $ | 22,754 | $ | 29,060 | ||||||||
| Debt obligations payable(2) | 94,375 | 6,875 | 19,375 | 68,125 | — | |||||||||||||
| Interest expense(3) | 18,109 | 5,867 | 10,110 | 2,132 | — | |||||||||||||
| Liabilities under tax receivable agreement(4) | 125,662 | — | 8,266 | 30,848 | 86,548 | |||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 321,221 | $ | 21,558 | $ | 60,196 | $ | 123,859 | $ | 115,608 |
(1)The Company leases its facilities under non-cancelable operating leases. In addition to monthly lease payments, the lease agreements require the Company to reimburse the lessors for its portion of operating costs each year. Rent expense was $7.0 million, $4.8 million, and $1.9 million for year ending December 31, 2022, 2021, and 2020.
(2)The Company refinanced its credit facilities on July 21, 2021 in the form of a $100 million term loan and $50 million revolving credit facility, of which nothing was drawn on the revolving credit facility as of December 31, 2022.
(3)Interest payments on our outstanding debt obligations under our Credit Agreement. Our debt obligations have variable interest rates. We have calculated future interest obligations based on the interest rate for our debt obligations as of December 31, 2022.
(4)See "Item 7. Management's discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operation - Tax receivable agreement."
Critical accounting policies and estimates
We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP. In applying many of these accounting principles, we need to make assumptions, estimates or judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses in our consolidated financial statements. We base our estimates and judgments on historical experience and other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances. These assumptions, estimates or judgments, however, are both subjective and subject to change, and actual results may differ from our assumptions and estimates. If actual amounts are ultimately different from our estimates, the revisions are included in our results of operations for the period in which the actual amounts become known. We believe the following critical accounting policies could potentially produce materially different results if we were to change underlying assumptions, estimates or judgments. See “Item 8. Financial statements and supplementary data - Summary of significant accounting policies” for a summary of our significant accounting policies, and discussion of recent accounting pronouncements.
Revenue recognition
Goosehead provides personal and commercial property and casualty insurance brokerage services for its clients through a network of corporate-owned and franchise units. Goosehead is compensated for the insurance brokerage services that it provides for clients in the form of commission revenue, royalty fees, and contingent commissions.
The Company estimates the amount of commissions and royalty fees revenue to recognize on the effective date a policy is placed into service based on estimates of premiums, policy changes and cancellations. The Company adjusts its estimates of revenue recognized for commissions and royalty fees based on cash collections during the terms of the policies. The transaction price for contingent commissions is estimated based on all available information and is recognized over time as the Company completes its performance obligations as the underlying policies are placed.
Certain costs to obtain or fulfill a contract are capitalized. The Company capitalizes the incremental costs to obtain contracts primarily related to initial franchise fees. These deferred costs are amortized over the expected life of the underlying franchise fee and are included in Other assets in the Company's consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2022.
Liabilities under Tax Receivable Agreement
In connection with the Offering we entered into a tax receivable agreement with the Pre-IPO LLC Members that will provide for the payment by us to the Pre-IPO LLC Members of 85% of the amount of cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax or franchise tax that we actually realize as a result of (i) any increase in tax basis in Goosehead Financial, LLC’s assets resulting from (a) the acquisition of LLC Units using the net proceeds from any future offering, (b) redemptions or exchanges by the Pre-IPO LLC Members of LLC Units and the
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corresponding number of shares of Class B common stock for shares of our Class A common stock or (c) payments under the tax receivable agreement, and (ii) tax benefits related to imputed interest deemed arising as a result of payments made under the tax receivable agreement.
The actual increase in tax basis from future redemptions and exchanges, as well as the amount and timing of any payments under the tax receivable agreement, will vary depending on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the timing of any future redemptions, exchanges or purchases of the LLC Units held by Pre-IPO LLC Members, the price of our Class A common stock at the time of the purchase, redemption or exchange, the extent to which redemptions or exchanges are taxable, the amount and timing of the taxable income that we generate in the future, the tax rates then applicable and the portion of our payments under the tax receivable agreement constituting imputed interest.
As of December 31, 2022, as a result of the prior redemptions of LLC Units, we recognized liabilities totaling $125.7 million relating to our obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement.
FY 2021 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001726978-22-000029.
Item 7. Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations
Overview
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes and other financial information included elsewhere in this Annual Report. In addition to historical financial information, the following discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. Our actual results and timing of selected events may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those discussed under “Risk factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report.
This discussion includes references to non-GAAP financial measures as defined in the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (‘SEC’). We present such non-GAAP financial measures, specifically, Core Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS non-GAAP financial measures, as we believe such information is of interest to the investment community because it provides additional meaningful methods of evaluating certain aspects of the Company’s operating performance from period to period on a basis that may not be otherwise apparent under U.S. GAAP, and these provide a measure against which our businesses may be assessed in the future.
Our methods of calculating these measures may differ from those used by other companies and therefore comparability may be limited. These financial measures should be viewed in addition to, not in lieu of, the consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2021. See ‘Non-GAAP Financial Measures’ below for further discussion of our Core Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS non-GAAP financial measures
We are a rapidly growing personal lines independent insurance agency, reinventing the traditional approach to distributing personal lines products and services throughout the United States. We were founded with one vision in mind—to provide consumers with superior insurance coverage at the best available price and in a timely manner. By leveraging our differentiated business model and innovative technology platform, we are able to deliver a superior insurance experience to our clients.
The following discussion contains references to the years ended December 31, 2021, December 31, 2020, and December 31, 2019. See Goosehead’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 for a discussion of the changes from year ended December 31, 2019 to the year ended December 31, 2020.
Financial Highlights for 2021:
•Total revenue increased 29% from 2020 to $151.3 million; Core Revenues* of $133.4 million increased 40% over 2020
•Total Written Premiums Placed increased 45% from 2020 to $1.6 billion
•Net income decreased by $10.5 million from 2020 to $8.3 million
•Adjusted EBITDA*, a non-GAAP measure, decreased by 25% from 2020 to $20.8 million, or 14% of total revenues
•Basic earnings per share was $0.28 and Adjusted EPS*, a non-GAAP measure, was $0.48 for the year ended December 31, 2021.
•Policies in Force increased 42% from December 31, 2020 to 1,011,000 at December 31, 2021.
•Corporate sales headcount increased 39% from December 31, 2020 to 506 at December 31, 2021.
◦As of December 31, 2021, 293 of these Corporate sales agents had less than one year of tenure and 213 had greater than one year of tenure.
•Operating franchises increased 34% from December 31, 2020 to 1,198 at December 31, 2021.
◦In Texas as of December 31, 2021, 57 operating franchises had less than one year of tenure and 214 operating franchisees had greater than one year of tenure.
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◦Outside of Texas as of December 31, 2021, 333 operating franchises had less than one year of tenure and 594 had greater than one year of tenure.
*Core Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS are non-GAAP measures. Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income (loss) and Adjusted EPS to EPS, the most directly comparable financial measures presented in accordance with GAAP, are set forth in the "Key performance indicators" section of Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations of this Form 10-K.
Factors affecting our results of operations
We believe that the most significant factors affecting our results of operations include:
•Investment in growth. We continue to invest in expanding our national footprint, increasing our revenue-producing headcount, and increasing the level of support provided to our salespeople. Our ability to attract and retain top Corporate Channel sales agents and franchise owners, ramp up new agent productivity, and retain existing and future Policies in Force are key to continued profitable growth.
•Investment in technology. We continue to develop and invest in our technology platform to drive scalability, adaptability, and efficiency in both the Corporate Channel and Franchise Channel. We believe our significant proprietary investment in our technology is a key competitive advantage that supports our growth and operating margins.
•Continued penetration of Franchise Channel into existing markets. We will continue to market actively for new franchises in our established markets, including Texas, which represent over 99% of the U.S. population. We are now licensed with the necessary state departments of commerce and insurance and registered as a franchisor in all 50 states in the U.S.
•Continued retention of existing Book of Business. We have made significant progress in recent years in Client Retention metrics, and maintaining these high levels of Client Retention is key to future profitability.
•Increase in margins as business shifts from new to renewal. Because we are entitled to a higher percentage of Royalty Fees after the first term of a policy and the higher level of back-office support needed during the first term of an insurance policy, the Company begins to see higher levels of profitability on Renewal Revenue. We will focus simultaneously on converting New Business Revenue to Renewal Revenue through our retention efforts, and on continuing to grow New Business Revenue that will convert and allow us to expand our margins in future periods.
•Strength of the insurance market or particular lines of business. We generate the majority of our revenues through commissions, which are calculated as a percentage of the total insurance policy premium. A softening of the insurance market or the particular lines of business that are our focus, characterized by a period of declining premium rates, could negatively impact our profitability.
•Seasonality and cyclicality of housing market conditions. The majority of our new accounts are sourced by referral sources tied to home closing transactions. Major slowdowns in the various housing markets Goosehead serves could impact our ability to generate new business. We experience seasonality and revenue related to the sale of insurance policies throughout the course of a calendar year that is tied to the seasonality of new home sales. Revenue from home insurance leads is higher from April to August and lower from October through January. While this can impact month-to-month or quarter-to-quarter results, we expect productivity to normalize year-over-year.
•Effect of natural or man-made disasters. Any increases in loss ratios due to natural or man-made disasters could impact our Contingent Commissions, which are primarily driven by both growth and loss ratio metrics.
•Cost of being a public company. To operate as a public company, we are required to continue to implement changes in certain aspects of our business and develop, manage, and train management level and other employees to comply with on-going public company requirements. We also incur expenses as a public company, including public reporting obligations, proxy statements, stockholder meetings, stock exchange fees and transfer agent fees.
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Effects of the reorganization on our corporate structure
Goosehead Insurance, Inc. was formed for the purpose of the Offering and has engaged to date only in activities related to Goosehead Financial, LLC. Goosehead Insurance, Inc. is a holding company and its sole material asset is a controlling ownership and profits interest in Goosehead Financial, LLC. All of our business is conducted through Goosehead Financial, LLC and its consolidated subsidiaries, and the financial results of Goosehead Financial, LLC and its consolidated subsidiaries are included in the consolidated financial statements of Goosehead Insurance, Inc. Goosehead Financial, LLC is currently taxed as a partnership for federal income tax purposes and, as a result, its members, including Goosehead Insurance, Inc., pay taxes with respect to their allocable shares of its net taxable income.
Prior redemptions and exchanges of LLC Units have resulted, and we expect future redemptions and exchanges will result in increases in the tax basis in our share of the tangible and intangible assets of Goosehead Financial, LLC that otherwise would not have been available. These increases in tax basis have reduced the amount of tax we are required to pay, and may reduce the amount of tax that we would otherwise be required to pay in the future. The tax receivable agreement requires Goosehead Insurance, Inc. to pay 85% of the amount of cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax or franchise tax that we actually realize to the Pre-IPO LLC Members. Furthermore, payments under the tax receivable agreement give rise to additional tax benefits and therefore additional payments under the tax receivable agreement itself. See "Item 13. Certain relationships and related transactions, and director independence".
COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has severely restricted the level of economic activity around the world. In response to this outbreak, the governments of many countries, states, cities and other geographic regions, including in the United States, have taken preventative or protective actions, such as imposing restrictions on travel and business operations and advising or requiring individuals to limit or forego their time outside of their homes. In the United States, temporary closures of businesses have been ordered and numerous other businesses have temporarily closed voluntarily.
Given the uncertainty regarding the spread and severity of COVID-19 and the adverse effects on the national and global economy, the related financial impact on our business cannot be accurately predicted at this time. We continue to monitor the rapidly evolving situation and guidance from the authorities, including federal, state and local public health officials and as a result may take additional actions. While we intend to continue to execute on our strategic plans and operational initiatives during the outbreak, in these circumstances, there may be developments outside our control requiring us to adjust our operating plan. See Part II, Item 1A. “Risk Factors—The ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the global economy in a significant manner and may continue to do so for an extended period of time, and could also materially adversely affect our business and operating results.”
Certain income statement line items
Revenues
In 2021, revenue increased by 29% to $151.3 million from $117.0 million in 2020. Total Written Premium growth, which is the best leading indicator of future revenue growth, was 45% to $1.6 billion from $1.1 billion in 2020. Total Written Premiums Placed drive our current and future Core Revenue and gives us potential opportunities to earn Ancillary Revenue in the form of Contingent Commissions. Our various revenue streams do not equally contribute to the long-term value of Goosehead. For instance, Renewal Revenue and Renewal Royalty Fees are more predictable and have higher margin profiles, thus are higher quality revenue streams for the Company. Alternatively, Contingent Commissions, while high margin, are unpredictable and dependent on insurance company underwriting and forces of nature and thus are lower quality revenue for the Company. Our revenue streams can be viewed in three distinct categories: Core Revenue, Cost Recovery Revenue, and Ancillary Revenue, which are non-GAAP measures. A reconciliation of Core Revenue, Cost Recovery Revenue, and Ancillary Revenue to total revenue, the most directly comparable financial measures presented in accordance with GAAP, are set forth in the "Key performance indicators" section of Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations of this Form 10-K.
Core Revenue:
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•Renewal Commissions - highly predictable, higher-margin revenue stream, which is managed by our service team.
•Renewal Royalty Fees - highly predictable, higher-margin revenue stream, which is managed by our service team. For policies in their first renewal term, we see an increase in our share of royalties from 20% to 50% on the commission paid by the Carriers.
•New Business Commissions - predictable based on agent headcount and consistent ramp-up of agents, but lower margin than Renewal Commissions because of higher commissions paid to agents and higher back-office costs associated with policies in their first term. This revenue stream has predictably converted into higher-margin Renewal Commissions historically, and we expect this to continue moving forward.
•New Business Royalty Fees - predictable based on franchise count and consistent ramp-up of franchises, but lower margin than Renewal Royalty Fees because the Company only receives a royalty fee of 20% on the commissions paid by the Carrier in the first term of every policy and higher back-office costs associated with policies in their first term. This revenue stream has predictably convert into higher-margin Renewal Royalty Fees historically, and we expect this to continue moving forward.
•Agency Fees - although predictable based on agent count, Agency Fees do not renew like New Business Commissions and Renewal Commissions.
Cost Recovery Revenue:
•Initial Franchise Fees - one-time Cost Recovery Revenue stream per franchise unit that covers the Company's costs to recruit, train, onboard, and support the franchise for the first year. These fees are fully earned and non-refundable when a franchise attends our initial training.
•Interest Income - like Initial Franchise Fees, interest income is a Cost Recovery Revenue stream that reimburses the Company for those franchises on a payment plan.
Ancillary Revenue:
•Contingent Commissions - although high margin, Contingent Commissions are unpredictable and susceptible to weather events and Carrier underwriting results. Management does not rely on Contingent Commissions for operating cash flow or budget planning.
•Other Income - book transfer fees, marketing investments from Carriers and other items that are unpredictable and supplemental to other revenue streams.
We discuss below the breakdown of our revenue by stream:
| Years ended December 31, | 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands) | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | % Growth | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Core Revenue: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Renewal Commissions(1) | $ | 39,111 | 26 | % | $ | 28,891 | 25 | % | $ | 22,924 | 30 | % | 35 | % | ||||||||||
| Renewal Royalty Fees(2) | 46,079 | 30 | % | 29,309 | 25 | % | 19,462 | 25 | % | 57 | % | |||||||||||||
| New Business Commissions(1) | 22,108 | 15 | % | 17,324 | 15 | % | 11,961 | 15 | % | 28 | % | |||||||||||||
| New Business Royalty Fees(2) | 14,616 | 10 | % | 10,623 | 9 | % | 7,149 | 9 | % | 38 | % | |||||||||||||
| Agency Fees(1) | 11,506 | 7 | % | 8,921 | 7 | % | 6,058 | 8 | % | 29 | % | |||||||||||||
| Total Core Revenue | 133,420 | 88 | % | 95,068 | 81 | % | 67,554 | 87 | % | 40 | % | |||||||||||||
| Cost Recovery Revenue: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Initial Franchise Fees(2) | 6,516 | 4 | % | 4,236 | 4 | % | 3,784 | 5 | % | 54 | % | |||||||||||||
| Interest Income | 1,153 | 1 | % | 813 | 1 | % | 617 | 1 | % | 42 | % | |||||||||||||
| Total Cost Recovery Revenue | 7,669 | 5 | % | 5,049 | 5 | % | 4,401 | 6 | % | 52 | % | |||||||||||||
| Ancillary Revenue: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Contingent Commissions(1) | 9,926 | 7 | % | 16,675 | 14 | % | 5,423 | 7 | % | (40) | % | |||||||||||||
| Other Income(2) | 297 | — | % | 222 | — | % | 108 | — | % | 34 | % | |||||||||||||
| Total Ancillary Revenue | 10,223 | 7 | % | 16,897 | 14 | % | 5,531 | 7 | % | (39) | % | |||||||||||||
| Total Revenues | $ | 151,312 | 100 | % | $ | 117,014 | 100 | % | $ | 77,486 | 100 | % | 29 | % |
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(1) Renewal Commissions, New Business Commissions, Agency Fees, and Contingent Commissions are included in "Commissions and agency fees" as shown on the Consolidated statements of operations.
(2) Renewal Royalty Fees, New Business Royalty Fees, Initial Franchise Fees, and Other Income are included in "Franchise revenues" as shown on the Consolidated statements of operations.
Core Revenue:
The Company's primary source of revenue is through the placement of insurance policies. We are paid a percentage of the premium from the Carriers in the form of New Business Commissions and, in states which allow it, we charge Agency Fees for the placement of the policy. For policies placed by the Franchise Channel, we receive 20% of the commissions and fees received as New Business Royalties during the first term of the policy. All clients are serviced by our world-class service centers, allowing for predictable retention of our Book of Business, which has historically been 89%. All commissions received in the Corporate Channel after the first term of the policy are recognized as Renewal Commissions, which are higher margin due to lower servicing costs. For all policies that renew in our Franchise Channel, we receive 50% of the commissions received from the Carrier as Renewal Royalty Fees, creating a mechanical increase in revenue of 120% if we renew at historical rates, and higher margin due to lower servicing costs on higher revenue. For this reason, and because we are placing an increasing percentage of Total Written Premium in the Franchise Channel, Core Revenue growth will lag that of Total Written Premium.
Cost Recovery Revenue:
The Company charges every franchise an Initial Franchise Fee, which, on a cash flow basis, covers our costs to recruit, train, onboard, and support the franchise for the first year. The Initial Franchise Fee is determined by the state of the Franchise location and the payment terms. The Company recognizes revenue over the 10-year life of the contract. If the franchise elects the payment plan, the difference between the pay-in-full and the payment plan amounts is recognized as Interest Income using the interest rate method over the 5-year term of the payment plan.
Ancillary Revenue:
With certain Carriers, the Company has the opportunity to earn additional revenue in the form of Contingent Commissions, typically based on the growth and loss ratio of the business placed with the select Carriers. The Contingent Commissions are extremely difficult to predict in any given period. Although the Company can control the amount of business placed with the Carriers, loss ratios depend on many factors that are outside of our control, such as weather events and Carrier underwriting accuracy. As such, we view these Contingent Commissions as a bonus and have historically returned the cash from the Continent Commissions to shareholders by way of a special dividend. The Company estimates the amount to be received during the period over which the Contingent Commissions are earned.
Below is a summary showing the historical Contingent Commissions as a percentage of Total Written Premiums Placed for the period in which the Contingent Commissions were earned (in thousands).
| Total Written Premium | Contingent Commission Revenue | % of Premium | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 739,009 | 5,423 | 0.73 | % | ||||
| 2020 | 1,074,076 | 16,675 | 1.55 | % | ||||
| 2021 | 1,559,858 | 9,926 | 0.64 | % | ||||
| 3-year average | 0.97 | % |
Contingent Commissions can vary significantly from year-to-year and should be viewed over several years. Since 2019, revenue from Contingent Commissions have historically represented approximately 0.97% of Total Written Premium at year-end. Most of our Contingent Commissions are earned in the year prior to when they are received. For the year ended December 31, 2019, $5.4 million of Contingent Commissions were earned (below our historical average as a percentage of premium), of which $3.6 million was still receivable at December 31, 2019. For the year ended December 31, 2020, $16.7 million of Contingent Commissions were earned (significantly above our historical average as a percentage of premium), of which $15.1 million was still receivable at December 31, 2020. For the year ended December 31, 2021, $9.9 million of Contingent Commissions were earned (significantly below our historical average as a percentage of premium), of which $7.4 million was still receivable at December 31, 2021. Contingent Commissions are paid by Carriers based upon the profitability, volume and/or growth of the business
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placed with such companies during the prior year, therefore, Contingent Commissions earned can vary greatly from year to year.
Premium by line of business
We are a distributor of insurance policies in a range of primarily personal lines of business including homeowner’s insurance, automotive, dwelling property insurance, flood, wind and earthquake insurance, excess liability or umbrella insurance, specialty lines insurance (motorcycle, recreational vehicle, and other insurance), commercial lines insurance (general liability, property and auto insurance for small businesses) and life insurance. The following table sets forth our Total Written Premium placed by line of business by amount and as a percentage of our Total Written Premium for the periods indicated (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||||||||
| Line of business | |||||||||||||||||
| Homeowner | $ | 885,130 | 56 | % | $ | 585,515 | 55 | % | $ | 395,572 | 53 | % | |||||
| Automotive | 618,483 | 40 | % | 456,320 | 42 | % | 321,857 | 44 | % | ||||||||
| Commercial | 39,254 | 3 | % | 20,730 | 2 | % | 13,831 | 2 | % | ||||||||
| Other | 16,991 | 1 | % | 11,511 | 1 | % | 7,749 | 1 | % | ||||||||
| Total Written Premium | $ | 1,559,858 | 100 | % | $ | 1,074,076 | 100 | % | $ | 739,009 | 100 | % |
Expenses
Due to our purely organic-focused growth strategy, virtually all of our investments in future growth are in people and certain technologies. Therefore, the majority of our investments are not capitalizable and are recognized immediately on our statement of operations.
Employee compensation and benefits. Employee compensation and benefits is our largest expense and consists of (a) base compensation comprising salary, bonuses and benefits paid and payable to employees, and (b) stock option awards for our senior employees. We expect to continue to experience a general rise in compensation and benefits expense commensurate with expected growth in headcount and with the need to maintain competitive compensation levels as we expand geographically and create new products and services.
General and administrative expenses. General and administrative expenses include technology, travel, accounting, legal and other professional fees, commissions, placement fees, office expenses, depreciation and other costs associated with our operations. Our occupancy-related costs and professional services expenses, in particular, generally increase or decrease in relative proportion to the number of our employees and the overall size and scale of our business operations. Expenses allocated to the Segments related to our service centers and other overhead are applied to the appropriate Segment using a transfer pricing methodology that seeks to maximize the scale efficiencies of our business by sharing certain expenses across the two Segments. These shared expenses are then allocated between the two Segments based on certain cost drivers related to each expense. Examples of specific expenses and their cost drivers include, but are not limited to: service team compensation costs are allocated based on the number of cases processed for each Segment, our rent expense by location is allocated based on the full time equivalent count and Segment, and our technology charges are allocated based on the number of individual licenses used by each Segment.
Key performance indicators
Our key operating metrics are discussed below:
Total Written Premium
Total Written Premium represents for any reported period, the total amount of current (non-cancelled) gross premium that is placed with Goosehead’s portfolio of Carriers. We believe that Total Written Premium is an
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appropriate measure of operating performance because it reflects growth of our business relative to other insurance agencies.
For the year ended December 31, 2021, we had $1.6 billion in Total Written Premium, representing a 45% increase, compared to $1.1 billion for the year ended December 31, 2020. The following table shows Total Written Premium by channel for the years ended 2021 and 2020 (in thousands).
| Year Ended December 31 | % Change | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||
| Corporate Channel Total Written Premium | $ | 421,792 | $ | 320,495 | 32 | % | |||||
| Franchise Channel Total Written Premium | 1,138,066 | 753,581 | 51 | % | |||||||
| Total Written Premium | $ | 1,559,858 | $ | 1,074,076 | 45 | % |
Policies in Force
Policies in Force means as of any reported date, the total count of current (non-cancelled) policies placed with Goosehead’s portfolio of Carriers. We believe that Policies in Force is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it reflects growth of our business relative to other insurance agencies.
As of December 31, 2021, we had 1,011,000 Policies in Force compared to 713,000 as of December 31, 2020, representing a 42% increase.
NPS
Net Promoter Score (NPS) is calculated based on a single question: “How likely are you to refer Goosehead Insurance to a friend, family member or colleague?” Clients that respond with a 6 or below are Detractors, a
score of 7 or 8 are called Passives, and a 9 or 10 are Promoters. NPS is calculated by subtracting the percentage of Detractors from the percentage of Promoters. For example, if 50% of respondents were Promoters and 10% were Detractors, NPS is a 40. NPS is a useful gauge of the loyalty of client relationships and can be compared across companies and industries.
NPS has decreased modestly to 91 as of December 31, 2021 from 92 at December 31, 2020, primarily driven by the service team’s continued focus on delivering highly differentiated service levels.
Client Retention
Client Retention is calculated by comparing the number of all clients that had at least one policy in force twelve months prior to the date of measurement and still have at least one policy in force at the date of measurement. We believe Client Retention is useful as a measure of how well Goosehead retains clients year-over-year and minimizes defections.
Client Retention increased to 89% at December 31, 2021 when compared to 88% at December 31, 2020, again driven by the service team’s continued focus on delivering highly differentiated service levels. Our retention rate is even stronger on a premium basis. In 2021, we retained 93% of the premiums we distributed in 2020, an increase from premium retention in 2020 of 89% due to improved client retention and premium increases from our Carriers during the year. Our premium retention rate is higher than our Client Retention rate as a result of both premiums increasing year over year and additional coverages sold by our sales and service teams.
New Business Revenue
New Business Revenue is commissions received from the Carrier, Agency Fees received from clients, and Royalty Fees relating to policies in their first term.
For the year ended December 31, 2021, New Business Revenue grew 31% to $48.2 million, from $36.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. Growth in New Business Revenue is driven by an increase in Corporate Channel sales agent headcount of 39% and growth in operating franchises of 34%.
Renewal Revenue
Renewal Revenue is commissions received from the Carrier and Royalty Fees after the first term of a policy.
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For the year ended December 31, 2021, Renewal Revenue grew 46% to $85.2 million, from $58.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. Growth in Renewal Revenue was driven by Client Retention of 89% at December 31, 2021. As our agent force matures on both the Corporate Channel and the Franchise Channel, the policies they wrote in prior years begins to convert from New Business Revenue to more profitable Renewal Revenue.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Core Revenue, Cost Recovery Revenue, Ancillary Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, and Adjusted EPS are not measures of financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered substitutes for net income or earnings per share, which we consider to be the most directly comparable GAAP measure. We refer to these measures as "non-GAAP financial measures." We consider these non-GAAP financial measures to be useful metrics for management and investors to facilitate operating performance comparisons from period to period by excluding potential differences caused by variations in capital structures, tax position, depreciation, amortization and certain other items that we believe are not representative of our core business. Core Revenue, Cost Recovery Revenue, Ancillary Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, and Adjusted EPS have limitations as analytical tools, and when assessing our operating performance, you should not consider Core Revenue, Cost Recovery Revenue, Ancillary Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, or Adjusted EPS in isolation or as substitutes for net income, earnings per share or other consolidated income statement data prepared in accordance with GAAP. Other companies may calculate Core Revenue, Cost Recovery Revenue, Ancillary Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, and Adjusted EPS differently than we do, limiting their usefulness as comparative measures.
Core Revenue
Core Revenue is a supplemental measure of our performance and includes Renewal Commissions, Renewal Royalty Fees, New Business Commissions, New Business Royalty Fees, and Agency Fees. We believe that Core Revenue is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it summarizes all of our revenues from sales of individual insurance policies.
Core Revenue increased by $38.3 million, or 40%, to $133.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 from $95.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The primary driver of the increase is growth in operating franchises, corporate agent sales headcount, and number of policies in the renewal term from December 31, 2020 to December 31, 2021.
Cost Recovery Revenue
Cost Recovery Revenue is a supplemental measure of our performance and includes Initial Franchise Fees and Interest Income. We believe that Cost Recovery Revenue is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it summarizes revenues that are viewed by management as cost recovery mechanisms.
Cost Recovery Revenue increased by $2.7 million, or 52%, to $7.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 from $5.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The primary driver of the increase is a larger number of franchises in the system.
Ancillary Revenue
Ancillary Revenue is a supplemental measure of our performance and includes Contingent Commissions and Other Income. We believe that Ancillary Revenue is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it summarizes revenues that are ancillary to our core business.
Ancillary Revenue decreased by $6.7 million, or 39%, to $10.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 from $16.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The primary driver of the decrease from December 31, 2020 to December 31, 2021 was unfavorable loss ratios with our carriers.
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA is a supplemental measure of our performance. We believe that Adjusted EBITDA is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it eliminates the impact of items that do not relate to underlying business performance. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income (the most directly comparable GAAP measure) before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, adjusted to exclude equity-based compensation and other non-operating items, including, among other things, certain non-cash charges and certain non-recurring or non-operating gains or losses.
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Adjusted EBITDA decreased by $7.0 million, or 25%, to $20.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, from $27.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, driven primarily by a significant decrease in high-margin revenue from Contingent Commissions.
Adjusted EBITDA Margin
Adjusted EBITDA Margin is Adjusted EBITDA as defined above, divided by total revenue excluding other non-operating items. Adjusted EBITDA Margin is helpful in measuring profitability of operations on a consolidated level.
For the year ended December 31, 2021, Adjusted EBITDA Margin was 14% compared to 24% for the year ended December 31, 2020. The Adjusted EBITDA margin reduction came from a significant decrease in high-margin Contingent Commissions, investments to grow the Corporate sales agents 39%, plus additional investments in systems technology.
Adjusted EPS
Adjusted EPS is a supplemental measure of our performance, defined as earnings per share (the most directly comparable GAAP measure) before non-recurring or non-operating income and expenses, adjusted to assume a single class of stock (Class A) and assuming non-controlling interest does not exist. Adjusted EPS is a useful measure to management because it eliminates the impact of items that do not relate to business performance and helps compare companies that may not have a dual-share class structure.
GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliations
| Year ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||
| Total Revenues | $ | 151,312 | $ | 117,014 | $ | 77,486 | ||||
| Core Revenue: | ||||||||||
| Renewal Commissions(1) | $ | 39,111 | $ | 28,891 | $ | 22,924 | ||||
| Renewal Royalty Fees(2) | 46,079 | 29,309 | 19,462 | |||||||
| New Business Commissions(1) | 22,108 | 17,324 | 11,961 | |||||||
| New Business Royalty Fees(2) | 14,616 | 10,623 | 7,149 | |||||||
| Agency Fees(1) | 11,506 | 8,921 | 6,058 | |||||||
| Total Core Revenue | 133,420 | 95,068 | 67,554 | |||||||
| Cost Recovery Revenue: | ||||||||||
| Initial Franchise Fees(2) | 6,516 | 4,236 | 3,784 | |||||||
| Interest Income | 1,153 | 813 | 617 | |||||||
| Total Cost Recovery Revenue | 7,669 | 5,049 | 4,401 | |||||||
| Ancillary Revenue: | ||||||||||
| Contingent Commissions(1) | 9,926 | 16,675 | 5,423 | |||||||
| Other Income(2) | 297 | 222 | 108 | |||||||
| Total Ancillary Revenue | 10,223 | 16,897 | 5,531 | |||||||
| Total Revenues | $ | 151,312 | $ | 117,014 | $ | 77,486 |
(1) Renewal Commissions, New Business Commissions, Agency Fees, and Contingent Commissions are included in "Commissions and agency fees" as shown on the Consolidated statements of operations.
(2) Renewal Royalty Fees, New Business Royalty Fees, Initial Franchise Fees, and Other Income are included in "Franchise revenues" as shown on the Consolidated statements of operations.
The following table show a reconciliation from net income to Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019 (in thousands):
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| Year ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | 8,296 | $ | 18,755 | $ | 10,382 | |||||
| Interest expense | 2,854 | 2,310 | 2,387 | ||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 4,873 | 3,147 | 1,931 | ||||||||
| Tax expense (benefit) | (2,292) | (1,035) | 1,304 | ||||||||
| Equity-based compensation | 7,292 | 4,745 | 1,526 | ||||||||
| Other income (expense, including state franchise tax) | (185) | (90) | — | ||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 20,838 | $ | 27,832 | $ | 17,530 | |||||
| Adjusted EBITDA Margin(1) | 14 | % | 24 | % | 23 | % |
(1) Adjusted EBITDA Margin is calculated as Adjusted EBITDA divided by Total Revenue excluding other non-operating items ($20,838 / $151,312) for the year ended December 31, 2021, ($27,832 / $117,014) for the year ended December 31, 2020, and ($17,530 /$77,486) for the year ended December 31, 2019.
The following tables show a reconciliation from basic earnings per share to Adjusted EPS for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019. Note that totals may not sum due to rounding:
| Year ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||
| Earnings (loss) per share - basic (GAAP) | $ | 0.28 | $ | 0.55 | $ | 0.24 | |||||
| Add: equity-based compensation(1) | 0.20 | 0.13 | 0.04 | ||||||||
| Adjusted EPS (non-GAAP) | $ | 0.48 | $ | 0.68 | $ | 0.28 |
(1) Calculated as equity-based compensation divided by the weighted average of Class A and Class B shares outstanding during the period 2021 - [$7.3 million / ( 19.2 million + 17.7 million ) 2020 - [ $4.7 million / ( 16.8 million + 19.7 million )] 2019 - [ $1.5 million / ( 14.9 million + 21.4 million )]
Consolidated results of operations
The following is a discussion of our consolidated results of operations for each of the years ended December 31, 2021, December 31, 2020, and December 31, 2019. This information is derived from our accompanying consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. For further discussion regarding our consolidated results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2020 as compared to the year ended
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December 31, 2019, refer to "Part II, Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.
The following table summarizes our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019 (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Revenues: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Commissions and agency fees | $ | 82,651 | 54 | % | $ | 71,811 | 61 | % | $ | 46,366 | 60 | % | ||||||||
| Franchise revenues | 67,508 | 45 | % | 44,390 | 38 | % | 30,503 | 39 | % | |||||||||||
| Interest income | 1,153 | 1 | % | 813 | 1 | % | 617 | 1 | % | |||||||||||
| Total revenues | 151,312 | 100 | % | 117,014 | 100 | % | 77,486 | 100 | % | |||||||||||
| Operating Expenses: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Employee compensation and benefits | 93,038 | 66 | % | 66,819 | 69 | % | 41,715 | 66 | % | |||||||||||
| General and administrative expenses | 41,729 | 29 | % | 25,532 | 26 | % | 19,042 | 30 | % | |||||||||||
| Bad debts | 2,999 | 2 | % | 1,576 | 2 | % | 725 | 1 | % | |||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 4,873 | 3 | % | 3,147 | 3 | % | 1,931 | 3 | % | |||||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 142,639 | 100 | % | 97,074 | 100 | % | 63,413 | 100 | % | |||||||||||
| Income from operations | 8,673 | 19,940 | 14,073 | |||||||||||||||||
| Other Income: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other income | 185 | 90 | — | |||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (2,854) | (2,310) | (2,387) | |||||||||||||||||
| Income before taxes | 6,004 | 17,720 | 11,686 | |||||||||||||||||
| Tax expense (benefit) | (2,292) | (1,035) | 1,304 | |||||||||||||||||
| Net Income | 8,296 | 18,755 | 10,382 | |||||||||||||||||
| Less: net income attributable to non-controlling interests | 2,893 | 9,468 | 6,815 | |||||||||||||||||
| Net Income attributable to Goosehead Insurance Inc. | $ | 5,403 | $ | 9,287 | $ | 3,567 |
Revenues
In 2021, revenue increased by 29% to $151.3 million from $117.0 million in 2020.
Commissions and agency fees
Commissions and agency fees consist of Core Revenue from New Business Commissions, Renewal Commissions, and Agency Fees, and Ancillary Revenue from Contingent Commissions generated from the Corporate Channel and Franchise Channel and other income.
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The following table sets forth our commissions and agency fees by amount and as a percentage of our revenues for the periods indicated (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31 | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Core Revenue: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Renewal Commissions | $ | 39,111 | 47 | % | $ | 28,891 | 40 | % | $ | 22,924 | 49 | % | ||||||||
| New Business Commissions | 22,108 | 27 | % | 17,324 | 24 | % | 11,961 | 26 | % | |||||||||||
| Agency Fees | 11,506 | 14 | % | 8,921 | 13 | % | 6,058 | 13 | % | |||||||||||
| Total | 72,725 | 88 | % | 55,136 | 77 | % | 40,943 | 88 | % | |||||||||||
| Ancillary Revenue: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Contingent Commissions | 9,926 | 12 | % | 16,675 | 23 | % | 5,423 | 12 | % | |||||||||||
| Commissions and agency fees | $ | 82,651 | 100 | % | $ | 71,811 | 100 | % | $ | 46,366 | 100 | % |
Renewal Commissions increased by $10.2 million, or 35%, to $39.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 from $28.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. These increases are primarily attributable to an increase in the number of policies in the renewal term at December 31, 2021 compared to December 31, 2020.
New Business Commissions increased by $4.8 million, or 28%, to $22.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 from $17.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. Revenue from Agency Fees increased by $2.6 million, or 29%, to $11.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 from $8.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. These increases were primarily attributable to an increase in total sales agent head count to 506 at December 31, 2021, from 364 at December 31, 2020, a 39% increase.
Revenue from Contingent Commissions decreased by $6.7 million, or (40)%, to $9.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, from $16.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The decrease is primarily attributable to the increase in loss ratios in our book of business with the Carriers that offer contingency programs.
Franchise Revenues
Franchise Revenues consist of Core Revenues from Royalty Fees, Cost Recovery Revenues from Initial Franchise Fees, and Ancillary Revenues from Interest Income.
The following table sets forth our franchise revenues by amount and as a percentage of our revenues for the periods indicated (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Core Revenues: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Renewal Royalty Fees | $ | 46,079 | 68 | % | $ | 29,309 | 65 | % | $ | 19,462 | 65 | % | ||||||||
| New Business Royalty Fees | 14,616 | 22 | % | 10,623 | 24 | % | 7,149 | 23 | % | |||||||||||
| Total | 60,695 | 90 | % | 39,932 | 89 | % | 26,611 | 88 | % | |||||||||||
| Cost Recovery Revenues: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Initial Franchise Fees | 6,516 | 10 | % | 4,236 | 10 | % | 3,784 | 12 | % | |||||||||||
| Ancillary Revenues: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other Franchise Revenues | 297 | — | % | 222 | 1 | % | 108 | — | % | |||||||||||
| Franchise revenues | $ | 67,508 | 100 | % | $ | 44,390 | 100 | % | $ | 30,503 | 100 | % |
Revenue from Renewal Royalty Fees increase by $16.8 million, or 57%, to $46.1 million, for the year ended December 31, 2021 from $29.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase in revenue from Renewal Royalty Fees was primarily attributable to an increase in the number of policies in the renewal term, and the higher Royalty Fee rate on renewal business compared to new business (50% vs. 20%, respectively).
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Revenue from New Business Royalty Fees increased by $4.0 million, or 38%, to $14.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 from $10.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase in revenue from New Business Royalty Fees was primarily attributable to an increase in the total number of operating franchises at December 31, 2021 compared to December 31, 2020.
Initial Franchise Fee revenue increased approximately $2.3 million, or 54%, to $6.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 from $4.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The primary driver of the increase in Initial Franchise Fees was the increase in total franchises.
Interest Income
Interest Income increased $0.4 million, or 42% to $1.2 million for 2021 from $0.8 million for 2020. This increase was primarily attributable to additional Franchise Agreements signed under the payment plan option.
Expenses
Employee compensation and benefits
Employee compensation and benefits expenses increased by $26.2 million, or 39%, to $93.0 million for 2021 from $66.8 million for 2020. This was attributable to an increase in total headcount from 2020 to 2021, as well as additional stock options granted during 2021.
General and administrative expenses
General and administrative expenses increased by $16.2 million, or 63%, to $41.7 million for 2021 from $25.5 million for 2020. This increase was attributable to travel expenses related to the ease of travel restrictions in 2021 and increases in expenses related to continued development of technology. The remainder of the increase is attributable to higher costs associated with an increase in operating franchises and employees.
Bad debts
Bad debts increased by $1.4 million, or 90%, to $3.0 million for 2021 from $1.6 million for 2020. This increase was primarily attributable to increases in Agency Fees sold by the company.
Depreciation and amortization
Depreciation and amortization increased by $1.7 million, or 55%, to $4.9 million for 2021 from $3.1 million for 2020. This increase was primarily attributable to the increase in fixed assets during the same period, including a full year of depreciation on the fixed assets put in place in connection with the additional hiring and lease space taken during the year.
Other income (expense)
During 2021 the Company had other income of $185,000 related to franchise transfer fees and sublease income, compared to $90,000 in 2020.
Interest expense
Interest expenses increased by $0.6 million, or 24%, to $2.9 million for 2021 from $2.3 million for 2020. This increase is attributable to an increase in the average debt balance during the year.
Liquidity and capital resources
Historical liquidity and capital resources
We have managed our historical liquidity and capital requirements primarily through the receipt of revenues from our Corporate Channel and our Franchise Channel. Our primary cash flow activities involve: (1) generating cash flow from Corporate Channel operations, which largely includes Renewal Revenue (Corporate) and New Business Revenue (Corporate); (2) generating cash flow from Franchise Channel operations, which largely includes Royalty Fees and Initial Franchise Fees; (3) making distributions to the Goosehead Management Holders and Texas Wasatch Holders; and (4) borrowings, interest payments and repayments under our Credit Agreement. As of
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December 31, 2021, our unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, and restricted cash was $30.5 million. We have used cash flow from operations primarily to pay compensation and related expenses, general, administrative and other expenses, debt service and distributions to our owners.
Credit agreement
See "Note 9. Debt" in the consolidated financial statements included herein for a discussion of the Company's credit facilities.
Comparative cash flows
The following table summarizes our cash flows from operational, investing and financing activities for the periods indicated:
| Year Ended December 31 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 35,444 | $ | 24,643 | $ | 21,241 | ||||
| Net cash used for investing activities | (15,375) | (10,333) | (4,078) | |||||||
| Net cash used for financing activities | (15,826) | (3,334) | (20,914) | |||||||
| Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | 4,243 | 10,976 | (3,751) | |||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents, and restricted cash, beginning of period | 26,236 | 15,260 | 19,011 | |||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents, and restricted cash, end of period | $ | 30,479 | $ | 26,236 | $ | 15,260 |
Operating activities
Net cash provided by operational activities was $35.4 million for 2021 as compared to net cash provided by operational activities of $24.6 million for 2020. This increase in net cash provided by operational activities was primarily attributable to a $17.6 million increase in cash provided by commissions and fees receivable, offset by a $10.5 million decrease in net income.
Investing activities
Net cash used in business investment activities was $15.4 million for 2021 as compared to net cash used in business investment activities of $10.3 million for 2020. This increase in net cash used in business investment activities was primarily attributable to intangible assets growth related to investments in the digital agent, as well as fixed asset growth directly related to headcount increases and additional office space buildout during the year.
Financing activities
Net cash used in financing activities was $15.8 million for 2021 as compared to net cash used by financing activities of $3.3 million for 2020. This increase in net cash used financing activities is due to the $20.2 million decrease in proceeds received from notes payable during 2021, offset by a $23.5 million decrease in repayments made on notes payable and a $15.3 million increase in distributions and dividends paid during 2021.
Future sources and uses of liquidity
Our initial sources of liquidity will be (1) cash on hand, (2) net working capital, (3) cash flows from operations and (4) our Revolving Credit Facility. Based on our current expectations, we believe that these sources of liquidity will be sufficient to fund our working capital requirements and to meet our commitments in the foreseeable future.
We expect that our primary liquidity needs will comprise cash to (1) provide capital to facilitate the organic growth of our business, (2) pay operating expenses, including cash compensation to our employees, (3) make payments under the tax receivable agreement, (4) pay interest and principal due on borrowings under our Credit Agreement and (5) pay income taxes.
Dividend policy
Assuming Goosehead Financial, LLC makes distributions to its members in any given year, the determination to pay dividends, if any, to our Class A common stockholders out of the portion, if any, of such distributions remaining after our payment of taxes, tax receivable agreement payments and expenses (any such portion, an “excess
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distribution”) will be made at the sole discretion of our board of directors. Our board of directors may change our dividend policy at any time. See “Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities — Dividend policy".
Tax receivable agreement
We entered into a tax receivable agreement with the Pre-IPO LLC Members on May 1, 2018 that provides for the payment by us to the Pre-IPO LLC Members of 85% of the amount of cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax or franchise tax that we actually realize as a result of (i) any increase in tax basis in Goosehead Insurance, Inc.’s assets and (ii) tax benefits related to imputed interest deemed arising as a result of payments made under the tax receivable agreement. See "Item 13. Certain relationships and related transactions, and director independence".
Holders of Goosehead Financial, LLC Units (other than Goosehead Insurance, Inc.) may, subject to certain conditions and transfer restrictions described above, redeem or exchange their LLC Units for shares of Class A common stock of Goosehead Insurance, Inc. on a one-for-one basis. Goosehead Financial, LLC has made an election under Section 754 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the regulations thereunder (the “Code”) effective for each taxable year in which a redemption or exchange of LLC Units for shares of Class A common stock occurs, which has resulted and is expected to result in increases to the tax basis of the assets of Goosehead Financial, LLC at the time of a redemption or exchange of LLC Units. Prior redemptions and exchanges have resulted, and we expect future redemptions and exchanges will result in increases in the tax basis of the tangible and intangible assets of Goosehead Financial, LLC. These increases in tax basis have reduced the amount of tax we are required to pay, and may reduce the amount of tax that Goosehead Insurance, Inc. would otherwise be required to pay in the future. We have entered into a tax receivable agreement with the Pre-IPO LLC Members that provides for the payment by us to the Pre-IPO LLC Members of 85% of the amount of cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax or franchise tax that we actually realize as a result of (i) any increase in tax basis in Goosehead Insurance, Inc.’s assets resulting from (a) the purchase of LLC Units from any of the Pre-IPO LLC Members using the net proceeds from any future offering, (b) redemptions or exchanges by the Pre-IPO LLC Members of LLC Units for shares of our Class A common stock or (c) payments under the tax receivable agreement and (ii) tax benefits related to imputed interest deemed arising as a result of payments made under the tax receivable agreement. This payment obligation is an obligation of Goosehead Insurance, Inc. and not of Goosehead Financial, LLC. For purposes of the tax receivable agreement, the cash tax savings in income tax will be computed by comparing the actual income tax liability of Goosehead Insurance, Inc. (calculated with certain assumptions) to the amount of such taxes that Goosehead Insurance, Inc. would have been required to pay had there been no increase to the tax basis of the assets of Goosehead Financial, LLC as a result of the redemptions or exchanges and had Goosehead Insurance, Inc. not entered into the tax receivable agreement. Estimating the amount of payments that may be made under the tax receivable agreement is by its nature imprecise, insofar as the calculation of amounts payable depends on a variety of factors. While the actual increase in tax basis from future purchases, redemptions or exchanges, as well as the amount and timing of any payments under the tax receivable agreement, will vary depending upon a number of factors, including the timing of redemptions or exchanges, the price of shares of our Class A common stock at the time of the redemption or exchange, the extent to which such redemptions or exchanges are taxable and the amount and timing of our income. See "Item 13. Certain relationships and related transactions, and director independence". We historically accounted, and anticipate that we will continue to account for the effects of these increases in tax basis and associated payments under the tax receivable agreement arising from redemptions or exchanges as follows:
•we will record an increase in deferred tax assets for the estimated income tax effects of the increases in tax basis based on enacted federal and state tax rates at the date of the redemption or exchange;
•to the extent we estimate that we will not realize the full benefit represented by the deferred tax asset, based on an analysis that will consider, among other things, our expectation of future earnings, we will reduce the deferred tax asset with a valuation allowance; and
•we will record 85% of the estimated realizable tax benefit (which is the recorded deferred tax asset less any recorded valuation allowance) as an increase to the liability due under the tax receivable agreement and the remaining 15% of the estimated realizable tax benefit as an increase to additional paid-in capital.
All of the effects of changes in any of our estimates after the date of the redemption or exchange will be included in net income. Similarly, the effect of subsequent changes in the enacted tax rates will be included in net income.
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Contractual obligations, commitments and contingencies
The following table represents our contractual obligations as of December 31, 2021, aggregated by type.
| Contractual obligations, commitments and contingencies | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands) | Total | Less than 1 year | 1-3 years | 3-5 years | More than 5 years | |||||||||||||
| Operating leases(1) | $ | 59,673 | $ | 5,680 | $ | 14,974 | $ | 15,000 | $ | 24,019 | ||||||||
| Debt obligations payable(2) | 98,750 | 4,375 | 26,250 | 68,125 | — | |||||||||||||
| Interest expense(3) | 1,460 | 115 | 1,345 | — | — | |||||||||||||
| Liabilities under tax receivable agreement(4) | 100,959 | — | 10,521 | 11,436 | 79,002 | |||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 260,842 | $ | 10,170 | $ | 53,090 | $ | 94,561 | $ | 103,021 |
(1)The Company leases its facilities under non-cancelable operating leases. In addition to monthly lease payments, the lease agreements require the Company to reimburse the lessors for its portion of operating costs each year. Rent expense was $4.8 million, $1.9 million, and $1.6 million for year ending December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019.
(2)The Company refinanced its credit facilities on July 21, 2021 in the form of a $100 million term loan and $50 million revolving credit facility, of which $25 million was drawn as of December 31, 2021.
(3)Interest payments on our outstanding debt obligations under our Credit Agreement. Our debt obligations have variable interest rates. We have calculated future interest obligations based on the interest rate for our debt obligations as of December 31, 2021.
(4)See "Item 7. Management's discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operation - Tax receivable agreement."
Critical accounting policies and estimates
We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP. In applying many of these accounting principles, we need to make assumptions, estimates or judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses in our consolidated financial statements. We base our estimates and judgments on historical experience and other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances. These assumptions, estimates or judgments, however, are both subjective and subject to change, and actual results may differ from our assumptions and estimates. If actual amounts are ultimately different from our estimates, the revisions are included in our results of operations for the period in which the actual amounts become known. We believe the following critical accounting policies could potentially produce materially different results if we were to change underlying assumptions, estimates or judgments. See “Item 8. Financial statements and supplementary data - Summary of significant accounting policies” for a summary of our significant accounting policies, and discussion of recent accounting pronouncements.
Revenue recognition
The adoption of the new revenue standard on January 1, 2019 has increased the significance of judgments and estimates management must make to apply the guidance. In particular, judgments related to the amount of variable revenue consideration to ultimately be received on commission revenue, royalty fees, and contingent commissions, which were previously recognized when the Company received notification from the insurance carrier, now require significant judgments and estimates. The Company adjusts its estimates of revenue recognized for commissions and royalty fees based on cash collections during the terms of the policies.
Under the new standard, certain costs to obtain or fulfill a contract that were previously expensed as incurred have been capitalized. The Company capitalizes the incremental costs to obtain contracts primarily related to commission payments. These deferred costs are amortized over the expected life of the underlying franchise fee, and are included in Other assets in the Company's consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2021.
Liabilities under Tax Receivable Agreement
In connection with the Offering we entered into a tax receivable agreement with the Pre-IPO LLC Members that will provide for the payment by us to the Pre-IPO LLC Members of 85% of the amount of cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax or franchise tax that we actually realize as a result of (i) any increase in tax basis in Goosehead Financial, LLC’s assets resulting from (a) the acquisition of LLC Units using the net proceeds from any future offering, (b) redemptions or exchanges by the Pre-IPO LLC Members of LLC Units and the corresponding number of shares of Class B common stock for shares of our Class A common stock or (c) payments under the tax receivable agreement, and (ii) tax benefits related to imputed interest deemed arising as a result of payments made under the tax receivable agreement.
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The actual increase in tax basis from future redemptions and exchanges, as well as the amount and timing of any payments under the tax receivable agreement, will vary depending on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the timing of any future redemptions, exchanges or purchases of the LLC Units held by Pre-IPO LLC Members, the price of our Class A common stock at the time of the purchase, redemption or exchange, the extent to which redemptions or exchanges are taxable, the amount and timing of the taxable income that we generate in the future, the tax rates then applicable and the portion of our payments under the tax receivable agreement constituting imputed interest.
As of December 31, 2021, as a result of the prior redemptions of LLC Units, we recognized liabilities totaling $101.0 million relating to our obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement.