NERDWALLET, INC. (NRDS) Business

Item 1. Business.

Overview

NerdWallet, Inc. (NerdWallet, the Company, we, our, or us) provides consumers and small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) with trusted guidance across a broad range of finance topics through a digital platform that integrates independent editorial content, comparison tools, data-driven product marketplaces, and access to regulated financial services offered through our subsidiaries. Our mission is to provide clarity for all of life’s financial decisions. Our vision is a world where everyone makes financial decisions with confidence.

Our platform enables users to compare financial products, access educational resources, receive personalized insights, and connect with third-party providers across credit cards, banking, insurance, lending, investing, wealth management, and other financial categories. We generate revenue primarily through referral fees, lead generation, and partner-based monetization, as well as through revenue derived from brokering and advisory services. Our business model is designed to be partner-neutral and to support transparent consumer and SMB choice by offering side-by-side comparisons and insightful information supported by editorial standards.

NerdWallet operates in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. We are a remote-first company with our primary corporate offices located in San Mateo, California and Scottsdale, Arizona, and we maintain hub offices in several major metropolitan areas across the United States. Our global subsidiaries support localized content, compliance oversight, product integrations, and technology development.

The Company’s platform comprises three primary components:

•Editorial and Content Publishing—Consumer and SMB financial education, tools, calculators, guides, and research published under the “NerdWallet” brand across web, mobile, and third-party channels.

•Marketplace and Referral Services—Tools that enable users to compare, pre-qualify for, or connect with third-party providers of credit cards, consumer loans, small business loans, insurance, mortgages, financial services, and related products. These services include those provided through Fundera, NerdWallet Insurance Services, NerdWallet Advisory, and NerdWallet Compare.

•Financial Services—Brokerage and advisory services provided by our insurance agency, loan and mortgage brokerages, and investment advisory subsidiaries.

We serve millions of monthly users who rely on our platform to make informed financial decisions. Our technology, data infrastructure, and partner relationships enable us to deliver personalized experiences, facilitate financial product applications, and help both consumers and SMBs navigate complex financial products.

Our revenue was $836.6 million and $687.6 million for 2025 and 2024, respectively, representing year-over-year growth of 22%. We generated net income of $48.7 million and $30.4 million for 2025 and 2024, respectively, representing year-over-year growth of 60%.

Our Platform and Ecosystem

Our platform offers consumers and SMBs clear, reliable information about financial products and services, along with tools and guidance to support informed financial decisions. We combine independent editorial content, product data, user-specific insights, and technology-enabled tools to deliver personalized user experiences across desktop and mobile environments. Our ecosystem integrates content, marketplaces, and regulated financial services under a unified architecture that supports discovery, comparison, application, referral, and engagement across multiple financial categories.

Content and Tools

Our editorial team produces independent reviews, product comparisons, articles, guides, calculators, and other resources covering a broad range of personal finance topics. These materials are designed to help users understand financial products, evaluate tradeoffs, and identify solutions that may be appropriate for their circumstances. We maintain editorial standards intended to ensure accuracy, clarity, and impartiality. Our tools include credit score monitoring, spending and asset accumulation insights, pre-qualification workflows, mortgage, loan, and financial calculators, and decision-support questionnaires.

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Marketplace Infrastructure

We operate multiple financial product marketplaces that enable users to compare products or connect with third-party providers and some of the financial service activities that we offer. These marketplaces leverage partner integrations, real-time data, and matching algorithms to facilitate product discovery and application experiences. Our core marketplace categories include:

•Credit cards

•Consumer loans

•Small business financing

•Home lending products and services

•Insurance products and providers

•Banking products and deposit accounts

•Investment and retirement products

•Financial advisor matching

These marketplaces generate revenue primarily through referral fees, partner marketing arrangements, and lead-generation compensation structures.

Financial Services

We support certain financial service activities through wholly-owned and indirectly-owned subsidiaries that provide services under applicable regulatory regimes.

•Next Door Lending, LLC (NDL) provides mortgage brokerage and origination services to consumers. NDL does not service mortgage loans or hold mortgage loans for more than 30 days.

•NerdWallet Advisory LLC is an SEC-registered investment adviser that operates our financial advisor marketplace. It provides matching, referral, and lead-generation services to consumers seeking full-service investment advisers. NerdWallet Advisory does not provide fiduciary investment advisory services, personalized investment advice, investment recommendations, or discretionary or non-discretionary investment management services to consumers.

•NerdWallet Wealth Partners, LLC is an SEC-registered investment adviser that provides fiduciary investment advisory services, including financial planning and discretionary investment management. These services are delivered through dedicated advisory personnel and operate separately from our content and marketplace functions. NerdWallet Wealth Partners is structured to mitigate potential conflicts of interest with its clients and, among other things, does not offer proprietary financial products, sponsor investment funds, or act as a custodian for client assets.

•NerdWallet Insurance Experts, LLC is an insurance agency that provides brokerage services to assist consumers in obtaining and comparing insurance products, including facilitating connections with licensed carriers or agents, data collection through online discovery questionnaires, and limited origination support. NerdWallet Insurance Experts does not bind coverage, administer policies, collect premiums, or adjust claims.

Technology and Data Capabilities

Our platform relies on proprietary technology that supports data ingestion, partner integrations, user segmentation, product ranking, and personalized insights. We use machine learning and rules-based systems to improve marketplace matching, predict user intent, and optimize performance for both users and partners. Our infrastructure is built to support high-volume traffic, multi-region content delivery, and secure handling of consumer and SMB information.

We invest in data quality, compliance monitoring, partner-performance analytics, and product metadata to maintain accurate comparisons and transparent disclosures.

Partner Ecosystem

We work with a broad range of financial institutions, including banks, lenders, credit card issuers, insurance carriers, broker-dealers, investment advisers, and other providers. Our relationships include integration of application programming interfaces (APIs), data-exchange connections, marketing partnerships, and agreements governing referrals or introductions. We maintain processes to monitor partner practices, regulatory changes, and compliance requirements applicable to referral arrangements and advertising partnerships.

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User Engagement and Distribution Channels

Users interact with our platform through web and mobile properties, email communications, APIs, partner-hosted integrations, and third-party search and social media channels. Our mobile app provides additional tools for tracking finances, credit performance, spending patterns, and progress toward financial goals. We supplement direct channels with performance marketing, organic search, and partnerships that extend the reach of our content and marketplaces.

Products and Services

We offer a broad set of products and services designed to help consumers and SMBs make informed financial decisions and connect with third-party providers of financial products. Our offerings span content publishing, technology-enabled tools, financial product marketplaces, mortgage brokering services, and regulated investment advisory services.

Content, Tools, and Consumer and SMB Education

We publish editorial content, reviews, product comparisons, research articles, financial guides, calculators, and decision-support tools that cover a wide range of consumer and SMB finance topics, including credit, lending, insurance, banking, investing, retirement planning, taxes, and household budgeting. This content is produced independently and is intended to help users understand financial products, evaluate potential options, and take appropriate actions. Our tools include credit score monitoring, spending insights, personalized recommendations, application checklists, calculators, and product-matching questionnaires.

Marketplaces and Referral Services

Our platform includes technology-enabled marketplaces that allow users to compare financial products, access pre-qualification tools, or connect with third-party providers. We generate revenue from referral fees, lead-generation arrangements, partner marketing programs, and related compensation models. Our key marketplace categories include:

•Credit Card Marketplace—Offers comparison tools, pre-qualification workflows, and introductions to issuing partners.

•Personal Loan Marketplace—Provides comparison, rate-shopping tools, and introductions to lending partners.

•Small Business Financing Marketplace (Fundera)—Assists SMBs with lender matching, product comparisons, intake support, and introductions to financing partners.

•Banking Marketplace—Enables users to discover deposit products, high-yield savings accounts, certificates of deposit, and other banking solutions.

•Insurance Marketplace (NerdWallet Insurance Services, Inc.)—Provides quote comparison tools and introductions to carriers and licensed insurance professionals.

•Financial Advisor Marketplace (NerdWallet Advisory LLC)—Connects consumers with independent investment advisers through matching, referral, and lead-generation services. NerdWallet Advisory does not provide personalized investment advice or portfolio management services to users.

•Other Consumer and SMB Finance Marketplaces—Includes debt-related education and enrollment support services, student loans, auto loans, and other emerging financial product categories.

These marketplaces provide consumers and SMBs with transparent comparisons and streamlined access to third-party providers while enabling partners to acquire users efficiently.

Mortgage Brokering (Next Door Lending LLC)

We conduct mortgage brokering activities through NDL, a wholly-owned subsidiary licensed under applicable state laws. NDL provides consumer introductions, matching, and application routing to third-party mortgage lenders and supports certain intake and disclosure facilitation activities. NDL does not service mortgage loans or hold mortgage loans for more than 30 days.

Wealth Management (NerdWallet Wealth Partners, LLC)

We provide traditional wealth management services through NerdWallet Wealth Partners, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser that offers financial planning, discretionary investment management, and related advisory services.

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Insurance (NerdWallet Insurance Experts, LLC)

We provide insurance agency services where producers assist consumers in obtaining and comparing quotes and connecting with licensed carriers. NerdWallet Insurance Experts, LLC does not bind coverage, administer policies, collect premiums, or adjust claims.

Data, Analytics, and Integration Services

We support certain partners with data-driven insights, API integrations, product metadata, and analytical tools that improve product performance, underwriting decision workflows, customer acquisition efficiency, and user experience. These offerings are incidental to our core marketplace services and are used to support partner integrations and optimize referral quality.

Customer Support and Ancillary Services

We provide customer support, onboarding assistance, and intake-related services in connection with our marketplaces, mortgage brokering operations, insurance quote procurement, and advisor-matching services. These activities include clarifying application processes, collecting required information, or facilitating the routing of consumers and SMBs to third-party providers. We do not underwrite financial products, make credit decisions, service loans, bind insurance coverage, administer insurance policies, collect premiums, or adjust claims.

Employees and Human Capital

NerdWallet is defined by its vision, a world where everyone makes financial decisions with confidence. We attract people who are passionate about bringing our mission to life and inspired by the possibility of making real change—to brighten futures, ask hard questions, usher in solutions and provide our consumers and SMBs with clarity and confidence. As of December 31, 2025, we had over 650 full‑time employees, of which approximately 95% are located throughout the United States and 5% are located internationally. None of our employees are represented by a labor union or covered by collective bargaining agreements. We consider our relationship with our employees to be good and have not experienced any work stoppages.

Belonging

At NerdWallet, we aspire to provide people with the confidence they need to live their best lives—however they identify. For our consumers and SMBs, this means building their financial confidence. For our Nerds, this means fostering an inclusive culture that allows all Nerds to be their authentic selves, grow their skills, contribute, and thrive with the confidence of belonging. Belonging efforts are centered around ensuring we are building a diverse organization across all business aspects and creating an inclusive culture where everyone is engaged and empowered to do their best work. Our key initiatives include:

•Offering learning sessions and resources for Nerds and managers to help build an inclusive workplace.

•We support seven employee-led employee resource groups (ERGs) that provide community, connection, and development opportunities for employees and their allies: NerdOut, NerdFamilies, NerdWomen, Asian Nerds, Black Nerds Network, Viva Nerds, and Women in Data and Engineering. While each ERG centers on a specific community, all groups are open to all Nerds.

•We use a third-party platform to analyze our employee salaries to ensure pay parity.

•In addition, we offer a variety of engagement opportunities to inspire and encourage Nerds to learn,grow and give back to their communities. This year, we held two Nerds Pay It Forward events, freeing up time in support of employee volunteerism on dedicated volunteer days to encourage all NerdWallet employees to give back to their communities. In all, Nerds donated over 850 hours during these events.

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Talent Attraction, Recruitment and Retention

Our remote-first culture allows us to reach, attract and retain more diverse talent across all levels of our organization. Attracting and retaining highly skilled, diverse talent is absolutely critical to our success as a business and to fully realizing NerdWallet’s mission. Once employees are at NerdWallet we invest in their well-being and development offering competitive compensation and benefits, opportunities for career growth, and inclusion and belonging programming.

•Development and Operational Readiness - Aligned with our Relentless Self-Improvement value, we encourage employees to pursue ongoing professional growth. We support this through in-house development opportunities, including job shadowing and asynchronous learning via our learning management system (LMS, Juno), which offers both in-house and external trainings focused on upskilling and career readiness.

We have intentionally moved away from a centralized learning and development model in favor of learning by doing and targeted enablement aligned with business needs. This approach is complemented by flexible, asynchronous training opportunities, with a particular focus on strengthening manager capabilities and supporting the responsible integration of AI into day-to-day operations.

•Compensation - NerdWallet offers market-competitive compensation to attract employees. Our pay-for-performance philosophy aligns employee rewards with individual and company performance. To further align employees with the long-term success of the Company, we grant equity-based compensation to the majority of full-time employees upon hire and through annual performance equity grants.

•Comprehensive Benefits and Perks -To attract, engage and retain employees and support their overall health and well-being, we provide a comprehensive benefits and perks program, which includes medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance; flexible paid vacation and sick time, flexible work schedules, and a sabbatical program; mental health benefits and a Company shutdown at the end of the calendar year; a Remote-first work environment with wellness and remote-work stipends; parental leave and adoption assistance, country-specific retirement or pension plans, including a matching contribution to U.S. 401(k) plan contributions; an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) ;access to financial wellness guidance from certified financial planners; spot and referral bonus opportunities; and a charitable matching program and volunteer time off.

Competition

We have built a scaled and highly differentiated online platform. We face competition from both online and offline financial guidance providers in the following primary categories:

•Financial advisors, agents, and brokers who provide guidance and expertise as part of their offerings;

•Traditional media such as The New York Times, U.S. News & World Report and other print and broadcast media;

•Friends and family, as many consumers consult friends and family for financial guidance;

•Influencers on social media platforms; and

•Traditional financial and depository institutions, non-bank loan originators and other small and medium-sized mortgage brokers

In addition, we compete with the following for advertising budgets designated for financial products:

•Financial services providers’ own marketing: Financial services providers connect directly through many different channels, digitally (in-app, email, etc.) and offline channels (direct mail, printed media, etc.);

•Online search engines: Financial services providers spend advertising budgets with online search engines, primarily Google AdWords, as many consumers and SMBs turn to Google to answer their finance questions; and

•Online marketplaces including Bankrate, Credit Karma, LendingTree and Zillow.

We believe we compete favorably due to the breadth and depth of our financial guidance, the trust we’ve built with our consumers and SMBs, and our brand, organic traffic, convenience and simplicity.

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Intellectual Property

We rely on a combination of trademark, copyright, trade secret, and other intellectual property laws, as well as contractual protections, to establish and protect our proprietary rights. These protections include trademark and copyright registrations, license and intellectual property assignment agreements, confidentiality procedures, and non-disclosure and invention assignment agreements with employees and contractors. The scope and duration of protection afforded to our intellectual property vary by type of intellectual property and by jurisdiction.

We hold trademark rights in our name, logo, and other brand indicia, including trademark registrations in the U.S. and certain foreign jurisdictions, and we maintain registered domain names for websites used in our business. We also rely on unregistered rights and common law protections in the U.S. and other jurisdictions.

We may pursue additional intellectual property protection where we believe it to be appropriate and cost effective. Despite these efforts, our intellectual property rights may be challenged, invalidated, circumvented, or misappropriated. For additional information, see “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Technology, Security and Intellectual Property—Failure to protect or enforce our intellectual property rights could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.”

Regulation

Our operations are subject to a variety of federal, state, provincial, and international laws and regulations that govern financial services, consumer protection, data privacy, lead generation, advertising, brokering, and investment advisory activities. The regulatory frameworks applicable to us vary by jurisdiction and by the nature of the services offered through our subsidiaries.

Cross-Jurisdictional Compliance

We market and provide our products and services across the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and other jurisdictions. As a result, aspects of our business are subject to a broad range of consumer financial protection, advertising, licensing, data privacy, and communications laws. These include regulatory requirements governing the marketing, brokering, and referral of mortgages and other consumer and SMB financial products; restrictions on the use and disclosure of consumer and SMB credit information; prohibitions on unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices; rules governing communications with consumers and SMBs through telephone, email, mobile applications, and digital channels; and laws regulating the collection, processing, storage, and protection of personal data. These frameworks may impose requirements on our marketing practices, partner relationships, data usage, licensing obligations, and the manner in which we facilitate introductions to financial services providers.

Content and Publishing Activities

NerdWallet, Inc. produces independent editorial content and financial tools intended for general informational purposes. With regard to investment-related content and tools, our activities are conducted under the “publisher’s exemption” from the definition of “investment adviser” under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. We do not provide personalized investment advice, make individualized recommendations, or tailor content to the investment needs of specific users. Our publishing activities may be subject to federal and state consumer protection and advertising laws, including prohibitions on unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices.

Investment Advisory Activities

We conduct investment advisory activities through two SEC-registered investment advisers:

NerdWallet Advisory LLC—Operates a financial advisor marketplace that provides matching, referral, and lead-generation services to consumers. NerdWallet Advisory does not provide personalized investment advice, financial planning, or portfolio management services. NerdWallet Advisory is subject to the Investment Advisers Act and its rules, including requirements related to advertising, solicitation, disclosures, compliance programs, recordkeeping, and regulatory examinations.

NerdWallet Wealth Partners, LLC—Provides traditional wealth management services, including financial planning, discretionary investment management, and ongoing advisory relationships. NerdWallet Wealth Partners is subject to the full scope of the Investment Advisers Act, including fiduciary duties, compliance program requirements, custody and trading rules (as applicable), advertising and marketing requirements, recordkeeping obligations, and regulatory examinations.

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Mortgage Brokering Activities

Our mortgage brokering activities, conducted through NDL, are subject to extensive federal and state regulation. NDL must comply with consumer financial protection laws governing mortgage advertising, loan origination practices, disclosures, fair lending, and compensation. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has rulemaking and enforcement authority over key federal statutes applicable to mortgage brokers, including those governing mortgage disclosures, fees, and fair lending. NDL must also maintain state mortgage broker licenses and meet related requirements under the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act (SAFE Act) and analogous state statutes. In addition, NDL is subject to regulatory expectations and contractual requirements imposed by wholesale lenders, insurers, credit providers, and government-backed loan programs.

Insurance-Related Activities

Through certain subsidiaries, including NerdWallet Insurance Services, Inc. and NerdWallet Insurance Experts, LLC, we facilitate insurance quote procurement and consumer introductions to licensed insurance providers. These activities are subject to state insurance licensing, producer oversight, advertising standards, and related compliance obligations. We do not bind coverage, adjust claims, administer policies, or collect premiums.

Marketing, Advertising, and Lead-Generation Regulation

Our marketing and referral practices are subject to federal, state, and provincial laws governing advertising, endorsements, disclosures, and financial promotions. These include the Federal Trade Commission Act, state and federal laws prohibiting unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices, Canada’s Competition Act, the UK’s Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 as amended, and rules applicable to compensated endorsements and lead-generation activities. Our registered investment adviser subsidiaries are subject to the SEC’s marketing and solicitation rules, including requirements governing testimonials, endorsements, third-party ratings, and referral arrangements.

Consumer Protection and Financial Services Regulation

Our marketplaces and referral activities for credit cards, consumer loans and debt solution offerings, small business loans and financing options, banking and investment products, mortgages, insurance, and other consumer financial products are subject to oversight by federal and state regulators, including the CFPB. Our facilitation of referrals, comparisons, and application workflows may implicate licensing, consumer protection, fair lending, and advertising regulations

Data Protection, Privacy, and Cybersecurity

We are subject to U.S., UK, Canadian, and other international data privacy and security laws, including the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), and other state-level comprehensive privacy laws, the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), and the UK Data Protection Act 2018. These laws govern the collection, use, processing, disclosure, and protection of personal information. We maintain administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect consumer and SMB data. Regulatory expectations in this area continue to evolve, and future changes may increase compliance obligations and costs. We are monitoring newly enacted and emerging laws and regulations related to artificial intelligence (AI), and based on our current assessment, our existing AI use cases do not fall within the scope of these laws. Nevertheless, we have initiated an AI governance framework to guide the responsible development and use of AI as the regulatory landscape continues to evolve.

International Regulation

Our operations in the United Kingdom and Canada are subject to local consumer protection, financial promotion, licensing, data privacy, advertising, and corporate compliance requirements. Certain marketplace and referral activities may be subject to additional financial services regulations depending on jurisdiction.

Available Information

We maintain an investor relations website at the following address: https://investors.nerdwallet.com. The information on our investor relations website is not incorporated by reference in this report. We make available on or through our investor relations website certain reports and amendments to those reports that we file with or furnish to the SEC in accordance with the Exchange Act. These include our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and our Current Reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to those reports. We make this information available on our investor relations website free of charge as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file the information with, or furnish it to, the SEC. The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at the following address: https://www.sec.gov.

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In addition, we routinely post on our investor relations website news releases, announcements and other statements about our business and results of operations, some of which may contain information that may be deemed material to investors. Therefore, we encourage investors to monitor the https://investors.nerdwallet.com website and review the information we post on that page.