Mediaalpha Stock Price, News & Analysis
Company Description
MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE: MAX) is a marketing technology company focused on the insurance industry. According to the company, it operates what it believes is the insurance industry’s leading programmatic customer acquisition platform, connecting insurance carriers with online shoppers through a real-time, transparent, and results-driven ecosystem. MediaAlpha’s platform functions as a customer acquisition channel across property & casualty insurance, health insurance, life insurance, and other industries, primarily in the United States.
The company’s technology platform brings insurance carriers and consumers together by enabling carriers and distributors to target and acquire customers. MediaAlpha generates revenue by earning a fee for each consumer referral sold on its platform. The company reports that it has more than 1,200 active partners, excluding agent partners, and that its marketplaces transacted or generated nearly 119 million consumer referrals in 2024. Over recent twelve‑month periods referenced in its public disclosures, MediaAlpha’s programmatic advertising technology has powered up to $2.0 billion in advertising spend on brand, comparison, and metasearch sites.
Business model and platform role
MediaAlpha positions its platform as a programmatic marketplace for customer acquisition in insurance. Insurance carriers and other partners use the platform to reach online shoppers, while MediaAlpha facilitates the matching of consumer demand with carrier offerings and charges fees on consumer referrals. The company highlights its focus on real-time customer acquisition and programmatic advertising technology as core elements of how it operates.
Within insurance, MediaAlpha emphasizes several verticals: a core Property & Casualty (P&C) insurance vertical, a Health insurance vertical (including under‑65 health and Medicare), and a Life insurance vertical. Public filings and press releases describe the P&C vertical as a key growth area, with transaction value in that vertical reaching record levels in multiple quarters. Health and life insurance also contribute to the company’s overall transaction value and revenue, with the under‑65 health sub‑vertical undergoing compliance-related changes following a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigation and settlement.
Scale and operating metrics
MediaAlpha regularly reports several operating and non‑GAAP metrics that it uses to manage performance, including Transaction Value, Contribution, Contribution Margin, and Adjusted EBITDA. Transaction Value reflects the total spend flowing through its marketplaces, while Contribution and Contribution Margin are non‑GAAP measures used by management and the board of directors to evaluate operating efficiency and operating leverage. These metrics, along with revenue and net income or loss, are disclosed in the company’s quarterly and annual reports and in earnings press releases.
In recent quarters, MediaAlpha has reported year‑over‑year growth in revenue and Transaction Value, particularly in the P&C insurance vertical, driven by what it describes as strong carrier demand and an expanding partner base. At the same time, the company has reported declines in Transaction Value and Contribution in its under‑65 health sub‑vertical as it implemented enhanced compliance measures and responded to the FTC settlement.
Capital structure, share repurchases, and credit facilities
MediaAlpha is a Delaware corporation with Class A and Class B common stock outstanding, as described in its consolidated balance sheets. The company has reported a stockholders’ deficit position in recent filings, reflecting accumulated deficit and non‑controlling interests. It has also used share repurchases as a capital allocation tool. In 2025, MediaAlpha announced a private stock repurchase of approximately 3.2 million shares of Class A common stock from entities affiliated with Insignia Capital Group, and separately, a Board‑authorized share repurchase program of up to $50 million of Class A common stock, with repurchases potentially conducted through various transaction types.
The company’s subsidiaries, including QuoteLab, LLC and QL Holdings LLC, are parties to a senior secured term loan and revolving credit facility. In 2025, these entities entered into a Third Amendment to the Credit Agreement, extending the maturity dates for certain term loans and revolving commitments held by consenting lenders. The amendment provides for extended term loans and extended revolving commitments with revised maturity dates, while non‑extended term loans and commitments retain earlier maturity dates. The credit facilities amortize quarterly as described in the amended agreement.
Regulatory and compliance developments
MediaAlpha has been involved in regulatory matters related to its under‑65 health insurance sub‑vertical. In 2025, the company reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to fully resolve an investigation focused primarily on its under‑65 health marketplaces. Under the terms of the settlement, MediaAlpha agreed to pay $45 million and to implement additional disclosures, content review processes, and measures to screen and monitor under‑65 health partners. The company has stated that it strongly disagreed with the FTC’s allegations but viewed settlement as in the best interests of the company and shareholders. It has also indicated that the settlement is not expected to have a material impact on its core P&C vertical, Medicare sub‑vertical, or other business operations.
In addition, MediaAlpha announced that it had achieved SOC 2 Type II attestation with zero deficiencies, which it describes as validation of its security controls and data protection practices. The company links this attestation to its ability to support deeper data integrations with carriers that require independently audited environments for sharing conversion data.
Corporate governance and board changes
MediaAlpha’s public filings describe several governance and board developments. In 2025, the company reported that it had ceased to be a controlled company in 2024, leading to a broader Board transition process. As part of this process, certain directors associated with prior principal stockholders, including Insignia, resigned from the Board in connection with changes in share ownership. The company has also reported the appointment of new directors, such as Ramon Jones, an insurance industry executive with extensive property and casualty and digital marketing experience, who joined the Board and is expected to serve on the Audit Committee.
In December 2025, the Board approved an amendment and restatement of the company’s by‑laws. The Amended and Restated By‑Laws update procedures and requirements relating to meetings of stockholders, stockholder proposals, proxies, director elections and terms, nominations and removal of directors, director compensation, and indemnification of directors and officers. They also remove references to provisions of the Stockholders Agreement that are no longer applicable, reflect amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law, and eliminate certain provisions relating to payment of litigation costs in specified legal actions.
Leadership and technology organization
MediaAlpha has disclosed changes in its technology leadership. Co‑founder Eugene Nonko, who had served as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) since the company’s inception, transitioned to a non‑executive role as Chief Architect, focusing on long‑range technical vision and key architectural initiatives. Concurrently, Amy Yeh, who joined MediaAlpha in 2015 and previously served as SVP, Technology, was promoted to Chief Technology Officer. Public statements describe her role in scaling the engineering organization and technology infrastructure, improving platform reliability, and supporting operational scale across the insurance marketplace.
The company’s disclosures also describe compensation arrangements for senior leaders, including amendments to Mr. Nonko’s employment agreement that set base salary, incentive bonus targets, and restricted stock unit (RSU) awards, with vesting schedules tied to continued service.
Financial reporting and SEC filings
MediaAlpha files periodic reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including Form 10‑K annual reports, Form 10‑Q quarterly reports, and Form 8‑K current reports. These filings provide detailed financial statements, including consolidated balance sheets, statements of operations, and statements of cash flows, as well as discussions of non‑GAAP measures such as Adjusted EBITDA, Contribution, and Contribution Margin. The company uses these measures internally and presents reconciliations to comparable GAAP metrics in its filings and shareholder communications.
Earnings press releases and associated shareholder letters, furnished as exhibits to Form 8‑K filings, summarize quarterly performance, highlight trends in key insurance verticals, and provide financial outlooks for future quarters. These documents also describe factors that management believes are driving performance, such as carrier advertising budgets, partner expansion, and changes in under‑65 health activity.
Risk disclosures and forward‑looking statements
MediaAlpha’s public communications include forward‑looking statements regarding expectations for growth, profitability, marketing spend, and vertical performance. The company cautions that these statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Risk factors are described in detail in the company’s Form 10‑K and Form 10‑Q filings. The company also notes that it does not undertake an obligation to update forward‑looking statements except as required by law.
Key characteristics for investors
Based on its public disclosures, MediaAlpha can be characterized as:
- A marketing technology platform focused on programmatic customer acquisition in the insurance industry.
- A company with multiple insurance verticals, including P&C, health (Medicare and under‑65), and life insurance, with P&C described as a core growth driver.
- An operator of online insurance marketplaces that generate consumer referrals and earn fees per referral.
- A filer of detailed SEC reports that include both GAAP and non‑GAAP financial metrics, as well as extensive risk and compliance disclosures.
- A company that has undertaken share repurchases and maintains senior secured credit facilities through its subsidiaries.
- A platform that emphasizes data security and compliance, as evidenced by its SOC 2 Type II attestation and its FTC settlement commitments in under‑65 health.