Goosehead Insurance (NASDAQ:GSHD) executives highlighted improving operating metrics, a stabilizing insurance market, and accelerating investments in technology and partnerships during the company’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings call. Management also provided 2026 guidance ranges for revenue and written premium growth while signaling margin pressure tied to planned investments in Digital Agent 2.0, partnerships, and proprietary AI applications.
2025 results and key operating trends
CEO Mark Miller said the company’s 2025 performance reflected “disciplined execution” rather than “one-off wins,” pointing to progress across multiple KPIs. For the full year, Goosehead reported total revenue growth of 16%, adjusted EBITDA growth of 14%, and an adjusted EBITDA margin of 31%.
Total written premiums were $1.1 billion in the fourth quarter, up 13%, and $4.4 billion for the full year, up 17%. The quarter included franchise premiums of $896 million (up 15%) and corporate premiums of $194 million (up 4%). Policies in force grew 14% to 1.9 million, an acceleration from 13% growth in the third quarter.
Jones said adjusted EBITDA was $39.2 million in the fourth quarter, up 5% year over year, and included $2.9 million of incremental strategic investments during the quarter. Cash flow from operations for 2025 was $91.8 million, up 28% from the prior year. Goosehead ended the year with $34.4 million in cash and cash equivalents and total debt outstanding of $298.5 million.
Market backdrop and retention focus
Miller described the industry as emerging from a sustained hard market, with pricing “largely” catching up to loss ratios and carriers returning to a growth posture. He said a healthier product market benefits Goosehead through more carrier choice, lighter service loads, and more stable underwriting.
Management repeatedly emphasized client retention as a central driver. Miller said retention improved from 84% in the second quarter to 85% in the third quarter, with “continued upward momentum” exiting the year. In Q&A, Jones said retention is reviewed daily and that pricing stabilization should naturally support retention. He framed the 2026 guidance range as sensitive to retention trends: the high end contemplates continued improvement (and acceleration in the second half), while the low end could imply less improvement or stalling.
Responding to questions about Net Promoter Score, Jones noted NPS is a trailing 12-month metric that still reflects prior industry-wide price increases. He added Goosehead began tracking a CSAT score measuring client interactions and said that metric has held around 4.2 on a 5-point scale. He also pointed to consistently improving retention as another indicator of client sentiment.
Distribution strategy: franchise, corporate, and enterprise
Goosehead discussed productivity and consolidation within its franchise network. Miller said the company prioritized “quality over quantity,” and noted gross payments per franchise were up 29% year over year. Producers per franchise rose from 1.9 at the start of 2025 to 2.1 by year-end. Book acquisitions within the network increased from 38 in the third quarter to 64 in the fourth quarter.
Jones said consolidation has reduced operating franchises while increasing overall producer count, citing producer growth from 2,092 to 2,113 alongside a reduction in operating franchises from 1,103 to 1,009 over the last year. He said same-store sales grew 19% in the fourth quarter and suggested consolidation could continue over the next 12 to 18 months, potentially extending into 2027.
On the corporate side, Miller said Goosehead expanded to new geographies including Tempe, Arizona, and Nashville, Tennessee, and reduced concentration in mature markets. He said corporate agents outside Texas increased to 52% in 2025 from 30% in 2022, and the corporate team produced 61 new franchises since 2022 through a corporate-to-franchise path. Jones said traditional corporate sales agents totaled 374 at year-end, up 6% year over year, and he expects headcount to trend higher in 2026 (though not double).
The company also highlighted growth in enterprise sales and partnerships. Miller said enterprise sales nearly doubled new business production in 2025 and is “margin accretive” at scale. Jones said enterprise headcount grew nearly 100% to 115 by year-end and that partner organizations now represent 2.3 million potential clients across mortgage origination, servicing, and other financial services, though he cautioned that a “pretty small percentage” of that base is live today as implementations continue.
Technology, AI, and Digital Agent 2.0
Management positioned technology as a competitive advantage and said the company has expanded its technology organization substantially over the past three years. Miller said Goosehead has delivered what it described as the first end-to-end “choice buying experience” in the U.S. with its Digital Agent 2.0 platform live in Texas. He said multiple auto carriers are live, with multiple home carriers in active implementation.
Jones added that the platform has demonstrated end-to-end binding with “policies bound with no human involvement,” and said Goosehead plans to rapidly expand product and geographic coverage. He also said the company plans to host a webcast at an Investor Day in the second half of 2026 to demonstrate a “frictionless shopping experience.”
On AI, management said it is prioritizing applications tied to measurable value. Miller and Jones described Lily, an AI-powered virtual phone assistant that has handled “hundreds of thousands” of client interactions, with the goal of reducing calls requiring agent involvement and lowering servicing costs over time.
Executives also addressed investor concerns about AI disintermediating agents. Miller argued home insurance remains complex and that many clients still want human guidance, while Jones pointed to regulatory complexity, carrier underwriting appetite, and Goosehead’s view that digital tools can enhance agent productivity. They also emphasized proprietary data and carrier relationships as key differentiators.
2026 outlook: growth guidance, margins, and capital return
For 2026, Goosehead guided to organic total revenue growth of 10% to 19% and organic total written premium growth of 12% to 20%. Jones said the company expects low double-digit core revenue growth in the first half due to year-over-year pricing dynamics affecting the renewal book, as well as short-term revenue impact from franchise consolidation. He said management expects acceleration in the second half as pricing comparisons normalize, retention improves, and the benefits of partnerships and Digital Agent 2.0 begin to contribute.
Ancillary revenue (largely contingent commissions) was $25.3 million in the fourth quarter and $41.1 million for the full year. Jones said contingent commissions in 2025 equaled 86 basis points of total written premiums, above the company’s expectations. For 2026, he said the initial expectation is 60 to 85 basis points, citing uncertainty tied to catastrophe exposure and other factors. Jones said margin pressure in 2026 is expected primarily due to investments in AI, Digital Agent 2.0, and the partnerships platform, rather than contingent commission assumptions.
Management reiterated previously disclosed investment plans for 2026, with Jones citing $25 million to $35 million of total cash investment and $8 million to $11 million expected to hit the P&L.
On capital allocation, Goosehead said it repurchased and retired 323,000 Class A shares for $22.5 million in the fourth quarter. For the full year 2025, the company repurchased $81.7 million of Class A shares and noted that combined repurchases across 2024 and 2025 totaled nearly $145 million and over 2 million shares, representing about 8% of the Class A share count as of the beginning of 2024. Jones also said the board authorized an additional $180 million share repurchase program and that the company plans to remain opportunistic, highlighting strong cash generation and access to a $75 million revolving credit facility.
About Goosehead Insurance (NASDAQ:GSHD)
Goosehead Insurance (NASDAQ: GSHD) is a technology-driven insurance agency that connects consumers with a broad range of personal and commercial insurance products through an extensive network of independent insurance advisors. The company specializes in homeowners, auto, flood, dwelling fire, umbrella, life, and commercial lines coverage, working with multiple national and regional carriers to offer tailored policies. By combining advanced quoting tools with local market expertise, Goosehead streamlines the insurance shopping process and helps clients find competitive coverage options.
Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Westlake, Texas, Goosehead has grown its footprint across more than 40 states in the U.S.
