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Better’s Loss Deepens as Company Sticks to Q3 Breakeven Goal

Leaning into higher‑margin home‑equity lines of credit, the lender seeks to counter rate swings to preserve its Q3 breakeven plan.

Overview

  • Better reported a $70 million net loss for Q1 2026, including $20.9 million tied to its U.K. bank, as revenue rose 52% to about $48 million.
  • Executives reaffirmed an adjusted EBITDA breakeven target for late Q3 2026 after narrowing the metric’s loss to $19 million and announcing $25 million in annualized cost cuts, an $850 million warehouse line, and a $69 million stock offering.
  • Total loan volume reached roughly $1.64 billion, with $854 million in refinances, $588 million in purchase loans, and $203 million in home‑equity lines of credit.
  • Leaders said recent rate spikes linked to the Middle East conflict have caused borrowers to delay locking, so the company is steering more customers to HELOCs that earn about 6% to 7% gain‑on‑sale margins.
  • Guidance for Q2 calls for $1.575 billion to $1.725 billion in loan volume, $53 million to $56 million in net revenue, and an adjusted EBITDA loss of $12.5 million to $14 million.