Better Home & Finance Holding Company Releases Q4 and Full Year 2024 Financial Results
Better Home & Finance Holding Company (NASDAQ: BETR; BETRW) (“Better” or the “Company”), a digitally native homeownership platform headquartered in New York, has announced its financial results for both the fourth quarter and the full year ended December 31, 2024. Despite facing continued macroeconomic headwinds and market volatility, the company demonstrated notable progress in growing revenue, narrowing losses, and strategically investing in technology-driven initiatives to enhance operational efficiency.
CEO’s Commentary: Navigating Challenges, Delivering Growth
Vishal Garg, Founder and CEO of Better, expressed optimism about the company’s 2024 performance. “We are pleased with the growth we achieved in 2024 through a challenged environment and the early traction our AI and ‘NEO Powered by Better’ initiatives Finance are seeing. Our team delivered growth and continued improvements towards profitability despite another year of macro headwinds,” Garg said.
Garg credited much of the company’s resilience and forward momentum to its dedication to technological innovation, particularly in AI, as well as a strategic Finance focus on enhancing customer experience and expanding distribution channels.
Full-Year 2024 Financial Overview: Growth Amidst Headwinds
GAAP Results:
- Total Revenue: For the full year 2024, Better reported revenue of $108 million, marking a significant increase of 50% compared to the $72 million recorded Finance in 2023. This growth reflects the company’s ability to drive volume and scale, despite an environment characterized by high interest rates and fluctuating housing demand.
- Net Loss: Better reported a net loss of $206 million for the year, a substantial improvement from the net loss of $536 million in 2023. This year-over-year reduction in net loss demonstrates the effectiveness of the company’s cost-cutting initiatives and efficiency improvements.
Key Operating Metrics & Non-GAAP Financial Measures:
- Adjusted EBITDA Loss: The company reported an adjusted EBITDA loss of $121 million, a marked improvement from the $163 million loss in 2023. This reduction indicates continued progress toward achieving profitability.
- Funded Loan Volume: Total funded loan volume reached approximately $3.6 billion, up from $3.0 billion in 2023, highlighting a healthy demand for Better’s services.
- Total Loans Originated: The company funded approximately 11,800 total loans, compared to around 8,600 loans in the prior year, representing a substantial increase in customer activity.
- Product Breakdown:
- Purchase Loans: Accounted for $2.7 billion (approximately 74% of funded volume).
- HELOCs & Second Liens: Home equity lines of credit and second lien loans comprised $479 million (13% of funded volume).
- Refinance Loans: Totaled $463 million, making up the remaining portion.
- Channel Breakdown: Direct-to-consumer (D2C) loan volume reached $2.6 billion, a 55% year-over-year increase, contributing around 71% of the total funded loan volume. Business-to-business (B2B) channels accounted for the remainder.
Fourth Quarter 2024 Financial Performance: Sequential and Year-over-Year Progress
GAAP Results:
- Revenue: Better generated revenue of $25 million in Q4 2024, up from $18 million in Q4 2023, though slightly down from $29 million in Q3 2024 due to seasonal factors.
- Net Loss: The company posted Finance a net loss of $59 million, compared to a loss of $51 million in Q4 2023 and $54 million in Q3 2024. Despite this loss, management emphasized ongoing efficiency improvements.
Key Operating Metrics & Non-GAAP Financial Measures:
- Adjusted EBITDA Loss: Better reported an adjusted EBITDA loss of $28 million, a slight increase from Q4 2023’s $27 million, but a significant improvement over Q3 2024’s $39 million loss. This demonstrates meaningful quarter-over-quarter progress.
- Funded Loan Volume: Q4 funded loan volume reached $936 million, a remarkable 76% year-over-year growth compared to Q4 2023’s $531 million.
- Total Loans Originated: Better funded approximately 3,300 total loans, up from 1,600 loans in Q4 2023, though marginally lower than Q3 2024’s 3,400 loans.
- Product Breakdown:
- Purchase Loans: Totaled $591 million (63% of funded volume).
- HELOC & Second Liens: Amounted to $172 million (18% of funded volume).
- Refinance Loans: Accounted for $174 million.
- Channel Breakdown: D2C loan volume for Q4 was $757 million, reflecting a robust 191% year-over-year growth, comprising 81% of the quarter’s funded loan volume.
Operational Highlights: Driving Efficiency and Technology Adoption
Focus on Expense Management: Better’s total expenses remained relatively flat quarter-over-quarter. However, included in Q4 2024’s expenses were approximately $17 million in non-recurring restructuring costs, mainly due to the wind-down of the company’s U.K. operations, and $4 million related to the Finance termination of specific facility leases. Excluding these one-time costs, expenses decreased by approximately 24% compared to Q3 2024.
Improved Adjusted EBITDA: As a result of stringent expense management across all key areas—compensation and benefits, general and administrative expenses, technology investments, marketing, loan origination, and depreciation—the company successfully reduced adjusted EBITDA losses by approximately $11 million, or 28%, sequentially from Q3 2024 to Q4 2024, even amid seasonal revenue declines.
AI and Technology Initiatives: Betsy™ and Tinman™ Driving the Future
Better’s ongoing commitment to artificial intelligence and automation continues to yield encouraging results. The company expanded the capabilities of Betsy™, an AI-driven platform leveraging large language models to autonomously guide customers Finance through the mortgage process—including pre-approvals, rate quotes, and rate locks. Betsy™ communicates verbally with customers, addresses inquiries, and collects and verifies essential application data, streamlining the customer journey.
Additionally, the company’s proprietary Tinman™ platform plays a crucial role in powering Better’s distributed retail channel, particularly through its ‘NEO Powered by Better’ initiative. Tinman™ equips local loan officers with cutting-edge technology designed to eliminate friction points in loan origination, enhance productivity, and extend customer reach.
NEO Powered by Better: Expanding Market Reach
Better is making steady progress in diversifying its offerings and increasing market penetration through NEO Powered by Better. Highlights include:
- Onboarding of approximately 110 NEO loan officers across 53 branches.
- Since launching in January 2025, NEO has already served around 220 families, funding approximately $95 million in loan volume.
- NEO loans have demonstrated an average Gain on Sale Margin of 365 basis points (bps), compared to Better’s 2024 company-wide margin of 217 bps.
- The program enables Better to target historically underserved segments, such as FHA, VA, down payment assistance, and buydown programs, areas where local loan officers with established community ties excel.
