NEW YORK, April 29, 2026, 09:07 (EDT)
Lemonade Inc bumped up its 2026 forecast on Wednesday after reporting a 71% surge in first-quarter revenue and a slimmer net loss, offering investors a new look at the digital insurer’s push to turn speedy premium growth into actual earnings. The numbers landed in an 8-K covering operations and financials, with the shareholder letter tacked on as an exhibit.
This has become a focal point, as Lemonade has long insisted its AI-focused approach to insurance keeps costs below those of legacy insurers. Management reiterated its forecast for a positive adjusted EBITDA in Q4—adjusted EBITDA excludes interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and select other expenses, so it isn’t a strict profit metric.
Before the bell, Lemonade shares pointed up. MarketBeat pegged the stock at $69.51 in premarket action—5.6% higher as of 8:38 a.m. Eastern—following results that showed a per-share loss of 47 cents, beating the consensus estimate for a 58-cent loss. Revenue cleared the bar as well, topping the $251.5 million analysts had forecast.
Lemonade posted revenue of $258.0 million, up from $151.2 million a year ago. The company credited the jump to a bigger gross earned premium base and improved premium retention, following a cut in its quota-share reinsurance cession rates. (Reinsurance lets insurers offload some of their risk.)
In-force premium (IFP), which measures annualized premiums from active policies as of quarter-end, jumped 32% to $1.33 billion. The customer base climbed 23%, reaching 3.14 million. Premium per customer was up 7%, now at $424.
Losses shrank, but the company still posted a net loss according to generally accepted accounting principles. Net loss came in at $35.8 million, or 47 cents per share, compared with $62.4 million, or 86 cents a share, a year ago. Adjusted EBITDA loss also narrowed, dropping to $17.1 million from $47.0 million.
Gross profit jumped 159% to $100.1 million, as revenue climbed and the net loss ratio improved by 19 points. Lemonade’s gross loss ratio—a measure of claims costs before reinsurance—fell to 62% from 78%. Net loss ratio dropped to 63%, down from 82%.
Costs moved higher. Operating expense, which strips out net loss and loss-adjustment expense, climbed 25% to $159.3 million, driven mostly by Lemonade’s heavier customer acquisition outlay. The company’s growth spend jumped to $54.3 million from $38.1 million a year ago.
Chief Financial Officer Tim Bixby told analysts revenue climbed “roughly 40 percentage points faster than IFP.” CEO Daniel Schreiber reiterated Lemonade’s outlook for a “positive full quarter of EBITDA” in Q4. Co-founder Shai Wininger, for his part, noted that retention pressure from homeowners non-renewals “should start to fade.” Investing.com Canada
The company is forecasting 2026 revenue between $1.197 billion and $1.203 billion, and expects an adjusted EBITDA loss ranging from $47 million to $51 million. Looking at the second quarter, revenue is pegged between $287 million and $290 million, with IFP seen at $1.428 billion to $1.433 billion.
Lemonade took the opportunity in its letter to line up its automation numbers against those of bigger rivals. According to the company, its IFP per employee climbed past $1 million—landing Lemonade in the same zone as Progressive, Allstate, and GEICO on that metric. The comparison, though, came from Lemonade itself and wasn’t based on any outside assessment.
Growth in newer segments still figures into the story. Pet insurance—now Lemonade’s biggest line—crossed $500 million in IFP early in the second quarter. Car IFP jumped 60% from a year ago. Lemonade also reported that early conversion rates for its autonomous-car product were roughly 70% higher than what it saw for the non-autonomous version.
Plenty of variables could shake things up. Lemonade flagged possible deviations from its forecast, pointing to past losses, sticky customer retention issues, the wild card of reinsurance—both in terms of cost and supply—plus claims management, regulatory hurdles tied to AI and telematics, and the pressure to maintain enough capital.
Lemonade pitches itself as an AI-first insurance carrier, not just a broker, with products covering renters, homeowners, car, pet, and life insurance in both the U.S. and Europe. The company now faces a bigger challenge: can it sustain its growth pace as it leans into higher acquisition costs, mounting weather-related claims, and tighter oversight of its automated underwriting?
