Stewart (STC) Q1 2025 Earnings Call Transcript

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DATE

Wednesday, Apr 23, 2025

CALL PARTICIPANTS

Frederick Eppinger: Chief Executive Officer

David Hisey: Chief Financial Officer

Kathryn Bass: Director of Investor Relations

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Title Segment Revenue: Grew 11% year-over-year in Q1 2025, driven by domestic commercial and agency title operations.

Domestic Commercial Revenue: Increased 39% compared to Q1 2024, with growth across retail, mixed-use, and energy asset classes.

Real Estate Solutions Revenue: Rose 17% year-over-year in Q1 2025, though margins decreased due to higher credit data costs.

Agency Revenue: Gross revenue improved 11% year-over-year in Q1 2025, with net revenue up 14% due to a slightly better remittance rate.

Title Loss Ratio: Improved to 3.5% from 3.9% in the prior year quarter, with expectations of low 4% range for full-year 2025.

Adjusted Net Income: $7 million or $0.25 per diluted share, compared to $5 million or $0.17 per share in Q1 2024 (adjusted basis).

SUMMARY

Stewart Information Services Corporation navigated a challenging housing market in Q1 2025, with interest rates remaining between 6%-7%. Despite suppressed residential activity, the company achieved growth through commercial services, agency operations, and real estate solutions.

Domestic residential fee per file increased 13% to $3,300 in Q1 2025, offsetting lower closed order volume.

International revenue grew 9% in Q1 2025, primarily from improved volumes in Canadian operations.

Management expects "improved second half of the year relative to 2024" in the second half of 2025 and into 2026 based on early April 2025 market activity trends and higher housing inventory levels.

"We expect domestic commercial activity to improve year over year and look forward to continuing to capture our fair share of that market."

INDUSTRY GLOSSARY

MSA: Metropolitan Statistical Area, a geographical region with a relatively high population density and close economic ties throughout the area.

Remittance rate: The percentage of gross premium that title insurance agents retain after paying the underwriter's portion.

Full Conference Call Transcript

Operator: Hello, and thank you for joining the Stewart Information Services Corporation first quarter 2025 Earnings Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later, you will have the opportunity to ask questions during the question and answer session. Instructions will be given at that time. Please note that today's call is being recorded. Lastly, should you need operator assistance, please press star zero. It is now my pleasure to turn the conference over to Kathryn Bass, Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Kathryn Bass: Thank you for joining us today for Stewart Information Services Corporation's first quarter 2025 earnings conference call. We will be discussing results that were released yesterday after the close. Joining me today are CEO, Frederick Eppinger, and CFO, David Hisey. To listen online, please go to the stewart.com website to access the link for this conference call. This conference call may contain forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Please refer to the company's press release and other filings with the SEC for a discussion of the risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially. During our call, we will discuss some non-GAAP measures. For reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures, please refer to the appendix in today's earnings release which is available on our website at stewart.com. Let me now turn the call over to Frederick Eppinger.

Frederick Eppinger: Thank you for joining us today for Stewart Information Services Corporation's first quarter 2025 earnings conference call. Yesterday, we released the financial results for the quarter, which David will review with you shortly. Given the current macro environment, I'd like to open today's call with our perspective on the housing market conditions, followed by a review of our first quarter results and some insight into progress we are making on our strategic growth initiatives. I am pleased with the quarter as we continue to improve and grow financially in a difficult housing market. The housing market remained challenging in the first quarter with interest rates remaining in the range of 6% to 7% during the quarter. Existing home sales can quarter with sales slightly worse than last year's historically weak numbers. While final existing home sales for March are not out yet, the pending home sales for February were down 3.6% from last year indicating a weaker number for the quarter. As we look forward, we do see positive signs and both improved housing inventories and market activity trends in early April. For those that monitor the housing market trends closely, it is clear to see that we have an educated consumer base sitting on the sidelines poised and ready to take advantage of a quick rate drop or changes to market conditions that make buying a home more accessible. And unlike last year, the housing inventory is at a higher level of both quality and volume. And while the current market uncertainty makes it difficult to predict, given this activity, we expect to see improved second half of the year relative to 2024. We are seeing a very strong start to the year. We continue to grow our business with the title segment growing 11% and our real estate solutions growing 17%. Our title segment, our commercial services business continued to grow nicely. Driven by thoughtful investment in talent as we deepen our capabilities in both geographies and asset classes, our domestic commercial business grew 39% in the first quarter of 2025 relative to the Q1 of 2024. We benefited from strong growth in a majority of our asset classes. With retail, mixed use and energy as the biggest winners for the quarter. Across our largest asset classes. We expect domestic commercial activity to improve year over year and look forward to continuing to capture our fair share of that market. In our direct business, we remain focused on growth in our target MSAs. We expect acquisitions will be a key component of our growth plan in this business, and to maintain a more pipeline of targets. I believe activity will increase with the improving market. And while the business is impacted by suppressed residential housing market, we saw strong progress in our strategic priority of growing small commercial within our direct operations as we saw a 16% growth this quarter in that important segment. In Agency Services, our team remains focused on expansion through share gains in attractive markets by adding new agent partners and by growing our share with existing agents. We are pursuing growth across all our existing markets, but are targeting share growth in 15 important states. Preliminary industry share data shows that in 2024, we grew our share in these 15 states and our momentum continues as we grew gross agency revenue by 11% year over year and net revenue by 14%. We attribute this solid momentum to increasing penetration of our agency partner and an increase in commercial transactions. Our improved support services and enhanced abilities around servicing commercial agents allows us to stand out to our agents. We will continue to build on this momentum and we have made that we have made in recent years for our agents in order to differentiate our services and better our offerings for our agent partners. Our real estate solution business segment had strong revenue results for the first quarter as well, growing 17%. Our margins were up sequentially, but down relative to the Q1 2024. Our strong revenue gains came with higher expenses, primarily due to increased costs of credit data from our informative research business. We expect margins in our lender services to normalize in the low teens range for the remainder of the year. We expect to grow the real estate solutions business line by gaining share with the top lenders and cross selling our products as we leverage our improved portfolio of services. Cross selling in the current market conditions poses some challenges, however, we continue to see share gains from both existing clients and new client introductions. We expect continued momentum in this space as the market improves. Our international business is pursuing a growth agenda as well focused on broadening our geographical presence in Canada. In the first quarter of 2025, we grew non-commercial international revenue by 16% compared to the year prior. We also intend to increase our penetration of commercial business in our international unit. We are closely monitoring the impact of trade negotiations on both our domestic and global customer bases. From an expense perspective, our significant growth in real estate solutions and commercial services has resulted in an increase in our other operating expense ratios. In Real Estate Solutions, other operating expenses are higher percentage of mix due to use of outside services and data. In commercial, we encounter higher outside data and service fees. We will expect these two trends to continue as we continue to grow these lines of business. Now we are dedicated to growing to grow share in all lines of business and remain focused on positioning ourselves well for both near and long term growth in sustainability. Stewart's current position can be described as a tale of two cities. The challenging market improvement has been stubbornly slow, Stewart has never been in a better position to grow and improve our top and bottom lines. One thing that I can say with certainty is that we have assembled a strong team of leaders that are focused on working together to execute our strategic plan. This group wakes up every morning thinking about how we can improve the company and we are better for it. Our charge remains immovable. To be the top destination for talent in this industry. For these reasons and more, we were again awarded the Top Workplace Award USA Today. And while it has been a very challenging market for the last three years, I have never been more confident in our ability to capitalize on what I see as an improving market in the second half of 2025 and into 2026. I want to thank all our employees for their dedication and to our customers for trusting us to deliver with consistency and excellence. David, I will now turn it over to you to provide the update on results.

David Hisey: Good morning, everyone, and thank you, Frederick. I appreciate our employees and I am grateful to our customers. The real estate market continues facing challenges with existing single-family home sales at multi-decade lows and mortgage rates in the 7% area. Recent tariff news has created rate volatility. Yesterday, Stewart Information Services Corporation reported first quarter net income of $3 million or $0.11 per diluted share on total revenues of $612 million. Appendix A of our press release shows adjustments primarily related to net realized and unrealized gains and acquired intangibles amortization that we use to measure operating performance. On an adjusted basis, net income for the quarter was $7 million or $0.25 per diluted share, compared to $5 million or $0.17 in the first quarter of 2024. In the title segment, operating revenues include $48 million or 11% driven by our domestic commercial and agency title operations. This resulted in $2 million higher title pretax income. After adjustments for purchase intangible amortization, the segment's first quarter adjusted pre-tax income was $5 million higher than last year. With adjusted pretax margin slightly improved to 2% compared to 1% last year. On our direct title business, total open orders in the first quarter were comparable to last year, while total closed orders were down 9% primarily due to lower residential transactions. Domestic residential fee per file improved 13% to $3,300 compared to $2,900 in the prior year, primarily due to a higher share of purchase transactions. Higher fee per file offset lower closed orders resulting in relatively flat residential revenue. Our domestic commercial revenues improved $20 million or 39% driven by higher transaction size and volume. As Frederick noted, we saw growth in several asset classes, multifamily industrial mixed use, and retail along with energy. Domestic commercial average fee per file increased 13% to $15,800 compared to $13,900 in the prior year quarter. Total international revenues increased $2 million or 9% primarily due to improved volumes from our Canadian operations. With our agency operations, first quarter gross agency revenues improved $27 million or 11% also helped by commercial activity with agents. While net agency revenues improved $5 million or 13%, due to a slightly better remittance rate. On title losses, total title loss expense in the first quarter was comparable to last year, primarily due to overall favorable claim experience offsetting higher title revenues. The title loss ratio for the first quarter improved to 3.5% compared to 3.9% in the prior year quarter. We expect our title losses to average in the low 4% range for the full year 2025. Regarding the Real Estate Solutions segment, operating revenues increased $14 million or 7%, primarily driven by additional revenues from credit information services. However, segment pretax income decreased as we continue to work through the matters discussed in the fourth quarter, higher credit information cost of services, and increased employee costs as we grow customer relationships. Adjusted pre-tax margin improved to approximately 10% from Q4's 7%, and we expect to be in the low teens margins as these relationships mature. Excluding acquisition intangible amortization, adjusted pre-tax income was $10 million in the first quarter compared to $12 million last year. On our consolidated operating expenses, our employee cost ratio in the first quarter improved to 31% from 32% last year, primarily due to higher operating revenues. Our other operating expense ratio, as Frederick covered, increased to 27% in the first quarter compared to 25.6% last year. As we saw the higher costs in real estate solutions and commercial operations that Frederick described. From outside data and service costs. Our financial position remains solid to support our customer employees in the real estate market during this environment. Our total cash and investments were approximately $320 million in excess of statutory premium. Reserve requirements, while we also have a fully available $200 million line of credit facility. Total stockholders' equity at March 31, 2025, was approximately with a book value of $50 per share. Net cash used by operations in the first quarter 2025 was $30 million which was similar to last year's first quarter. Again, thank you to all of our customers and employees, and we remain confident in our service to the real estate markets. I'll now turn the call over to the operator for questions.

Operator: Thank you. Our first question will come from Bose George with KBW. Your line is open.

Bose George: Good morning, Frederick.

Frederick Eppinger: Good morning, Bose.

Bose George: Actually, I wanted to just ask about commercial. You know, Frederick, you noted that, you know, you expect commercial to remain strong in the back half of the year. Just curious in April, you know, since the given the volatility the last few weeks, there's had been any indication of sort of a slowdown in activity or just delays in loans that are already in the pipeline or, you know, any just any color on changes that you might see?

Frederick Eppinger: Yeah. So it's been it's remained relatively robust. And I would say that there is some money on the sidelines but it's a lot. So it feels still relatively robust, and my expectation is a little bit better than last quarter when I was talking about kind of a five, six. I think this year is gonna be more double-digit potential growth. Could it be could it be a little bit bumpy because of some of the news? Yes. But we haven't to date, truth, we haven't seen a material change in kind of orders yet. So so far so good.

Bose George: That's okay. Perfect. Great. Thanks. And then actually on investment income, was the lower one Q just on lower escrow balances this the the decline was just a little more pronounced than, you know, we've seen in the past?

Frederick Eppinger: Yeah. That's right, Bose. It was it was primarily off of balances. Yeah.

Bose George: Okay. Great. Thanks.

Operator: Our next question will come from John Campbell with Stephens Inc. Your line is open.

John Campbell: Guys. Good morning.

Frederick Eppinger: Good morning, John.

John Campbell: Hey. So, David, on the the low 4% loss provision rate, for the full year, you know, you guys are at 3.5% this quarter. You have to see a pretty big step up you know, throughout the balance of the year. It seems like you've been you know, been pretty cautious or conservative on the commentary about loss provision rate over the last couple of quarters. So I'm just curious if there is something that you are potentially seeing or that's just an area of conservatism that you're kinda continuing just kinda any kind of comment there in what you maybe view as a key swing factors this year?

David Hisey: Yeah. No, John. It's a great question. And I mean, we really are closely focused on some of the loss development trends and what you always have to be monitoring is sort of the large claims that could be out there and keep in mind, our mix of international business relative to revenue is a little bit bigger than our competitors and that international tends to have a higher claim rate and can be more volatile. So I would say it's mainly the volatility. Of our mix of business. And if that breaks for us, we'll see sort of what we saw in the first quarter and if it breaks against us, it gets to be a little higher.

Frederick Eppinger: Yeah. So I I wouldn't say, John, there's any trend that we see that's worse. So just that we tend to be conservative. On this. But there's nothing developing that we see that's you know, different than what's been. If that's really your question.

John Campbell: Yeah. That's that's exactly I appreciate that. And then David, I I apologize if I missed this during your prepared remarks on the fee profile, but what was the growth out of just residential purchase? Fee per file?

David Hisey: Well, that was really what drove the overall increase is that we just had a out of our total mix, of orders like others was others were down and that tends to bring down fee per file whereas the purchase was a higher percentage. And so it's just the higher percentage of that purchase mix that caused the fee per file to go up.

John Campbell: Okay. And I I don't know if you isolated just to just the residential purchase fee for file. I'm just the reason I'm asking is one of your competitors reported, you know, obviously, last night as well, and had, I think, 8% growth out of resi purchase fee per file. That's obviously much faster than national trends I was I was curious if you guys are kinda seeing that same dynamic.

David Hisey: Well, our residential fee per file is up 13% from $3,300 to $2,900. And so yeah, I mean, I think and the other thing relative to that person you're referencing is that there's probably a higher California mix of business, so fee per file is naturally going to be a little higher there.

John Campbell: Okay. So just mainly regional mix shift?

David Hisey: Right. I mean, transaction side there, you know, it's bigger in California than most markets. So could see some of that dynamic.

John Campbell: Okay. And then last one for me, obviously, I think that the Texas Department of Insurance, I mean, that that was a pretty surprising cut. I think it was a 10% cut to fees. Starting July 1. You guys, I think, in their filings maybe set 15% or so of total revenues tied to Texas. So I'm curious about first, your initial impressions of that fee cut, whether you can work around that anyway, and then kind of broad strokes expectations for the impact on the business?

Frederick Eppinger: Yeah. So couple points in that. So we are it is being challenged. And, you know, we think it's appropriate to be challenged. Because of just the odd time frames we're talking about. Right? So you know, you got time frames, the greatest years in history and the worst years of history. And so to me, that the the level of the recommendation is inappropriate and would put actually challenge some agents' existence, frankly. So I feel pretty good about that challenge, and we think there could be some adjustment. But we have we've kinda planned for that, and there are things obviously, you can do to manage through that. Those are just there are other fees and service fees around those transactions, etcetera, that you can try to manage to. And so we have it built in our plan, and we're gonna I'm gonna manage to it, but we are as I say, it's there's a lot of things going on in the process because it kind of surprised most people in the market. I mean, it it it doesn't really make sense given the current environment.

John Campbell: We tend to agree. Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. We do have a follow-up from Bose George with KBW. Your line is open.

Bose George: Hey. Go on.

Frederick Eppinger: Thanks. Yeah. Just a couple of little follow-ups. The, you know, the other orders line item obviously bounces around a lot. Is there any good way for us to think about, you know, where that could go this year?

Frederick Eppinger: Yeah. It is very bouncy because it's it's kind of, you know, batch transactions and big syndications and stuff. And we believe that it'll be a tad better this year. Than last year, but it's bouncing. Right? It just the timing of those transactions occurs. And I know we have one transaction that slipped from last quarter to the next quarter. So it's gonna continue to be like that, but I I believe that business is gonna be a tad better this year than last. So you will see continued kind of choppiness in the number.

David Hisey: Okay. And remember, Bose, there's two principal businesses there. There's the the reverse business and then there's the institutional. Business that Frederick was talking about. And so both of those businesses can have volatility reverse based on capital market situations. And then as Frederick said, the big bulk SFR and build to rent kind of things. On the institutional side.

Frederick Eppinger: Yeah. And with in both businesses on the side, I I like very well where leaders of both those businesses were positioned well and and just kind of the strategic aspect of both of those. We've and those businesses have grown, and we have not only held share, but grown lead share. So I I feel really good about those businesses in the future as well.

Bose George: Okay. Great. That's helpful. Thanks. And then just actually switching over to the real estate solutions. I mean, in terms of the margin in terms of the margin improvement,

Frederick Eppinger: So so Bose that this one again, is my fault, like, I think for not being as articulate at our last earnings call. Essentially, that business as you know last year particularly IR for research, is growing at about 40 plus percent. And continues to be kind of a very robust growth, and we've got a lot of new clients. And what happened at the end of the year was a very robust cost increase to our data. You know, the credit, FICA stuff, And we had to we had to work those rate increases into our contracts. And we started in January, doing that and, you know, finished up kind of around the April. So that that's a kind of a a a significant hole in kind of both you know, get the understated our revenue growth obviously, because you're building it into the contract and it overstates our expense as we kinda carry those expenses before they're into the contracts. That's why we say it's just a temporary thing. It's just a timing thing. We're we'll get that that'll bounce right back up. The fund services will be in that 11.5 range, and we'll end up the year the same as we did last year if the market stays the same in that 11.5, 12 range of of margin. And and again, the team has done a wonderful job. We've we've built all those into the contracts with our clients. And actually created some value-based pricing so that we don't have this kinda kind of, you know, challenge next year. So I feel really good about that business. And and again, it's know, I I feel like that's gonna be a sustainable growth business for a while for us. With nice margins. The other thing I would tell, just like our other business, when I talk about in a normal market, 5 million purchase, will be up 12% you know, kind of margin business. That business is similar because appraisal business, the notary's business, all of those businesses are affected by the cycle. And so while we're, you know, say, 11.5, 12 now, with the virus getting its normal, that's gonna go to mid mid teen cash margins and gonna be from GAAP, total GAAP, probably in the 12 just like the rest of our businesses. So it's a good business now, and it's gonna be even better as the market improves. And I don't see anything This this was just a timing issue of us working through getting the stuff into the contracts versus any significant change in margin expectation.

Bose George: Okay. Great. That's helpful. Thanks a lot.

Operator: Thank you. It appears we have no further questions at this time. I will now turn the program back over to our presenters for any closing remarks.

Frederick Eppinger: I want to thank everybody for their interest in Stewart Information Services Corporation. Thank you for joining the call.

Operator: Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. This concludes today's event. You may now disconnect.

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