Oct 22, 2026 earnings call — Housing slowdown, acquisitions and dividend increase
Stewart reported adjusted EPS of $1.33 and raised its annual dividend from $2.10 to $2.20 per share.
Revenue $0.9B (est $0.9B) · EPS $1.33 (est $1.50)
Key quotes
"As I have seen in the past few years, buyers very quickly move to the sidelines in a situation where rates meet or exceed 7% or when rates move up very quickly."
"In the third quarter, we also welcomed Tower Title to the family expanding our commercial energy and infrastructure team capabilities for servicing the space."
"Our adjusted pre tax margin slipped from 11.3% last year to 10.5% this year."
Analyst Q&A 3
Commercial deal timing and pipeline strength
Q (Bose George · KBW): Analyst asked how much commercial deals were pushed out and whether the commercial pipeline shows broader slowdown from rates, data centers, or politics. He also asked about the Services segment: expense drivers, rate sensitivity, and margin outlook if the market stays at current levels.
A: Management said a few million of commercial deals were pushed and they expect those deals could close in the fourth quarter. They said their commercial pipeline and open orders are record-strong and they have not seen a slowdown in their numbers, though small-business activity in the market may be slowing. For Services, they explained the segment is appraisal, credit data, and default; appraisal and credit data are most sensitive to residential rates, they saw up to 15% cancellations and a 6-7% drop in same-store volume, margins are about 10-10.5% now and could normalize toward 13-14% if the market stabilizes over the next two quarters.
"On the data side of things, we have not seen any slowdown at all." — Frederick Henry Eppinger Jr. (CEO)
Services margins if market stays flat
Q (Bose George · KBW): Analyst asked whether margins would rise a few points next year in a flattish market as the lag from volume changes fades.
A: Management said yes, they believe margins will recover as the lag fades. They pointed to changes around VantageScores that position their credit data product to consolidate and grow share, and said they feel very good about the long-term prospects for the credit data business.
"So I feel very good about kind of the data credit data business over the long haul." — Frederick Henry Eppinger Jr. (CEO)
Recent acquisitions: details and size
Q (Oscar Nieves · Stephens): Analyst asked managers to walk through recent acquisitions, what they add to revenue and earnings, how big the deals were, and whether they have closed.
A: Management said they did four meaningful deals this year, including Nationwide Appraisal (in April) into Steward Valuation Intelligence, and two title deals (ProTitle and Tower) that largely closed on 9/1 and were placed into CTS and commercial respectively. They said these title businesses are typically bought at 4-6x EBITDA, they deployed $150 million year to date on these deals, and the late timing meant marginal impact on the reported quarter while adding talent and capability; acquisition details will appear in the 10-Q.
"But we said that we typically buy those kind of businesses that these are title businesses, so 4-6x EBITDA." — David C. Hisey (CFO)