NYSE:FNF Fidelity National Financial Q2 2023 Earnings Report GBX 138.30 +0.90 (+0.66%) As of 11:55 AM Eastern Earnings HistoryForecast Tritax Big Box REIT EPS ResultsActual EPSGBX 1.01Consensus EPS GBX 1.04Beat/MissMissed by -GBX 0.03One Year Ago EPSGBX 1.90Tritax Big Box REIT Revenue ResultsActual Revenue$3.07 billionExpected Revenue$2.68 billionBeat/MissBeat by +$392.24 millionYoY Revenue Growth+16.40%Tritax Big Box REIT Announcement DetailsQuarterQ2 2023Date8/8/2023TimeAfter Market ClosesConference Call DateWednesday, August 9, 2023Conference Call Time11:00AM ETConference Call ResourcesConference Call AudioConference Call TranscriptPress Release (8-K)Quarterly Report (10-Q)Earnings HistoryCompany ProfilePowered by Tritax Big Box REIT Q2 2023 Earnings Call TranscriptProvided by QuartrAugust 9, 2023 ShareLink copied to clipboard.There are 9 speakers on the call. Operator00:00:00Morning, and welcome to FNS Second Quarter Earnings Call. During today's presentation, all parties will be in a listen only mode. Following the presentation, the conference will be open for questions with instructions to follow at that time. As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded. I would now like to turn the call over to Lisa Foxworthy Parker, SVP, Investor and External Relations. Operator00:00:27Please go ahead. Speaker 100:00:30Great. Thanks, operator, and welcome, everyone. Joining me today are Mike Nolan, Chief Executive Officer and Tony Park, Chief Financial Officer. We look forward to addressing your questions following our prepared remarks, and we will have Chris Blunt, F and G's Chief Executive Officer and Wendy Young, F and G's Chief Financial Officer join us for the Q and A portion of today's call. Today's earnings call may include forward looking statements projections under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, which do not guarantee future events or performance. Speaker 100:01:01We do not undertake any duty to revise or update such statements to reflect new information, subsequent events or changes in strategy. Please refer to our most recent quarterly and annual reports and other SEC filings for a discussion of the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. This morning's discussion also includes non GAAP financial measures that we believe may be meaningful to investors. Non GAAP measures have been reconciled to GAAP where required in accordance with SEC rules within our earnings materials available on the company's website. Yesterday, we issued a press release, which is also available on our website. Speaker 100:01:40Today's call is being recorded and will be available for webcast replay at fns.com. It will also be available through telephone replay beginning today at 3 pm Eastern Time through August 16, 2023. And now, I'll turn the call over to our CEO, Mike Nolan. Speaker 200:02:00Thank you, Lisa, and good morning. Overall, we have had another strong set of results at this midyear mark as we continue to navigate a volatile and challenging environment. Starting with our title business, we delivered adjusted pre tax earnings in our title segment of $302,000,000 and an industry leading adjusted pre tax title margin of 15.8%. We are very pleased with this result, which reflects strong sequential margin improvement across our title related businesses. This strong performance really demonstrates our approach to running the business, highlighting our ability to manage through economic cycles and react quickly to changing order volumes. Speaker 200:02:44It also demonstrates the expertise and discipline of our field managers and employees who are critical to our success and our ability to deliver these results. I'd like to thank all of our employees who have worked so diligently to build the field driven business we have today and who consistently deliver an industry leading performance quarter after quarter. Our performance this year is a direct result of the actions we took in the back half of twenty twenty two, When in light of the steep decline in mortgage volumes, we reduced our field staff by 26% net of acquisitions. This positioned us well given the low inventories coming into 2023. In the first half of this year, we have continued to monitor expenses closely. Speaker 200:03:32So far, we've seen solid sequential growth with residential purchase open orders per day up in both Q1 and Q2, a typical seasonal pattern and even holding strong in the month of July, which is not typical since orders usually crest heading into the back half of the year. We feel that the resiliency of residential purchase volumes, which have held up in a weak market and despite mortgage rates Spiking to 7% at times is a testament to the underlying demand for housing that exists in the country. Commercial volumes are still holding up well, which is positive and in line with our expectations. We have generated commercial revenue of $500,000,000 in the first half, consistent with the first halves we saw from 2015 to 2020. Looking at sequential volumes more closely, Daily purchase orders opened were up 12% over the Q1 of 2023 and up 2% for the month of July versus June. Speaker 200:04:35And refinance orders opened per day were up 4% over the Q1 of 2023 and down 2% for the month of July versus June. Our total commercial orders opened were 7.84 per day, flat for the Q2 versus the Q1 of 2023 and up 3% for the month of July versus June. Overall, total orders opened averaged 5,400 per day in the second quarter, with April at 5,300, May at 5,700 and June at 5,300. For the month of July, Total orders opened were 5,300 per day in line with June. So far, 2023 has been encouraging as we have From here, we remain cautious under the second half of the year given continued higher rates and volatility. Speaker 200:05:34As always, we will manage to order volumes in a given environment. Beyond the near term pressures, we remain bullish on the mid to long term fundamentals of the business. A clear benefit of our financial strength, scale and profitability is our ability to invest in our business through cycles as we strive to further expand our competitive positioning in the industry. We continue to strategically build and expand our title business through acquisitions, recruiting talent and enhancing our title capabilities. Our in here platform is an area that we have been investing in recent years. Speaker 200:06:12This industry leading end to end real estate experience platform is fully deployed across our residential business and integrated within our direct operations and is quickly gaining traction. In fact, over the past 2 years, We have had over 1,400,000 users on the inHear platform comprised of 1,200,000 consumer users and 200,000 real estate professionals and consumer engagement continues to be between 65% to 70%, a strong success rate. In the 1st 6 months of 2023 alone, our real estate agent and transaction coordinator users have logged over 1,000,000 sessions and nearly 90% were active in the last 30 days. We believe this strong adoption demonstrates the value Customers are receiving from the inHear platform, and we expect to continue to add functionality and content targeted at Further enhancing the transaction experience of agents, transaction coordinators and consumers, partnering to help real estate professionals grow their businesses and creating both market growth and efficiency opportunities for FNF over the near and long term. Turning to our F and G business, it has been over 3 years now since the 2020 merger, and we are pleased with F and G's performance, which has exceeded our expectations. Speaker 200:07:42F and G has successfully transformed its business from essentially being a monoline at the time of acquisition to now having a robust new business platform that is well diversified by product and channel and a profitable in force book of business that is scaled considerably. F and G has profitably grown its assets under management from $25,000,000,000 at the 2020 merger to a record $46,000,000,000 at June 30. And the business is well positioned to both expand its spread based earnings and diversify through fee based earnings from its flow reinsurance and owned distribution strategies, which will ultimately drive margin expansion and improved returns. With that, let me now turn the call over to Tony Park to review FNS' 2nd quarter financial highlights. Speaker 300:08:35Thank you, Mike. Starting with our consolidated results, we generated $3,100,000,000 in total revenue in the 2nd quarter. Net earnings were $219,000,000 including net recognized losses of $16,000,000 versus net earnings of $537,000,000 including $676,000,000 of net recognized losses in the Q2 of 2022. The title segment contributed net earnings of $165,000,000 The F and G segment contributed $110,000,000 and the corporate segment had a net loss of $56,000,000 The net recognized gains and losses in each period are primarily due to mark to market accounting treatment of equity and preferred stock securities. Whether the securities were disposed of in the quarter or continue to be held in our investment portfolio. Speaker 300:09:32Excluding net recognized gains and losses, Our total revenue was $3,100,000,000 as compared with $3,300,000,000 in the Q2 of 2022. Adjusted net earnings from continuing operations was $274,000,000 or $1.01 per diluted share compared with $557,000,000 or $2 per share for the Q2 of 2022. The title segment contributed $226,000,000 the F and G segment contributed $67,000,000 And the corporate segment had an adjusted net loss of $19,000,000 Turning to Q2 financial highlights Specific to the title segment, our title segment generated $1,900,000,000 in total revenue in the 2nd quarter, Excluding net recognized losses of $50,000,000 compared with $2,800,000,000 in the Q2 of 2022. Direct premiums decreased by 37% versus the Q2 of 2022. Agency premiums decreased by 41%. Speaker 300:10:44And escrow, title related and other fees decreased by 18% versus the prior year. Personnel costs decreased by 20% And other operating expenses decreased by 19%. All in, the title business generated adjusted pretax title earnings of $302,000,000 and a 15.8 percent adjusted pretax title margin for the quarter versus 18.9% in the prior year quarter. Our title and corporate investment portfolio totaled $5,000,000,000 at June 30. Invested assets included $2,000,000,000 of fixed maturity and preferred securities having an average duration of 3 years and an average rating of A2 as well as $600,000,000 of equity securities, dollars 1,000,000,000 of short term and other investments and $1,400,000,000 of cash. Speaker 300:11:42Interest and investment income in the title and corporate segments of $93,000,000 Increased $55,000,000 as compared with the prior year quarter, primarily due to higher income from our 10/31 exchange business and cash and short term investments. Given the higher rate environment, we would anticipate Increased investment income through reinvestment of our 3 year duration fixed income portfolio maturities. For the remainder of 2023, we expect quarterly interest and investment income to moderate in the $90,000,000 range with stabilizing 10/31 exchange balances and spreads and level cash and short term investment balances. Our title claims paid of $67,000,000 were $11,000,000 higher than our provision of $56,000,000 for the 2nd quarter. The carried reserve for title claim losses is approximately $77,000,000 or 4.5% above the actuary central estimate. Speaker 300:12:47We continue to provide for title claims at 4.5 percent of total title premiums. Next, turning to Q2 financial highlights specific to the F and G segment. F and G hosted its earnings call Earlier this morning and provided a thorough update. So I will focus on the key highlights of its quarterly performance. F and G reported gross sales of $3,000,000,000 in the 2nd quarter, a 3% decrease over the prior year quarter. Speaker 300:13:17This reflects higher retail channel sales offset by slightly lower sales to institutional markets, which are expected to be lumpier and more opportunistic in nature. F and G's net sales retained were $2,200,000,000 in the 2nd quarter, A decrease of 12% from the prior year quarter, reflecting flow reinsurance, which increased from 50% to 75% of MYGA sales in September of 2022. As a reminder, F and G utilizes flow reinsurance, which provides a lower This enhances cash flow, provides fee based earnings and is accretive to F and G's returns. F and G's record assets under management were $46,300,000,000 as of June 30. Adjusted net earnings for the F and G segment were $67,000,000 in the 2nd quarter. Speaker 300:14:21This includes bond Prepaid income that contributed $4,000,000 or $0.02 per share and was offset by alternative investment returns below our long term expectations by $47,000,000 or $0.17 per share. Let me wrap up with a few thoughts on capital and liquidity. We remain focused on ensuring a balanced Capital allocation strategy as we navigate the current environment. We ended the quarter with $885,000,000 in cash and short term liquid investments at the holding company level. FNF's consolidated debt to capitalization ratio of 20% to 30%, and we expect that our balance sheet will naturally delever as a result of growth in shareholders' equity excluding AOCI. Speaker 300:15:21Going forward, our consolidated annual interest expense on debt outstanding is approximately $175,000,000 comprised of approximately $80,000,000 for F and F's holding company debt and $95,000,000 for F and G segment debt. Following our record level of share repurchases in 2021 2022 at a total combined cost of $1,000,000,000 We have prudently moderated our repurchase volume in the first half of this year to preserve financial flexibility as we navigate the challenging market. Therefore, there were no share repurchases in the second quarter. We continue to view our current annual common dividend of Approximately $500,000,000 as sustainable. During the Q2, we paid common dividends of $0.45 per share for a total of $121,000,000 The dividend is reviewed quarterly and expected to increase over time subject to Board of Director approval. Operator00:17:17Our first question comes from the line of Bose George with KBW. Please go ahead. Speaker 400:17:23Hey, guys. Good morning. Mike, I know you gave the July order trends. I'm curious if you have any color on just what's happening in August just with the move in rates. Was there any early read on that? Speaker 200:17:35Yes, I think it's too early to look at August. We really just have the 1st week, which was a shortened week. And I just don't think looking at that small data set We provide the right direction. But I think the fact that orders have held up as well in July, I think it's again a testament to the strength of the market. And if you look through as we went through the quarter, even when Rates spiked at different points. Speaker 200:18:10The order counts held up very well. Speaker 400:18:14Okay. That's helpful. Thanks. And then actually just switching over to F and G. I think in the past, you've talked about sort of blocks over there. Speaker 400:18:24Is that still a possibility? And also the FG management agreement at Blackstone, I think now has been extended through 2029, just a comment about sort of the benefits of that, whether that has any impact on a if there's a block transaction, does The Blackstone agreement had impacted in any way? Speaker 300:18:45Sure. This is Chris. So yes, that's An option that remains for us to reinsure out of block, as a means of freeing up capital. So nothing's changed there. The Blackstone agreement, yes, that's a big net positive. Speaker 300:19:00So it's order of magnitude of Almost a 25% reduction in fees going forward on assets over $40,000,000,000 Speaker 200:19:10And that fee agreement on Speaker 300:19:12the $40,000,000,000 runs off over time. So it's quite impactful for us. It does influence block deals, but we know there are Blackstone affiliated Reinsurers and folks that would probably be excited to have Blackstone manage the money. So it's probably a bit of a constraint on doing a really big Block transaction, but it doesn't rule it out. Speaker 400:19:39Okay, great. Thank you. Speaker 500:19:43Thanks. Operator00:19:46Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Soham Bhonsalai with BTIG. Please go ahead. Speaker 600:19:55Hey, good morning guys. Thanks for taking the questions. Speaker 500:19:57Good morning. Speaker 600:19:59Morning. So the first one is just on F and G and this is sort of a 2 parter. First one is being, wanted to get your updated thoughts on whether you think That there was the AEL transaction, have there been any discussions with the Board around potential options that you're considering beyond just the tax free spin that you've talked about before? Speaker 300:20:28Yes. Thanks for the question. This is Tony. Maybe I'll start and I know Mike and Chris Might want to weigh in. But I would say from the Board's perspective, they couldn't be more pleased about the performance of F and G And really how it validates, if you will, our investment thesis that we had when we made the acquisition, which is When interest rates go up, F and G will add earnings That are consistent and stable as you've seen and grow over time as rates are going up and maybe the title insurance market Comes down a little bit, and that's exactly what we've seen. Speaker 300:21:13It's fair to say that our share price has not Performed as we would have hoped kind of during the ownership of this, although some of that may have been maybe changing Really over the course of at least the last 90 days. But we believe regardless, we're creating Real value and highlighted by the AEL deal, but we feel like value is being created. F and G actually throws off a lot of cash. Currently, we're reinvesting that cash in sales growth because we're getting great returns from that Continuing to build value in our investment, but keep in mind, you could really realize that cash flow. I think Wendy said something like $800,000,000 annually is being thrown off from the block currently and that just grows over time. Speaker 300:22:08But we could realize that value at any time if we wanted to constrain sales. And at this point, that's not what we want to do. We want to continue to create value in that business and that's what we're doing. So in terms of optionality, we've talked about it before. We could hold, we could spend now, we could spend later in a tax free manner, we could sell, We can merge it with a company. Speaker 300:22:35We can reinsure a block. But at this point, As I mentioned earlier, the Board is very pleased with the performance and the value that we're creating. And actually, We're getting cash flow through the dividend that F and G is paying. So it's been a real positive. Speaker 600:22:56Okay. Great. Yes. And then I guess on title, Tony, If I sort of take a look at your residential business this quarter, the 230,000 orders and maybe just run rate that On an annualized basis, you get to somewhere around 9, 950 on orders and you did a 15.8 margin this quarter. So I mean assuming that commercial sort of trough this year, it seems like opens are better as well. Speaker 600:23:24So that's what it's suggesting. Is there any reason that margins next year can't get sort of the mid to high 15s if we sort of get some recovery on the resi side? Obviously, understanding there's going to be quarterly variances here. Speaker 200:23:37Yes. This is Mike. I would say if we get a better revenue environment in 2024 In a more normalized levels, let's say that the 15 to 20 that we've talked about in the past is certainly what we'd expect. We've done a lot of work on the expense side and I think we're well prepared to take advantage Of an improving market, I think the Q2 is a good example of that. With the margin lift we got off the Q1 of 5 80 basis points, It was really just we got a commercial market that was good in the Q2 and then we took advantage of an improving Residential environment sequentially and we had the expense discipline to do that. Speaker 200:24:23So as we go into 2024, We'll be well prepared on the expense side and it will really be about how Well, 2 things. 1, commercial holding up and how well the residential market rebounds. On this point, I was looking at when the last time rates were this high, we got 7% interest rates and that was back in 2,001 And in 2000 rates were 8%. And those were 2 of the weakest transactional markets I kind of remember in my career. But then rates came down to 6 in 2002 and kind of stayed there around the 6 number for the next 3 or 4 years. Speaker 200:25:05And the market really grew tremendously both in terms of refinance and resale activity. I'm not saying that will happen necessarily, but If we get a lowering interest rate environment as we move forward over the next 12 to whatever months, I think the opportunity for us is very strong. Speaker 500:25:27Great. Thanks a lot guys. Speaker 200:25:30Thanks. Operator00:25:32Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of John Campbell with Stephens Inc. Please go ahead. Speaker 500:25:41Hey guys, good morning. Congrats on a great quarter. Speaker 300:25:44Thanks, John. Speaker 500:25:46Sure. On the title field staff, I mean, I think 2Q marks the first sequential increase you guys have seen maybe since 3Q of 2021? This is probably pretty obvious question or obvious observation, but what you guys are seeing in the pipeline And just given how much volumes have dropped, I think it's pretty clear signal, but are you guys still going to keep bottomed out here? Is that a pretty fair assessment? Speaker 200:26:11John, I missed the very beginning of your question. Could you repeat it, please? I'm sorry. Speaker 500:26:18Yes, no problem. On the title field staff, 2Q Field, okay. Yes. Speaker 700:26:23The first Speaker 500:26:23time. Yes. Speaker 200:26:27Yes. So I think, as we talked about in the script that we kind of Took 26% out last year. We had some modest reductions in the first half, and we were watching Staffing very closely and really looking at that in the lens of where we're going to get the sequential improvement in residential, which we absolutely got, Which was great. And given the rates, I think kind of a welcome development. I think as we go into the back half of the year, We'll look at staffing very closely related to the order volumes. Speaker 200:27:05We would expect to get sequential declines in particularly our purchase open orders just like we have in just about every other year. And we may need to make some adjustments accordingly And really want to be in a good position as we go into 2024 to deal with which is typically a seasonally tough Q1. And then really have the company in a great position to take advantage of improving order volumes. Speaker 500:27:37Okay. Makes sense. And then related to the last question, I mean, year to year, a lot can change. So it's hard for you guys to really pinpoint title pretax margins. But Quarter to quarter, you get a little bit more visibility. Speaker 500:27:48You guys are sitting here halfway through the quarter now. You've got a book of business that is going to give you some insights Comment on what remains. But my question here is, if you assume just kind of a modest sequential drop in revenues into 3Q, You guys just posted a 15.8 percent title pretax margin, well ahead of us this quarter. Do you think you can get near that mark assuming just a modest drop Revenues into Speaker 200:28:153Q? Yes, I think there's a couple of things that go it's Mike. I think there's a couple of things that go into it. A very modest drop in revenue. We should again have very good margins. Speaker 200:28:23I think the expenses, as I said before, Are in a good spot. What can impact margin and what I'd still be a little bit cautious about is Sometimes the mix of agency and direct in the revenue side can make a difference in margin. As you know, there's a pretty significant difference between agency gross margins and direct gross margins. So that can clip Your margins, even if you have the same gross revenue, commercial still needs to come through, I think, as we've been expecting it to. And there's always some concern around that or caution around that just given the volatility. Speaker 200:29:06We had the 10 banks, regional banks that got downgraded this week, does that impact commercial as we move through the back half of the year rate? So But if other things being equal, if revenue is holding up, I would expect margins to be pretty good in the Q3. As you get to the 4th, A little bit more seasonal fall off on the residential side and we'll just have to see where we're at as we kind of get through the back end of this quarter. Speaker 500:29:34Okay, that's helpful. And then one last one here on escrow and other within title, we've always kind of modeled that near the direction of direct Premium revenues, it looks like that dropped about half the rate of direct this quarter. I mean, I know you've got Title Point in the mix now. So maybe if you can help unpack that and maybe kind of rule of thumb how to think about modeling that relative direct at least over the next couple of quarters? Speaker 300:29:59Yes, John, this is Tony. That's a valid point. Certainly, part Of that line item, you should model exactly as direct title premiums would change. That's really our escrow fees And to some extent, some other fees that go in there. But there are some other businesses, and the best probably the best spot to find those would be in our footnotes To our Qs and Ks, where you can see that broken out. Speaker 300:30:25But we have businesses like LoanCare, which is our loan subservicing business and home warranty and to your point, Title Point and a couple others, although Title Point ought to trend Fairly closely, I think, with the title business overall. But we did have some pretty strong performance from both LoanCare and Home Warranty In the Q2 and that's probably why there's a bit of a disconnect in terms of the trajectory or the change In that line item relative to direct premium. Speaker 500:31:01Okay, thanks. And then just the margin on those 2 that you Loan care and home warranty, how does that compare roughly to the kind of blended margin? Speaker 300:31:11It really depends on the performance. I mean, Home warranty can be a single digit performer at times and all the way up to in a strong quarter, maybe even 15%, But generally lower than what we would generate in the title business. And then LoanCare Is another one of those where you could have a 5% performance in a tough quarter. But when you say, Mike, it's more of a 12% To 15% performer, LoanCare? Over a longer time horizon. Speaker 300:31:45But yes, you can have periods where it can Yes, single digits. Speaker 200:31:50Yes. But we would expect it to be, I think, over a longer horizon, a 10% to 13%, 14% margin producer. Speaker 800:32:01Thanks for the color guys. Speaker 700:32:03Thanks. Operator00:32:06Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Mark Hughes with Truish Securities. Please go ahead. Speaker 700:32:23Yes. Thank you very much. Good morning. Speaker 500:32:25Good morning. Speaker 700:32:26Tony, did you give the year over year for July For commercial or in purchase, daily orders, I think you gave the sequential, but I'm sort of curious if it was the year over year as well. Speaker 200:32:44Yes, Mark, it's Mike. So we opened in the Q2 for commercial per day 7.84% and that was down 22% From the Q2 of 2022, which was 1,003. Speaker 700:33:04And then I was thinking, you gave July on a sequential basis, but if you gave it Year over year. Speaker 300:33:11Yes, July over June was up. July over July, do you have that? Speaker 200:33:15July over last year's July? Yes. Let me find it. We didn't actually give that. We gave July over this year's June. Speaker 200:33:26July over last year's June mark was down 13 Speaker 500:33:33So the Speaker 200:33:33comps get better obviously as the we had Commercial fall off in the back half of last year, as you remember. So the comps improved in July. Speaker 700:33:43Okay. Due to the residential purchase July over July? Speaker 200:33:55I do. It was down 6%. Speaker 700:34:03Okay. And then Based on what you've seen in the backlog in commercial, any commentary about revenue per order? Operator00:34:18I think Speaker 200:34:21nothing real specific. I think it probably will stay in the range that we've seen. I think our national commercial fee has been running in the $13,000 plus range. I would anticipate that to stay in that range, certainly off the highs of 22, But actually a very good number when you look at prior years to 2022. And then The total commercial fees, I think running around 9,300 or 9,500. Speaker 200:34:569,500 this Quarter. And again, I would say that 9,000 plus range, we continue to see that as we move through the back half. Speaker 700:35:07Okay, great. Thank you. Thanks. Operator00:35:12Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Geoffrey Dunn with Dowling and Partners. Please go ahead. Speaker 500:35:20Thanks. Good morning. Speaker 400:35:22Good morning. Speaker 800:35:24Tony, what is the remaining capacity dividend capacity from the regulated entities? And what is the back half expectation for capacity from the unregulated? Speaker 300:35:38From the regulated, we have been taking some dividends of non cash dividends. We had some common stock in there that we've been moving out, which was non cash. So in terms of cash, Full year is probably from the regulated is somewhere around $400,000,000 and We've already taken let me look. We've already taken about $220,000,000 of that. So Maybe 180 in the balance. Speaker 300:36:15In terms of the unregulated, that's kind of that's a good question because that would Have me predicting what we're going to do real time since that's not predetermined. That's cash and earnings that we're actually going to generate. And so That one's harder to estimate and I would have to give guidance on that front. So maybe A broad overall commentary would be landing at year end Absent share buybacks and again, I'm not suggesting that's where we are. But if we didn't do any share buybacks, I think we end the year at somewhere around $1,000,000,000 in HoldCo cash. Speaker 800:37:01Okay. And then with respect to buyback, obviously, the environment is uncertain, but it's been uncertain for a while now. Is part of the moderation in the first half having to do with these non cash dividends? You do continue to generate strong cash flow. The holding company is in great position. Speaker 800:37:20The overall company is in a good financial position. So as we think about maybe some of these non Cash dividends coming out and being replaced by cash dividend flow again next year. Is that what helps restore that along with the incremental economic Data points we get along the way? Or is it really you're holding back in this kind of higher for longer environment? Speaker 300:37:44Yes. I mean, I think it's a combination, although I don't think the non cash dividends are really impacting the buyback decision at all. Those are Really material. I just thought I would throw that out there. I think just the market overall and not knowing exactly Where we land, I mean, I think we've been pleased with the market given where rates have gone, But we didn't know that going into it. Speaker 300:38:11And so we've been fairly conservative. I think we like to preserve The financial flexibility, we do have a $500,000,000 commitment on the common dividend. And so We like to be conservative in terms of Holdco cash. But certainly, if we see the market continue to Stay strong and improve as we get into next year. You're right, we generate a lot of cash. Speaker 300:38:42And F and G is generating cash now. And I could foresee F and G even paying a bigger dividend to us. And so there could be a lot more cash as we look to next And a lot more opportunity to raise the dividend or buyback stock or make acquisitions or whatever it might be. Speaker 800:39:05Okay. So I think throughout the call today, you've mentioned wanting to be well positioned for 2024. Am I hearing you correctly that it seems like Buyback is going to be less of an emphasis even for the remainder of the year and it's really getting very firm footing going into 24 and maybe then we see an acceleration once again? Yes. All else are equal. Speaker 300:39:27Yes. I don't I think that's Certainly a possibility. I don't know if I'm going to probability yet because it's going to be a board decision and we they revisit that Every quarter and we don't preannounce that. But if I yes, if I were guessing, I would say Much more likely to be more aggressive on the buyback front in 2024 than the balance of 2023. Speaker 800:39:58All right. Thanks. Operator00:40:03Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, And this will conclude our question and answer session. I will now turn the conference back over to CEO, Mike Nolan for closing remarks. Speaker 200:40:16Thank you. We are proud of our strong performance in the first half of the year despite continued uncertainty and volatility in the Likewise, F and G's profitable growth demonstrates its strong momentum with many opportunities ahead to further expand the business, drive margin expansion and improve returns. Thanks for your time this morning. We appreciate your interest in FNF and look forward to updating you on our Q3 earnings call. Operator00:40:58Thank you for attending today's presentation and the conference call has concluded. You may now disconnect yourRead moreRemove AdsPowered by Conference Call Audio Live Call not available Earnings Conference CallTritax Big Box REIT Q2 202300:00 / 00:00Speed:1x1.25x1.5x2xRemove Ads Earnings DocumentsPress Release(8-K)Quarterly report(10-Q) Tritax Big Box REIT Earnings HeadlinesFidelity National Financial Inc (FNF) Stock Price Up 3.3% on Apr 14April 14 at 1:59 PM | gurufocus.comFidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from BrokeragesApril 13 at 2:31 AM | americanbankingnews.comFeds Just Admitted It—They Can Take Your CashThe Government Just Said Your Money Isn't Yours That's right—According to the DOJ, YOUR hard-earned money isn't legally yours. Now, think your savings are safe? Think again.April 16, 2025 | Priority Gold (Ad)Fidelity National upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe BruyetteApril 9, 2025 | markets.businessinsider.comFidelity National Financial (FNF) Receives a Hold from BarclaysApril 9, 2025 | markets.businessinsider.comKeefe, Bruyette & Woods Upgrades Fidelity National Financial (FNF)April 9, 2025 | msn.comSee More Fidelity National Financial Headlines Get Earnings Announcements in your inboxWant to stay updated on the latest earnings announcements and upcoming reports for companies like Tritax Big Box REIT? Sign up for Earnings360's daily newsletter to receive timely earnings updates on Tritax Big Box REIT and other key companies, straight to your email. Email Address About Tritax Big Box REITTritax Big Box REIT (LON:BBOX) (ticker: BBOX) is the largest listed investor in high-quality logistics warehouse assets and controls the largest logistics-focused land platform in the UK. BBOX is committed to delivering attractive and sustainable returns for Shareholders by investing in and actively managing existing built investments and land suitable for logistics development. The Company focuses on well-located, modern logistics assets, typically let to institutional-grade tenants on long-term leases with upward-only rent reviews and geographic and tenant diversification throughout the UK. The Company seeks to exploit the significant opportunity provided by the imbalance between strong occupational demand and constrained supply of modern logistics real estate in the UK. The Company is a real estate investment trust to which Part 12 of the UK Corporation Tax Act 2010 applies, is listed on the premium segment of the Official List of the UK Financial Conduct Authority (Ticker: BBOX) and is a constituent of the FTSE 250, FTSE EPRA/NAREIT and MSCI indices.View Tritax Big Box REIT ProfileRead more More Earnings Resources from MarketBeat Earnings Tools Today's Earnings Tomorrow's Earnings Next Week's Earnings Upcoming Earnings Calls Earnings Newsletter Earnings Call Transcripts Earnings Beats & Misses Corporate Guidance Earnings Screener Earnings By Country U.S. Earnings Reports Canadian Earnings Reports U.K. Earnings Reports Latest Articles Tesla Stock Eyes Breakout With Earnings on DeckJohnson & Johnson Earnings Were More Good Than Bad—Time to Buy? 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There are 9 speakers on the call. Operator00:00:00Morning, and welcome to FNS Second Quarter Earnings Call. During today's presentation, all parties will be in a listen only mode. Following the presentation, the conference will be open for questions with instructions to follow at that time. As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded. I would now like to turn the call over to Lisa Foxworthy Parker, SVP, Investor and External Relations. Operator00:00:27Please go ahead. Speaker 100:00:30Great. Thanks, operator, and welcome, everyone. Joining me today are Mike Nolan, Chief Executive Officer and Tony Park, Chief Financial Officer. We look forward to addressing your questions following our prepared remarks, and we will have Chris Blunt, F and G's Chief Executive Officer and Wendy Young, F and G's Chief Financial Officer join us for the Q and A portion of today's call. Today's earnings call may include forward looking statements projections under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, which do not guarantee future events or performance. Speaker 100:01:01We do not undertake any duty to revise or update such statements to reflect new information, subsequent events or changes in strategy. Please refer to our most recent quarterly and annual reports and other SEC filings for a discussion of the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. This morning's discussion also includes non GAAP financial measures that we believe may be meaningful to investors. Non GAAP measures have been reconciled to GAAP where required in accordance with SEC rules within our earnings materials available on the company's website. Yesterday, we issued a press release, which is also available on our website. Speaker 100:01:40Today's call is being recorded and will be available for webcast replay at fns.com. It will also be available through telephone replay beginning today at 3 pm Eastern Time through August 16, 2023. And now, I'll turn the call over to our CEO, Mike Nolan. Speaker 200:02:00Thank you, Lisa, and good morning. Overall, we have had another strong set of results at this midyear mark as we continue to navigate a volatile and challenging environment. Starting with our title business, we delivered adjusted pre tax earnings in our title segment of $302,000,000 and an industry leading adjusted pre tax title margin of 15.8%. We are very pleased with this result, which reflects strong sequential margin improvement across our title related businesses. This strong performance really demonstrates our approach to running the business, highlighting our ability to manage through economic cycles and react quickly to changing order volumes. Speaker 200:02:44It also demonstrates the expertise and discipline of our field managers and employees who are critical to our success and our ability to deliver these results. I'd like to thank all of our employees who have worked so diligently to build the field driven business we have today and who consistently deliver an industry leading performance quarter after quarter. Our performance this year is a direct result of the actions we took in the back half of twenty twenty two, When in light of the steep decline in mortgage volumes, we reduced our field staff by 26% net of acquisitions. This positioned us well given the low inventories coming into 2023. In the first half of this year, we have continued to monitor expenses closely. Speaker 200:03:32So far, we've seen solid sequential growth with residential purchase open orders per day up in both Q1 and Q2, a typical seasonal pattern and even holding strong in the month of July, which is not typical since orders usually crest heading into the back half of the year. We feel that the resiliency of residential purchase volumes, which have held up in a weak market and despite mortgage rates Spiking to 7% at times is a testament to the underlying demand for housing that exists in the country. Commercial volumes are still holding up well, which is positive and in line with our expectations. We have generated commercial revenue of $500,000,000 in the first half, consistent with the first halves we saw from 2015 to 2020. Looking at sequential volumes more closely, Daily purchase orders opened were up 12% over the Q1 of 2023 and up 2% for the month of July versus June. Speaker 200:04:35And refinance orders opened per day were up 4% over the Q1 of 2023 and down 2% for the month of July versus June. Our total commercial orders opened were 7.84 per day, flat for the Q2 versus the Q1 of 2023 and up 3% for the month of July versus June. Overall, total orders opened averaged 5,400 per day in the second quarter, with April at 5,300, May at 5,700 and June at 5,300. For the month of July, Total orders opened were 5,300 per day in line with June. So far, 2023 has been encouraging as we have From here, we remain cautious under the second half of the year given continued higher rates and volatility. Speaker 200:05:34As always, we will manage to order volumes in a given environment. Beyond the near term pressures, we remain bullish on the mid to long term fundamentals of the business. A clear benefit of our financial strength, scale and profitability is our ability to invest in our business through cycles as we strive to further expand our competitive positioning in the industry. We continue to strategically build and expand our title business through acquisitions, recruiting talent and enhancing our title capabilities. Our in here platform is an area that we have been investing in recent years. Speaker 200:06:12This industry leading end to end real estate experience platform is fully deployed across our residential business and integrated within our direct operations and is quickly gaining traction. In fact, over the past 2 years, We have had over 1,400,000 users on the inHear platform comprised of 1,200,000 consumer users and 200,000 real estate professionals and consumer engagement continues to be between 65% to 70%, a strong success rate. In the 1st 6 months of 2023 alone, our real estate agent and transaction coordinator users have logged over 1,000,000 sessions and nearly 90% were active in the last 30 days. We believe this strong adoption demonstrates the value Customers are receiving from the inHear platform, and we expect to continue to add functionality and content targeted at Further enhancing the transaction experience of agents, transaction coordinators and consumers, partnering to help real estate professionals grow their businesses and creating both market growth and efficiency opportunities for FNF over the near and long term. Turning to our F and G business, it has been over 3 years now since the 2020 merger, and we are pleased with F and G's performance, which has exceeded our expectations. Speaker 200:07:42F and G has successfully transformed its business from essentially being a monoline at the time of acquisition to now having a robust new business platform that is well diversified by product and channel and a profitable in force book of business that is scaled considerably. F and G has profitably grown its assets under management from $25,000,000,000 at the 2020 merger to a record $46,000,000,000 at June 30. And the business is well positioned to both expand its spread based earnings and diversify through fee based earnings from its flow reinsurance and owned distribution strategies, which will ultimately drive margin expansion and improved returns. With that, let me now turn the call over to Tony Park to review FNS' 2nd quarter financial highlights. Speaker 300:08:35Thank you, Mike. Starting with our consolidated results, we generated $3,100,000,000 in total revenue in the 2nd quarter. Net earnings were $219,000,000 including net recognized losses of $16,000,000 versus net earnings of $537,000,000 including $676,000,000 of net recognized losses in the Q2 of 2022. The title segment contributed net earnings of $165,000,000 The F and G segment contributed $110,000,000 and the corporate segment had a net loss of $56,000,000 The net recognized gains and losses in each period are primarily due to mark to market accounting treatment of equity and preferred stock securities. Whether the securities were disposed of in the quarter or continue to be held in our investment portfolio. Speaker 300:09:32Excluding net recognized gains and losses, Our total revenue was $3,100,000,000 as compared with $3,300,000,000 in the Q2 of 2022. Adjusted net earnings from continuing operations was $274,000,000 or $1.01 per diluted share compared with $557,000,000 or $2 per share for the Q2 of 2022. The title segment contributed $226,000,000 the F and G segment contributed $67,000,000 And the corporate segment had an adjusted net loss of $19,000,000 Turning to Q2 financial highlights Specific to the title segment, our title segment generated $1,900,000,000 in total revenue in the 2nd quarter, Excluding net recognized losses of $50,000,000 compared with $2,800,000,000 in the Q2 of 2022. Direct premiums decreased by 37% versus the Q2 of 2022. Agency premiums decreased by 41%. Speaker 300:10:44And escrow, title related and other fees decreased by 18% versus the prior year. Personnel costs decreased by 20% And other operating expenses decreased by 19%. All in, the title business generated adjusted pretax title earnings of $302,000,000 and a 15.8 percent adjusted pretax title margin for the quarter versus 18.9% in the prior year quarter. Our title and corporate investment portfolio totaled $5,000,000,000 at June 30. Invested assets included $2,000,000,000 of fixed maturity and preferred securities having an average duration of 3 years and an average rating of A2 as well as $600,000,000 of equity securities, dollars 1,000,000,000 of short term and other investments and $1,400,000,000 of cash. Speaker 300:11:42Interest and investment income in the title and corporate segments of $93,000,000 Increased $55,000,000 as compared with the prior year quarter, primarily due to higher income from our 10/31 exchange business and cash and short term investments. Given the higher rate environment, we would anticipate Increased investment income through reinvestment of our 3 year duration fixed income portfolio maturities. For the remainder of 2023, we expect quarterly interest and investment income to moderate in the $90,000,000 range with stabilizing 10/31 exchange balances and spreads and level cash and short term investment balances. Our title claims paid of $67,000,000 were $11,000,000 higher than our provision of $56,000,000 for the 2nd quarter. The carried reserve for title claim losses is approximately $77,000,000 or 4.5% above the actuary central estimate. Speaker 300:12:47We continue to provide for title claims at 4.5 percent of total title premiums. Next, turning to Q2 financial highlights specific to the F and G segment. F and G hosted its earnings call Earlier this morning and provided a thorough update. So I will focus on the key highlights of its quarterly performance. F and G reported gross sales of $3,000,000,000 in the 2nd quarter, a 3% decrease over the prior year quarter. Speaker 300:13:17This reflects higher retail channel sales offset by slightly lower sales to institutional markets, which are expected to be lumpier and more opportunistic in nature. F and G's net sales retained were $2,200,000,000 in the 2nd quarter, A decrease of 12% from the prior year quarter, reflecting flow reinsurance, which increased from 50% to 75% of MYGA sales in September of 2022. As a reminder, F and G utilizes flow reinsurance, which provides a lower This enhances cash flow, provides fee based earnings and is accretive to F and G's returns. F and G's record assets under management were $46,300,000,000 as of June 30. Adjusted net earnings for the F and G segment were $67,000,000 in the 2nd quarter. Speaker 300:14:21This includes bond Prepaid income that contributed $4,000,000 or $0.02 per share and was offset by alternative investment returns below our long term expectations by $47,000,000 or $0.17 per share. Let me wrap up with a few thoughts on capital and liquidity. We remain focused on ensuring a balanced Capital allocation strategy as we navigate the current environment. We ended the quarter with $885,000,000 in cash and short term liquid investments at the holding company level. FNF's consolidated debt to capitalization ratio of 20% to 30%, and we expect that our balance sheet will naturally delever as a result of growth in shareholders' equity excluding AOCI. Speaker 300:15:21Going forward, our consolidated annual interest expense on debt outstanding is approximately $175,000,000 comprised of approximately $80,000,000 for F and F's holding company debt and $95,000,000 for F and G segment debt. Following our record level of share repurchases in 2021 2022 at a total combined cost of $1,000,000,000 We have prudently moderated our repurchase volume in the first half of this year to preserve financial flexibility as we navigate the challenging market. Therefore, there were no share repurchases in the second quarter. We continue to view our current annual common dividend of Approximately $500,000,000 as sustainable. During the Q2, we paid common dividends of $0.45 per share for a total of $121,000,000 The dividend is reviewed quarterly and expected to increase over time subject to Board of Director approval. Operator00:17:17Our first question comes from the line of Bose George with KBW. Please go ahead. Speaker 400:17:23Hey, guys. Good morning. Mike, I know you gave the July order trends. I'm curious if you have any color on just what's happening in August just with the move in rates. Was there any early read on that? Speaker 200:17:35Yes, I think it's too early to look at August. We really just have the 1st week, which was a shortened week. And I just don't think looking at that small data set We provide the right direction. But I think the fact that orders have held up as well in July, I think it's again a testament to the strength of the market. And if you look through as we went through the quarter, even when Rates spiked at different points. Speaker 200:18:10The order counts held up very well. Speaker 400:18:14Okay. That's helpful. Thanks. And then actually just switching over to F and G. I think in the past, you've talked about sort of blocks over there. Speaker 400:18:24Is that still a possibility? And also the FG management agreement at Blackstone, I think now has been extended through 2029, just a comment about sort of the benefits of that, whether that has any impact on a if there's a block transaction, does The Blackstone agreement had impacted in any way? Speaker 300:18:45Sure. This is Chris. So yes, that's An option that remains for us to reinsure out of block, as a means of freeing up capital. So nothing's changed there. The Blackstone agreement, yes, that's a big net positive. Speaker 300:19:00So it's order of magnitude of Almost a 25% reduction in fees going forward on assets over $40,000,000,000 Speaker 200:19:10And that fee agreement on Speaker 300:19:12the $40,000,000,000 runs off over time. So it's quite impactful for us. It does influence block deals, but we know there are Blackstone affiliated Reinsurers and folks that would probably be excited to have Blackstone manage the money. So it's probably a bit of a constraint on doing a really big Block transaction, but it doesn't rule it out. Speaker 400:19:39Okay, great. Thank you. Speaker 500:19:43Thanks. Operator00:19:46Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Soham Bhonsalai with BTIG. Please go ahead. Speaker 600:19:55Hey, good morning guys. Thanks for taking the questions. Speaker 500:19:57Good morning. Speaker 600:19:59Morning. So the first one is just on F and G and this is sort of a 2 parter. First one is being, wanted to get your updated thoughts on whether you think That there was the AEL transaction, have there been any discussions with the Board around potential options that you're considering beyond just the tax free spin that you've talked about before? Speaker 300:20:28Yes. Thanks for the question. This is Tony. Maybe I'll start and I know Mike and Chris Might want to weigh in. But I would say from the Board's perspective, they couldn't be more pleased about the performance of F and G And really how it validates, if you will, our investment thesis that we had when we made the acquisition, which is When interest rates go up, F and G will add earnings That are consistent and stable as you've seen and grow over time as rates are going up and maybe the title insurance market Comes down a little bit, and that's exactly what we've seen. Speaker 300:21:13It's fair to say that our share price has not Performed as we would have hoped kind of during the ownership of this, although some of that may have been maybe changing Really over the course of at least the last 90 days. But we believe regardless, we're creating Real value and highlighted by the AEL deal, but we feel like value is being created. F and G actually throws off a lot of cash. Currently, we're reinvesting that cash in sales growth because we're getting great returns from that Continuing to build value in our investment, but keep in mind, you could really realize that cash flow. I think Wendy said something like $800,000,000 annually is being thrown off from the block currently and that just grows over time. Speaker 300:22:08But we could realize that value at any time if we wanted to constrain sales. And at this point, that's not what we want to do. We want to continue to create value in that business and that's what we're doing. So in terms of optionality, we've talked about it before. We could hold, we could spend now, we could spend later in a tax free manner, we could sell, We can merge it with a company. Speaker 300:22:35We can reinsure a block. But at this point, As I mentioned earlier, the Board is very pleased with the performance and the value that we're creating. And actually, We're getting cash flow through the dividend that F and G is paying. So it's been a real positive. Speaker 600:22:56Okay. Great. Yes. And then I guess on title, Tony, If I sort of take a look at your residential business this quarter, the 230,000 orders and maybe just run rate that On an annualized basis, you get to somewhere around 9, 950 on orders and you did a 15.8 margin this quarter. So I mean assuming that commercial sort of trough this year, it seems like opens are better as well. Speaker 600:23:24So that's what it's suggesting. Is there any reason that margins next year can't get sort of the mid to high 15s if we sort of get some recovery on the resi side? Obviously, understanding there's going to be quarterly variances here. Speaker 200:23:37Yes. This is Mike. I would say if we get a better revenue environment in 2024 In a more normalized levels, let's say that the 15 to 20 that we've talked about in the past is certainly what we'd expect. We've done a lot of work on the expense side and I think we're well prepared to take advantage Of an improving market, I think the Q2 is a good example of that. With the margin lift we got off the Q1 of 5 80 basis points, It was really just we got a commercial market that was good in the Q2 and then we took advantage of an improving Residential environment sequentially and we had the expense discipline to do that. Speaker 200:24:23So as we go into 2024, We'll be well prepared on the expense side and it will really be about how Well, 2 things. 1, commercial holding up and how well the residential market rebounds. On this point, I was looking at when the last time rates were this high, we got 7% interest rates and that was back in 2,001 And in 2000 rates were 8%. And those were 2 of the weakest transactional markets I kind of remember in my career. But then rates came down to 6 in 2002 and kind of stayed there around the 6 number for the next 3 or 4 years. Speaker 200:25:05And the market really grew tremendously both in terms of refinance and resale activity. I'm not saying that will happen necessarily, but If we get a lowering interest rate environment as we move forward over the next 12 to whatever months, I think the opportunity for us is very strong. Speaker 500:25:27Great. Thanks a lot guys. Speaker 200:25:30Thanks. Operator00:25:32Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of John Campbell with Stephens Inc. Please go ahead. Speaker 500:25:41Hey guys, good morning. Congrats on a great quarter. Speaker 300:25:44Thanks, John. Speaker 500:25:46Sure. On the title field staff, I mean, I think 2Q marks the first sequential increase you guys have seen maybe since 3Q of 2021? This is probably pretty obvious question or obvious observation, but what you guys are seeing in the pipeline And just given how much volumes have dropped, I think it's pretty clear signal, but are you guys still going to keep bottomed out here? Is that a pretty fair assessment? Speaker 200:26:11John, I missed the very beginning of your question. Could you repeat it, please? I'm sorry. Speaker 500:26:18Yes, no problem. On the title field staff, 2Q Field, okay. Yes. Speaker 700:26:23The first Speaker 500:26:23time. Yes. Speaker 200:26:27Yes. So I think, as we talked about in the script that we kind of Took 26% out last year. We had some modest reductions in the first half, and we were watching Staffing very closely and really looking at that in the lens of where we're going to get the sequential improvement in residential, which we absolutely got, Which was great. And given the rates, I think kind of a welcome development. I think as we go into the back half of the year, We'll look at staffing very closely related to the order volumes. Speaker 200:27:05We would expect to get sequential declines in particularly our purchase open orders just like we have in just about every other year. And we may need to make some adjustments accordingly And really want to be in a good position as we go into 2024 to deal with which is typically a seasonally tough Q1. And then really have the company in a great position to take advantage of improving order volumes. Speaker 500:27:37Okay. Makes sense. And then related to the last question, I mean, year to year, a lot can change. So it's hard for you guys to really pinpoint title pretax margins. But Quarter to quarter, you get a little bit more visibility. Speaker 500:27:48You guys are sitting here halfway through the quarter now. You've got a book of business that is going to give you some insights Comment on what remains. But my question here is, if you assume just kind of a modest sequential drop in revenues into 3Q, You guys just posted a 15.8 percent title pretax margin, well ahead of us this quarter. Do you think you can get near that mark assuming just a modest drop Revenues into Speaker 200:28:153Q? Yes, I think there's a couple of things that go it's Mike. I think there's a couple of things that go into it. A very modest drop in revenue. We should again have very good margins. Speaker 200:28:23I think the expenses, as I said before, Are in a good spot. What can impact margin and what I'd still be a little bit cautious about is Sometimes the mix of agency and direct in the revenue side can make a difference in margin. As you know, there's a pretty significant difference between agency gross margins and direct gross margins. So that can clip Your margins, even if you have the same gross revenue, commercial still needs to come through, I think, as we've been expecting it to. And there's always some concern around that or caution around that just given the volatility. Speaker 200:29:06We had the 10 banks, regional banks that got downgraded this week, does that impact commercial as we move through the back half of the year rate? So But if other things being equal, if revenue is holding up, I would expect margins to be pretty good in the Q3. As you get to the 4th, A little bit more seasonal fall off on the residential side and we'll just have to see where we're at as we kind of get through the back end of this quarter. Speaker 500:29:34Okay, that's helpful. And then one last one here on escrow and other within title, we've always kind of modeled that near the direction of direct Premium revenues, it looks like that dropped about half the rate of direct this quarter. I mean, I know you've got Title Point in the mix now. So maybe if you can help unpack that and maybe kind of rule of thumb how to think about modeling that relative direct at least over the next couple of quarters? Speaker 300:29:59Yes, John, this is Tony. That's a valid point. Certainly, part Of that line item, you should model exactly as direct title premiums would change. That's really our escrow fees And to some extent, some other fees that go in there. But there are some other businesses, and the best probably the best spot to find those would be in our footnotes To our Qs and Ks, where you can see that broken out. Speaker 300:30:25But we have businesses like LoanCare, which is our loan subservicing business and home warranty and to your point, Title Point and a couple others, although Title Point ought to trend Fairly closely, I think, with the title business overall. But we did have some pretty strong performance from both LoanCare and Home Warranty In the Q2 and that's probably why there's a bit of a disconnect in terms of the trajectory or the change In that line item relative to direct premium. Speaker 500:31:01Okay, thanks. And then just the margin on those 2 that you Loan care and home warranty, how does that compare roughly to the kind of blended margin? Speaker 300:31:11It really depends on the performance. I mean, Home warranty can be a single digit performer at times and all the way up to in a strong quarter, maybe even 15%, But generally lower than what we would generate in the title business. And then LoanCare Is another one of those where you could have a 5% performance in a tough quarter. But when you say, Mike, it's more of a 12% To 15% performer, LoanCare? Over a longer time horizon. Speaker 300:31:45But yes, you can have periods where it can Yes, single digits. Speaker 200:31:50Yes. But we would expect it to be, I think, over a longer horizon, a 10% to 13%, 14% margin producer. Speaker 800:32:01Thanks for the color guys. Speaker 700:32:03Thanks. Operator00:32:06Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Mark Hughes with Truish Securities. Please go ahead. Speaker 700:32:23Yes. Thank you very much. Good morning. Speaker 500:32:25Good morning. Speaker 700:32:26Tony, did you give the year over year for July For commercial or in purchase, daily orders, I think you gave the sequential, but I'm sort of curious if it was the year over year as well. Speaker 200:32:44Yes, Mark, it's Mike. So we opened in the Q2 for commercial per day 7.84% and that was down 22% From the Q2 of 2022, which was 1,003. Speaker 700:33:04And then I was thinking, you gave July on a sequential basis, but if you gave it Year over year. Speaker 300:33:11Yes, July over June was up. July over July, do you have that? Speaker 200:33:15July over last year's July? Yes. Let me find it. We didn't actually give that. We gave July over this year's June. Speaker 200:33:26July over last year's June mark was down 13 Speaker 500:33:33So the Speaker 200:33:33comps get better obviously as the we had Commercial fall off in the back half of last year, as you remember. So the comps improved in July. Speaker 700:33:43Okay. Due to the residential purchase July over July? Speaker 200:33:55I do. It was down 6%. Speaker 700:34:03Okay. And then Based on what you've seen in the backlog in commercial, any commentary about revenue per order? Operator00:34:18I think Speaker 200:34:21nothing real specific. I think it probably will stay in the range that we've seen. I think our national commercial fee has been running in the $13,000 plus range. I would anticipate that to stay in that range, certainly off the highs of 22, But actually a very good number when you look at prior years to 2022. And then The total commercial fees, I think running around 9,300 or 9,500. Speaker 200:34:569,500 this Quarter. And again, I would say that 9,000 plus range, we continue to see that as we move through the back half. Speaker 700:35:07Okay, great. Thank you. Thanks. Operator00:35:12Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Geoffrey Dunn with Dowling and Partners. Please go ahead. Speaker 500:35:20Thanks. Good morning. Speaker 400:35:22Good morning. Speaker 800:35:24Tony, what is the remaining capacity dividend capacity from the regulated entities? And what is the back half expectation for capacity from the unregulated? Speaker 300:35:38From the regulated, we have been taking some dividends of non cash dividends. We had some common stock in there that we've been moving out, which was non cash. So in terms of cash, Full year is probably from the regulated is somewhere around $400,000,000 and We've already taken let me look. We've already taken about $220,000,000 of that. So Maybe 180 in the balance. Speaker 300:36:15In terms of the unregulated, that's kind of that's a good question because that would Have me predicting what we're going to do real time since that's not predetermined. That's cash and earnings that we're actually going to generate. And so That one's harder to estimate and I would have to give guidance on that front. So maybe A broad overall commentary would be landing at year end Absent share buybacks and again, I'm not suggesting that's where we are. But if we didn't do any share buybacks, I think we end the year at somewhere around $1,000,000,000 in HoldCo cash. Speaker 800:37:01Okay. And then with respect to buyback, obviously, the environment is uncertain, but it's been uncertain for a while now. Is part of the moderation in the first half having to do with these non cash dividends? You do continue to generate strong cash flow. The holding company is in great position. Speaker 800:37:20The overall company is in a good financial position. So as we think about maybe some of these non Cash dividends coming out and being replaced by cash dividend flow again next year. Is that what helps restore that along with the incremental economic Data points we get along the way? Or is it really you're holding back in this kind of higher for longer environment? Speaker 300:37:44Yes. I mean, I think it's a combination, although I don't think the non cash dividends are really impacting the buyback decision at all. Those are Really material. I just thought I would throw that out there. I think just the market overall and not knowing exactly Where we land, I mean, I think we've been pleased with the market given where rates have gone, But we didn't know that going into it. Speaker 300:38:11And so we've been fairly conservative. I think we like to preserve The financial flexibility, we do have a $500,000,000 commitment on the common dividend. And so We like to be conservative in terms of Holdco cash. But certainly, if we see the market continue to Stay strong and improve as we get into next year. You're right, we generate a lot of cash. Speaker 300:38:42And F and G is generating cash now. And I could foresee F and G even paying a bigger dividend to us. And so there could be a lot more cash as we look to next And a lot more opportunity to raise the dividend or buyback stock or make acquisitions or whatever it might be. Speaker 800:39:05Okay. So I think throughout the call today, you've mentioned wanting to be well positioned for 2024. Am I hearing you correctly that it seems like Buyback is going to be less of an emphasis even for the remainder of the year and it's really getting very firm footing going into 24 and maybe then we see an acceleration once again? Yes. All else are equal. Speaker 300:39:27Yes. I don't I think that's Certainly a possibility. I don't know if I'm going to probability yet because it's going to be a board decision and we they revisit that Every quarter and we don't preannounce that. But if I yes, if I were guessing, I would say Much more likely to be more aggressive on the buyback front in 2024 than the balance of 2023. Speaker 800:39:58All right. Thanks. Operator00:40:03Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, And this will conclude our question and answer session. I will now turn the conference back over to CEO, Mike Nolan for closing remarks. Speaker 200:40:16Thank you. We are proud of our strong performance in the first half of the year despite continued uncertainty and volatility in the Likewise, F and G's profitable growth demonstrates its strong momentum with many opportunities ahead to further expand the business, drive margin expansion and improve returns. Thanks for your time this morning. We appreciate your interest in FNF and look forward to updating you on our Q3 earnings call. Operator00:40:58Thank you for attending today's presentation and the conference call has concluded. You may now disconnect yourRead moreRemove AdsPowered by