Stewart Reverses Second-Quarter Profit Gain

The Tip Desk · October 27, 2026 · 4 min read

Net income attributable to Stewart was $30.3 million, or $0.98 a share, as title pretax income fell 23% and the company flagged industry headwinds that it anticipates will continue into next year.

Stewart Information Services Corporation (STC) reported net income attributable to Stewart of $30.3 million, or $0.98 a share, for the third quarter of 2026, down from $44.3 million, or $1.55 a share, a year earlier. That reversed the second-quarter year-over-year increase to $37.2 million, or $1.21 a share.

On an adjusted basis, net income was $41.2 million, or $1.33 a share, versus $46.7 million, or $1.64 a share, in the year-ago quarter. GAAP pretax income before noncontrolling interests was $45.6 million; adjusted pretax income was $60.3 million. Pretax margin compressed to 5.1% from 7.7% a year earlier. Adjusted pretax margin was 6.7%.

Chief executive Fred Eppinger said the company faced increased industry headwinds that it anticipates will continue into next year.

Total revenues were $900.7 million, up 13% from $796.9 million a year earlier, after a 25% year-over-year increase in the second quarter.

Title operating revenues rose 5% to $690.5 million from $659.9 million a year earlier, slowing from a 15% year-over-year increase to $683.6 million in the second quarter. Title pretax income fell 23% to $47.5 million from $62.0 million a year earlier. Adjusted title pretax income was $51.9 million versus $60.8 million. Title pretax margin was 6.7%; adjusted title pretax margin was 7.4%.

Agency title revenues increased $24.6 million, or 7%, to $384.7 million from $360.2 million a year earlier. Net of agency retention, agency title revenues increased $5.0 million, or 8%. Direct title revenues rose 2% to $305.8 million from $299.7 million. Domestic commercial revenues increased 9% to $86.4 million. International commercial revenues fell 35% to $7.3 million. Domestic non-commercial revenues were $179.8 million. International non-commercial revenues were $32.3 million.

Domestic commercial closed orders improved 18%, while the average domestic commercial fee per file decreased 8% to $16,300 from $17,700 a year earlier, primarily due to reduced data center and energy transaction size and volume, the company said. Average domestic residential fee per file was $3,200, comparable to the year-ago quarter. Total international revenues decreased $4.2 million, or 10%, primarily due to a large commercial transaction that closed in the prior year quarter.

Title investment income decreased 8% to $13.7 million from $14.8 million a year earlier, primarily due to lower interest income from reduced eligible escrow balances. Title loss expense increased 20% to $23.5 million from $19.5 million; the title loss ratio remained comparable to the prior-year quarter. Combined employee costs and other operating expenses in the title segment increased $16.5 million, or 6%, and were approximately 44% of title operating revenues, comparable to the year-ago quarter.

Real estate solutions revenues increased 68% to $196.5 million from $116.6 million a year earlier, primarily from the recent MCS acquisition and higher revenues from credit information and valuation services. Pretax income rose 41% to $10.3 million from $7.3 million. Adjusted pretax income was $20.6 million versus $13.2 million. Pretax margin was 5.2%; adjusted pretax margin was 10.5%. Combined employee costs and other operating expenses in the segment increased $72.7 million, or 71%.

Consolidated employee costs increased 9% to $230.9 million from $211.2 million on a 12% higher average employee count. As a percentage of total operating revenues, employee costs improved to 26.0% from 27.2%. Consolidated other operating expenses increased 38% to $254.7 million from $185.2 million and rose to 28.7% of total operating revenues from 23.8%, primarily due to higher costs of services from real estate solutions. Corporate expenses increased to $12.2 million from $9.5 million, primarily due to higher interest expense on increased debt balances.

Net cash provided by operations was $46.6 million versus $92.6 million a year earlier, primarily due to lower net income and the timing of payments related to operating liabilities. Cash and cash equivalents were $152.3 million at September 30, 2026. Notes payable were $654.9 million.

Eppinger said the company remains focused on growing market share across its businesses while maintaining disciplined operational execution in a challenging market environment.