LoanDepot's Origination Volume Falls After a Second-Quarter Rebound

The Tip Desk · November 9, 2026 · 3 min read

The lender booked a $29 million net loss as pull-through weighted gain on sale margin reached 399 basis points.

loanDepot, Inc. (LDI), the Irvine-based mortgage lender, reported a net loss of $29 million for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026, compared with a $7 million net loss in the second quarter, as origination volume reversed a prior sequential gain.

Loan origination volume declined 12% to $7.05 billion from the second quarter, after a 4% sequential increase to $7.99 billion in the prior period. Total revenue decreased 9% to $307 million and adjusted revenue decreased 2% to $302 million, which the company said was primarily due to lower origination income from reduced mortgage volumes. Diluted loss was $0.08 a share.

Unit volume increased 7% from the second quarter, after a 25% unit-volume increase in the second quarter, as home equity lending continued to expand. Pull-through weighted gain on sale margin increased 54 basis points to 399 basis points, after a 74 basis-point increase to 345 basis points in the second quarter, on a deliberate shift toward higher-margin home equity loans. Gain on sale margin was 3.18%.

Pull-through weighted lock volume was $5.6 billion, a 15% decrease from $6.63 billion, which the company attributed to a mix shift toward HELOC production that does not carry an associated interest rate lock. Purchase volume totaled 61% of loans originated, up from 57% in the second quarter. The preliminary organic refinance consumer direct recapture rate decreased to 52% from 68%.

Founder and Chief Executive Officer Anthony Hsieh said third-quarter results were impacted by market conditions that became increasingly difficult compared with earlier in the year. Compared with the third quarter of 2025, he said the company increased origination volume by 8%, grew unit volume by 33%, increased purchase volume by 10%, improved return on marketing by 14%, and reduced cost to produce by 16%. Hsieh said loanDepot ranked among the top three non-bank home equity lenders in the third quarter based on volume, and that purchase mortgage market share rose 9% from a year earlier.

Adjusted net loss was $31 million, compared with $29 million in the prior quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was $17 million, compared with $20 million. Expenses decreased by a greater amount than adjusted revenue, which the company said reflected investment in productivity initiatives and a more efficient product mix. Non-volume related expenses decreased $10.4 million from the second quarter, primarily on lower servicing expense and other interest expense. The impact of previously announced productivity initiatives increased from $12 million to $25 million of annualized cost savings expected through the remainder of 2026.

Chief Financial Officer David Hayes said the company completed the sale of approximately $10 billion of Agency mortgage servicing rights during the quarter and, in October, sold an additional $9 billion of Government MSRs. Combined with the repurchase of $87 million of senior notes at an average purchase price of 88% of par, those transactions contributed to a reduction in net debt obligations of about $114 million. Hayes said the company is pursuing several financing alternatives to refinance or extend debt, with a focus on extending the maturity profile.

For the fourth quarter of 2026, loanDepot expects pull-through weighted rate lock volume of $3.25 billion to $5.25 billion, origination volume of $4.5 billion to $6.5 billion, pull-through weighted gain on sale margin of 425 to 465 basis points, and gain on sale margin of 315 to 355 basis points.