Title’s Big Four post mixed-bag Q2 2025 results

The smallest of the Big Four, Stewart posted strong financial results, with revenue rising from $602.2 million in Q2 2024 to $722.2 million this year. Additionally, net income rose from $17.3 million to $31.9 million. The firm’s title segment also posted strong results, with revenue up 19% annually to $592.5 million and pretax income rising 48% year-over-year to $49.3 million. These improvements were in part driven by the average domestic commercial fee per file for the quarter jumping 25% year-over-year to $16,900.

This offset a $100 annual decrease in the average domestic residential fee per file, which came in at $2,900. The company attributed this to “a higher mix of refinancing and real estate investor orders during the second quarter 2025.” The one negative was a slight increase in title loss expenses, which rose to $21.5 million from $21.2 million a year ago. However, as a percentage of title operating revenue loss, expenses were down to 3.6% from 4.2% in Q2 2024. 

First American net income jumps

First American Financial also reported a strong Q2, with total revenue rising 14% annually to $1.8 billion, and net income jumping to $195.2 million from $151.6 million a year ago. As for its title segment, First American reported that revenue rose to $1.7229 billion, up from $1.5219 billion a year ago, while pretax income for the segment also rose, jumping from $177.4 million in Q2 2024 to $216.7 million in Q2 2025. Some of this increase can be attributed to the average fee per file fro the quarter rising to $4,112. First American credited this improvement to an increase in the average revenue per order for commercial transactions, partially offset by a shift in the mix to lower premium refinance transactions.”

Fidelity’s net earnings fell

Although Fidelity National Financial also reported an increase in total revenue, which jumped from $3.158 billion in Q2 2024 to $3.635 billion Q2 2205, its net earnings fell from $306 million to $278 million, which the company attributed to higher expenses and a $12 million increase in health claims. However, the firm’s title segment still recorded a strong quarter with revenue up from $1.9 billion a year ago to $2.2 billion and pretax title segment earning came in at $367 million up from $235 million a year prior. This growth came as direct title premiums rose 12% annually to $632 million, while agency title premiums were up 7% to $839 million and commercial revenue was up 22% to $333 million. Additionally, the total fee per file was up 4% annually to $3,894.

Old Republic’s title segment posts weak results

As a whole, Old Republic also reported strong financial results in Q2 2025, with revenue rising to $2.2085 billion up from $1.8717 billion a year ago and net income more than doubling to $204.4 million. These results came despite Old Republic’s title segment reporting weaker results, including just a 5.2% increase in net premiums and fees generated ($697.8 million) and a 47.2% year-over-year decrease in pretax income, which came in at $24.4 million. The company said its title segment income was impacted by a rising loss ratio due to a lower level of favorable prior year loss reserve development than in 2024, litigation settlement expenses and higher agent commissions due to a shift in the business between direct and agency operations.

Is your business busy?

While not all of the firms reported opened order statistics, most at least provided some insight into how busy their firms were in Q2 2025. At Stewart, executives did not break give order statistics, but they noted that non-commercial domestic direct title revenue up 6% annually to $179.6 million, while the largest annual increase was the commercial domestic direct title revenue, which jumped 46% annually to $74.6 million.

CEO Fred Eppinger said he was pleased with the Q2 results, claiming that they demonstrate his firm’s “ability to significantly grow both revenue and earnings in a stubbornly challenged housing market.”

The picture is a bit clearer at First American, which reported that the number of title orders opened during the quarter rose year-over-year by nearly 10,000 orders to 179,500 orders. Additionally, refinance revenue was also up for the quarter, jumping 54% annually. However, executives noted that it is growing off of a low base and accounted for just 5% of the company’s direct revenue.

Fidelity also reported an increase in the number of orders opened, with national orders opened per day rising 11% annually in Q2 to 5,800 orders. This marked the fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit increases in national daily orders opened.

Similar to First American, refinance orders were also up, rising to 1,300 orders opened per day, up 28% year-over-year.

“Looking ahead, our title segment remains poised for a rebound in transaction volumes, and we continue to invest in the business for the long term. Over time, we see opportunities to gain efficiencies across our operations and further enhance profitability. We continue to generate strong free cash flows, enabling our dynamic capital allocation strategy,” Fidelity CEO Mike Nolan said during his firm’s Q2 2025 earnings call.

Regulatory issues take center stage

Executives at all four firms addressed some regulatory issues currently facing the title industry during their earnings calls with investors and analysts. Leaders at Stewart, First American and Fidelity addressed the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s title waiver pilot.

According to Stewart CEO, the impact of the title waiver pilot on his firm has so far been “nothing.” He added that he finds the latest announcements surrounding it as “very positive.”

“What it looks like to me is they’re refining it as an option in the model that includes a title policy, maybe cheaper, maybe with different coverages with curative, which is what we recommended at the beginning, when they went to a more tech-only option,” Eppinger said.

At First American, CEO Mark Seaton said his firm is “monitoring the pilot” and are “going to see how things go.”

“We have been in touch with Director Pulte. We’ve been in touch with his office. And we’re in communication with Fannie and Freddie, too. We responded to the RFP, not with a title waiver solution, but with a title insurance solution, and that’s not the direction they wanted to go at the time. We’ll see how things develop,” Seaton said.

Matthew Wajner, the company’s vice president and chief financial officer, added that First American is “not involved in the pilot,” but he noted that if this is the way the market decides to go, First American is prepared with its “unique assets” or its data, title plans, distribution network, and underwriting expertise.

“I think we’ve got real advantages if this is the way the market decides to go,” Wajner said.

Similarly, Fidelity executives also said they are waiting to see where it all goes.

“I had a very nice call with the Director of FHFA. He’s good to talk to, very willing to listen. And they did add Westcor as a second provider of the program with a limited title option. It’s not the waiver — it’s kind of a different product approach. I told the director that we strongly believe that the waiver is not a good idea, but we’ve always worked collaboratively with the FHFA and with the GSEs, and we want to continue to do that. So we remain engaged, but still view it as a limited scope pilot,” Nolan said.

Executives at Old Republic did not address the title waiver pilot, but they did discuss Texas’ recent move to cut title insurance costs. The rate decrease has not taken effect yet due to a court challenge, but CEO Craig Smiddy and Old Republic Title CEO and President Carolyn Monroe said they are working closely to make sure that the company has “adequate rates in every state.” 

To determine rates, other states look at prior year history. According to Monroe, this allows Old Republic, as well as state title associations, “to have a lot of input on determining” rates.

Acquisitions and efficiency front and center

Although financial results and the regulatory issues were the main topics on all four calls, executives at Stewart and Old Republic also discussed some other areas of focus.

While much of the acquisition focus in the housing industry has been trained on the mortgage and real estate sectors, Eppinger said Stewart expects acquisitions to be a “big driver” of its growth plans moving forward, noting that the company is maintaining “a warm pipeline of targets,” which is something the industry will be watching moving forward. 

At Old Republic, executives said the company is focused on “progressing with the advancement of digital transaction tools and solutions.”

Monroe said, “We remain focused on the importance of providing our agents and employees with the innovative technological solutions required to maintain a competitive edge. These include our internal systems, such as our remittance, policy issuance and rate engines to work seamlessly with all the closing and production platforms,” Monroe said. 

In addition to this, Old Republic is also exploring “numerous” AI projects aimed at efficiency and better decision making. 

“We have several pilots in place that are helping us right now with better decision-making, better efficiencies. And we have numerous in the pipeline and again, we’re building the data and analytics for that to sit on top of and then the data and analytics sits on top of modern IT technology, which is what we’re investing in,” Smiddy said.