Fidelity National Financial (FNF) delivered a strong earnings report in the fourth quarter of 2024, increasing its companywide net earnings for the full year and showing positive Q4 results for its title insurance segment.
FNF’s adjusted net earnings were $366 million in the fourth quarter, compared to $204 million in Q4 2023. For the full year, adjusted net earnings reached $1.3 billion, up from $962 million in 2023.
The company’s title segment recorded $263 million in adjusted net earnings during the fourth quarter, an increase from $174 million during the same period in 2023. For the full year, adjusted net earnings rose to $877 million, compared to $760 million in 2023.
Total revenue for the title segment reached $2 billion in the fourth quarter and $7.7 billion for the year, reflecting increases of 23% and 9%, respectively.
“The National Association of Realtors recently reported that home sales in 2024 were at the lowest level since 1995 due to high mortgage rates and a housing shortage,” FNF CEO Mike Nolan said during the company’s earnings call on Friday. “They also noted that there are 70 million more people in the U. S. population now (compared to 30 years ago). This supports our view of the pent-up demand and basic need for housing that is expected to unleash growth in existing-home sales over time.
“That is why we remain bullish on the long-term prospects for the title insurance business and continue to invest in our company. I am proud of all that we have done to achieve our industry-leading performance through reducing costs and improving the efficiency of our title search and exam process, while preserving the coverage and value of our insurance product.”
Additional title segment highlights for Q4 2024 included:
- Direct title premiums of $625 million, a 28% YoY increase
- Agency title premiums of $787 million, a 27% YoY increase
- Commercial revenue of $376 million, a 28% YoY increase
- Purchase orders opened increased 6% on a daily basis and orders closed increased 9% compared to Q4 2023
- Refinance orders opened increased 46% on a daily basis and orders closed increased 61% compared to Q4 2023
- Commercial orders opened increased 9% orders closed increased 10% from Q4 2023
- Total fee per file was $3,909, a 3% YoY increase
FNF ended 2024 with $786 million in cash and short-term liquid investments at the holding company. The company also paid $0.50 per share in dividends during the fourth quarter, totaling $141 million.
“It was just a great quarter, and we had strong revenue and margin performance across all of our business lines,” Nolan said. “Direct, agency and commercial all had a great quarter from our subservicing business. They actually had a record year for pretax in 2024 as well. So, it was just great to see the business kind of humming on all cylinders.”
