4Q title orders rise at 3 major underwriters

February 26, 2026 11:06 AM

The fourth quarter earnings were a mixed bag among the publicly traded companies, especially at the nation's No. 1 underwriter.

Lower rates did not translate to increased open orders during the period, as normal seasonal patterns on quarter-to-quarter volume applied.

But three of the big four did have higher year-over-year activity.

While the title segment performed well for Fidelity National Financial, the company still reported a net loss for the fourth quarter, affected by such things like the impact of the stock distribution in its F&G subsidiary.

"If interest rates trend lower, purchase mortgage volumes could increase and lead to positive estimate revisions, and we view title insurers as the best way in our coverage universe to gain exposure to an improvement in purchase volumes," Keefe Bruyette & Woods analyst Bose George wrote in notes on both FNF and First American, and expressed a similar sentiment in comments on Stewart.

The following is a roundup of fourth quarter results at the five publicly traded title underwriters, including the four major players in the industry.

Fidelity's fourth quarter net loss

FNF's Title Segment contributed $306 million and $1.1 billion for the fourth quarter and full year, respectively to the company's adjusted net income, a non-GAAP metric. This compared with $263 million and $877 million for the same periods one year prior.

Still, under accepted accounting standards, FNF posted a net loss attributed to shareholders of $117 million, compared with net earnings of $450 million.

It made $602 million for all of 2025, less than half of the $1.3 billion of profits in 2024.

This quarter's results include a $471 million non-cash charge to recognize the deferred tax liability upon the special stock distribution of F&G shares.

Refinancings made up 35% of the quarter's open orders. FNF had 332,000 open orders in the fourth quarter, versus 370,000 in the third quarter and 299,000 for the fourth quarter of 2024.

The first quarter started well for FNF, starting the year with a more optimistic outlook than it did for 2025, said CEO Mike Nolan on the earnings call.

"For the month of January, our daily purchase orders opened were up 1% versus the prior year and up 31% versus December," Nolan said. At the same time refinance orders opened totaled 1,700 per day in the fourth quarter, up from 1,600 in the sequential quarter.

"Our refinance orders opened per day were up 38% over the fourth quarter of 2024, up 75% for the month of January versus the prior year and up 28% for the month of January versus December," Nolan said.

Strong increase in net income at First American

Meanwhile, net income for the fourth quarter at First American Financial was substantially improved over the prior year.

It made $211.9 million for the last three months of 2025, versus $72.4 million one year prior.

Full year net income of $621.8 million topped $131.4 million for 2024.

Total open orders of 167,400 for the fourth quarter. This compared with 191,300 during the third quarter and 147,100 one year prior.

"Open purchase orders were down 7% in the fourth quarter, implying continued weakness in purchase revenue in the first quarter," Mark Seaton, its CEO, said on the earnings call.

He was cautious about business going forward.

"January open orders were essentially flat with growth expected to emerge later in the year," Seaton said. "Refinance activity is hard to predict, but refinance open orders were up 72% in January, a good sign for a seasonally weak first quarter."

Stewart back in the market for acquisitions

Stewart Information Services reported net income of $36.3 million for the fourth quarter, up from $22.7 million one year prior. This quarter's results included $3.8 million of pretax net realized and unrealized losses, primarily recorded in the title segment.

Full year net income was $115.5 million, versus $73.3 million for 2024.

Open orders of 73,527 compared with 87,403 in the third quarter and 69,339 for the fourth quarter of 2024.

On the earnings call, CEO Fred Eppinger commented that Stewart's growth in 2025 was organic, but this is shifting as the company is back looking for "targeted acquisitions."

This included upsizing its credit line to $300 million and raising $140 million to create "additional dry powder" for an acquisition, he said.

Stewart grew revenue 20% and adjusted net income by 52% year-over-year. "This growth is meaningful for us given the existing home sales grew in the quarter just under 1% in the same time frame," Eppinger said. "While existing home sales purchases improved very slightly in the quarter, we see signs for cautious optimism for housing in 2026."

Fourth quarter strong results-wise, Old Republic said

The fourth quarter was Old Republic International's title insurance business strongest of the year, the unit's management said.

This was "a continuation of the market story that we have been reporting all year," Carolyn Monroe, president of Old Republic National Title, said on the parent company's earnings call. "Seeing strong activity in the commercial sector and softness in the residential market, driven by persistent price and some affordability challenges."

Segment pretax income of $65.5 million was 18% higher than $55.4 million one year prior. Full year, the title business had pretax income of $139.9 million, down from $144.1 million for 2024.

On a year-over-year basis, Old Republic had fewer orders opened in the fourth quarter, 41,114 in 2025 versus 46,585. In the third quarter, it did 45,646 open orders. Across the full year, it did 186,031 in open orders, compared with 206,756 in 2024.

Net premium decline leads to lower profits at Investors

Investors Title, the smallest of the publicly traded underwriters, reported net income of $7.5 million for the fourth quarter, down from $8.4 million for the prior year period.

This is a result of a 1.6% decline in revenue, as net premiums written fell by $2.4 million, which Investor's attributed to market-driven factors which favorably impacted the prior year accrual for unreported premiums.

"We are pleased to report strong results for 2025, with the highest level of profits since 2021," J. Allen Fine, Investors' chairman, said in a press release.

"Title insurance volumes increased in most of our key markets over the prior year, with a slight improvement in mortgage rates providing modest increases in refinance activity," Fine continued. "Additionally, revenues benefitted from ongoing efforts to expand our presence and grow market share."

Full year net income of $35.2 million was up from $31.1 million for 2024.

"During the year, we continued to make investments to strengthen our long-term operational efficiency, while controlling total expenses by managing personnel and office expenses," Fine said. "Beyond their impact on 2025 results, we believe these investments will enhance profitability in years to come."