Carriage Services’ second quarter drew a positive market response, as management pointed to operational improvements and renewed M&A activity as key drivers. President Carlos Quezada credited disciplined capital deployment and process upgrades for helping offset flat year-on-year sales. The company’s funeral segment saw a modest uptick in volume, and strategic pricing reviews boosted average revenue per contract. Cemetery revenue lagged due to delayed construction projects, but management signaled confidence in a catch-up during the second half. Notably, overhead expenses fell sharply, supporting robust operating margins despite inflationary pressures and margin compression.
Is now the time to buy CSV? Find out in our full research report (it’s free).
Carriage Services (CSV) Q2 CY2025 Highlights:
- Revenue: $102.1 million vs analyst estimates of $101.4 million (flat year on year, 0.8% beat)
- Adjusted EPS: $0.74 vs analyst estimates of $0.73 (1.8% beat)
- Adjusted EBITDA: $32.26 million vs analyst estimates of $31.49 million (31.6% margin, 2.5% beat)
- The company lifted its revenue guidance for the full year to $415 million at the midpoint from $405 million, a 2.5% increase
- Management raised its full-year Adjusted EPS guidance to $3.25 at the midpoint, a 1.6% increase
- EBITDA guidance for the full year is $131.5 million at the midpoint, in line with analyst expectations
- Operating Margin: 23.5%, up from 18% in the same quarter last year
- Market Capitalization: $758.1 million
While we enjoy listening to the management's commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls are the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention.
Our Top 5 Analyst Questions From Carriage Services’s Q2 Earnings Call
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Alexander Peter Paris (Barrington Research): asked about the structure and pricing of pending acquisitions. President Steve Metzger replied that the deals involve multiple businesses and are priced in line with the company’s high-single-digit EBITDA multiple philosophy, with more details to be shared post-close.
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Alexander Peter Paris (Barrington Research): inquired about the pace and focus of divestitures. Metzger confirmed that divestitures would tail off as the company pivots toward acquisitions, emphasizing that only assets with poor demographic trends are targeted for sale.
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George Arthur Kelly (ROTH Capital Partners): requested a breakdown of increased revenue guidance between organic growth, acquisitions, and divestitures. CFO John Enwright explained about half is from acquisitions, with the remainder from core business improvement and minimal offset from asset sales.
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George Arthur Kelly (ROTH Capital Partners): asked about plans to restore cemetery growth to double digits. CEO Carlos Quezada cited the resolution of inventory delays as the key factor and expects higher-end sales to resume in the second half as new product becomes available.
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Scott Andrew Schneeberger (Oppenheimer): probed the sustainability of average revenue per funeral contract growth. Quezada attributed gains to strategic pricing reviews, an educational cremation strategy, and the rollout of the new urn product line, all aimed at margin and contract value expansion.
Catalysts in Upcoming Quarters
In the coming quarters, StockStory analysts will be tracking (1) the integration and performance of newly acquired funeral and cemetery locations, (2) the impact of completed cemetery inventory projects on sales mix and growth, and (3) Carriage Services’ ability to maintain overhead discipline as revenue scales. Additional attention will be paid to updates on the premium portfolio strategy and any further M&A activity.
Carriage Services currently trades at $48.29, up from $46.25 just before the earnings. At this price, is it a buy or sell? The answer lies in our full research report (it’s free).
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