Guild Mortgage, supported by strong results in its origination and servicing segments, returned to profitability in the fourth quarter, helping drive its full-year financials into the black.
The San Diego-based lender reported a net income of $97.9 million for the October-December period, up from a net loss of $74.6 million in the previous quarter. It reported net income of $97.1 million in 2024, a significant improvement from a
Terry Schmidt, Guild Mortgage's CEO, said 2024 was "the strongest year of growth" for the company
The positive results are partly attributed to Guild's strength in originations, bolstered by several acquisitions that expanded its workforce.
The mortgage lender originated $6.7 billion in loans during the fourth quarter, while full-year volume reached $24 billion, a 57% increase from 2023. Its gain on sale margin came in at 317 basis points on funded originations in the fourth quarter, down from 333 basis points in the third quarter, Guild's executives disclosed.
Positive financial results have once more reinforced Guild's drive to continue growing its ranks, executives at the company said.
"[So far,] we acquired the retail lending assets of six mortgage lenders, and our success in organic recruiting has been especially noteworthy," said Schmidt during the company's earnings call. "Since 2020, we have almost doubled our loan officers, which has contributed to our above industry average loan production."
"What's particularly encouraging is that despite substantial market share gains, we still represent less than 2% of the total market, indicating a significant runway for continued growth," she added. "We remain opportunistic in both recruiting and M&A opportunities."
The lender's servicing operations recovered profitability, with the segment reporting net income of $152.4 million, a turnaround from a
Year-over-year, Guild saw income from its servicing segment double, growing to $231 million, up from $100 million reported in 2023.
Schmidt noted the company is actively mining its database for origination opportunities in its servicing portfolio "to drive leads back to the retail origination business and fulfill [the] customer for life strategy."
