Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) Q4 2022 Earnings Conference Call February 21, 2023 8:30 AM ET

Company Participants

Kelsey Duffey - Senior Vice President of Investor Relations

Willy Walker - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Greg Florkowski - Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Conference Call Participants

Jade Rahmani - KBW

Jay McCanless - Wedbush Securities

Kelsey Duffey

Good morning, I’m Kelsey Duffey, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations at Walker & Dunlop, and I would like to welcome you to Walker & Dunlop’s Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2022 Earnings Conference Call and Webcast.

Hosting the call today is Willy Walker, Walker & Dunlop Chairman and CEO. He is joined by Greg Florkowski, Executive Vice President & CFO. Today’s webcast is being recorded, and a replay will be available via webcast on the Investor Relations section of our website.

This morning, we posted our earnings release and presentation to the Investor Relations section of our website, www.walkerdunlop.com. These slides serve as a reference point for some of what Willy and Greg will touch on during the call.

Please also note that we will reference the non-GAAP financial metrics, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted core EPS, during the course of this call. Please refer to the appendix of the earnings presentation for a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial metrics. Investors are urged to carefully read the forward-looking statements language in our earnings release. Statements made on this call which are not historical facts may be deemed forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Forward-looking statements describe our current expectations, and actual results may differ materially. Walker & Dunlop is under no obligation to update or alter our forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise and we expressly disclaim any obligation to do so. More detailed information about risk factors can be found in our annual and quarterly reports filed with the SEC.

I will now turn the call over to Willy.

Willy Walker

Thank you, Kelsey, and good morning, everyone. 2022 was a challenging year for the debt markets, commercial real estate industry, and Walker & Dunlop. Since going public in 2010, we have generated outstanding shareholder returns of over 800%. Yet in 2022, not only was our stock price down precipitously, but we did not achieve our annual financial targets. While the Federal Reserve raising interest rates by 425 basis points, is the direct reason for the commercial real estate financing and sales markets falling apart. We take full accountability for our 2022 performance.