Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC) Q1 2024 Earnings Conference Call April 25, 2024 8:30 AM ET

Company Participants

Kathryn Bass - Director of Investor Relations
Frederick Eppinger - Chief Executive Officer
David Hisey - Chief Financial Officer

Conference Call Participants

Bose George - KBW
John Campbell - Stephens Inc.
Geoffrey Dunn - Dowling Partners

Operator

Hello and thank you for joining the Stewart Information Services First Quarter 2024 Earnings Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later, you will have an opportunity to ask questions during the question-and-answer session and instructions will be given at that time. Please note today's call is being recorded. [Operator Instructions]

It is now my pleasure to turn today's conference over to Kath Bass, Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Kathryn Bass

Thank you for joining us today for Stewart's first quarter 2024 earnings conference call. We will be discussing results that were released yesterday after the close. Joining me today are CEO, Fred Eppinger; and CFO, David Hisey. To listen online, please go to the stewart.com website to access the link for this conference call.

This conference call may contain forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Please refer to the company's press release and other filings with the SEC for a discussion of the risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially.

During our call, we will discuss some non-GAAP measures. For a reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures, please refer to the appendix in today's earnings release, which is available on our website at stewart.com.

Let me now turn the call over to Fred.

Frederick Eppinger

Thanks, Kath, and thank you for joining us today for Stewart's first quarter 2024 earnings conference call. Yesterday, we released financial results for the quarter, which David will review with you.

Before doing so, I'd like to share our thoughts on the current housing environment. I'll also provide updates on our core business lines and continued -- and our continued progress on important initiatives that we believe will set Stewart up for long-term success.

As I've noted previously, the housing market is bouncing along the bottom. From a macro perspective, this quarter was a continuation of what we have seen in the past several quarters. Mortgage rates remain elevated, hovering just below 7% during the quarter, which has prolonged the low transaction volumes our industry is facing. The combination of these factors, along with low sales inventory, yields an overall weak housing market.