Fidelity National Blows Out Estimates (FNF)

Fidelity National Financial, Inc. FNF reports Q2 EPS $0.61 vs consensus of $0.35. Fidelity National Financial, Inc. reports Q2 revenue $1.5 billion vs consensus of $1.39 billion. While that was a huge beat, it is interesting to note that revenues fell 3.8% year over year. We experienced success in a number of areas during the second quarter," said Chairman William P. Foley, II. "In our title business, we generated a robust pre-tax margin of 9.6%, despite a 31% decline in closed orders versus the second quarter of 2009. Resale transactions were 54% of closed orders during the second quarter versus 34% in last year's second quarter, with this mix shift primarily causing a 28% increase in fee per file over the second quarter of 2009.” He also noted, “As the quarter progressed, the open order mix shifted back to more refinance driven transactions. During June, we began to see the effect of lower mortgage rates, as open orders per day increased 6% sequentially over May and refinance orders represented 58% of open order activity during that final month of the quarter. Open orders continued to show strength in the first half of July, with open orders per day increasing more than 18% sequentially from June, again driven by higher refinance volumes. Lower mortgage rates and increased order activity will provide momentum as we move into the third quarter." Shares of FNF were flat in the after-hours trade. Fidelity National Financial, Inc. is a holding company that is a provider, through its subsidiaries, of title insurance, specialty insurance, claims management services and information services.