Rocket Companies Q1 Earnings Takeaways: Revenue And EPS Fall, Refinances And Cash-Out Mortgages See Strength

Rocket Companies Inc RKT reported first-quarter financial results after market close Tuesday. Here are the key highlights.

What Happened: Rocket Companies reported revenue of adjusted revenue of $1.9 billion in the first quarter, compared to revenue of $4.04 billion in the same quarter of the previous year.

The company reported earnings per share of 15 cents per share versus earnings of 91 cents per share in the comparable quarter last year.

Mortgage closed loan originations totaled $54 billion in the first quarter, down from $103.53 billion in the previous year’s first quarter.

"Rocket delivered a solid performance in the first quarter and achieved our best Q1 volume in purchase and cash out refinances, even as rates rose rapidly,” Rocket Companies CEO Jay Farner said.

Purchase volume was up 43% year-over-year in the first quarter for cash-out refinance closed loans.

• The company’s Rocket Auto segment had gross merchandise value of $445 million in the quarter, up 24% year-over-year.
• Personal finance app Truebill, which Rocket acquired in December, grew its membership base to 3.4 million people, up 142% year-over-year.
• Rocket Solar operated in 27 markets in 9 states and plans to have a full public launch in June 2022.

Related Link: Rocket Companies Q4 Earnings Highlights: Revenue Miss, Record Originations, Special Dividend And More 

What Next: Rocket Companies is guiding for second-quarter closed loan volume to come in a range of $35 billion to $40 billion. The company sees net rate lock volume coming in a range of $31 billion to $38 billion for the second quarter.

“Now, as we move further into the year, we will successfully navigate the mortgage and real estate headwinds by protecting our margin and profitability while continuing to invest in strategic areas,” Farner said.

Rocket also reported it repurchased 25.3 million shares at an average price of $14.16 after the first quarter ended.

RKT Price Action: Rocket shares are down 3% to $7.57 in after-hours trading. Shares hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday and ended the regular trading session down 7% to $7.80.