Service Corporation International (SCI) reported their 1st Quarter 2025 financial results last week and in doing so showed an overall revenue increase of 2.8% in year over year results.  Total Revenue for the quarter was $ 1.074.2 billion as compared to the 1st Quarter of 2024 which came in at $ 1.045.4 billion.

Those revenue numbers led to an overall improvement in Operating Income of about $ 19 million for the quarter.  The operating income margin also improved to 23.4% from the 1Q2024 mark of 22.2%.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

In my opinion, what was really strong for the company was the performance of the funeral side of the business.  In what SCI terms “Comparable Funeral Results” — a term for a comparison of the funeral side of businesses that were operating in both comparable quarters — revenues increased a total of 3.9%.  The actual numbers were revenue of $ 625.9 million in 1Q25 as compared to revenues of $ 602.6 million in 1Q24.  (Comparable results don’t include revenue from new acquisitions or disposed of properties)

And, it was a “double-barrel” increase as both the number of services performed increased as did the revenue per service.  SCI reported that the number of services performed in 1Q25 was 95,624 as compared to the number in 1Q24 of 93,967 — a 1.8% increase.

They also reported that the revenue per service grew 2.3% from $ 5,613 per service in 1Q24 to $ 5,743 per service in 1Q25 — that’s an increase of 2.3%

Tom Ryan
SCI CEO

Here’s what SCI CEO Thomas Ryan said in a prepared statement from the 1Q2024 Earnings press release which you can access here, “This was driven by strong performance in our funeral segment with year over year increases in the number of services performed and average revenue per funeral . . . .  . Additionally, effective cost management drove solid gross profit performance and margin expansion.” 

On the flip side of that report, the “Comparable Cemetery” results were not as impressive.  Revenue, gross profit, and gross profit margin all declined from what was reported one year ago in 1Q2024.  The numbers for those categories in 1Q2025 were reported as such:

• Comparable Cemetery Revenue :  $ 432.9 million (Compared to $440.7 million in 1Q2024)
• Comparable Cemetery Gross Profit:  $ 136.8 million (Compared to $142.6 million in 1Q2024)
• Comparable Cemetery Gross Profit Margin:  31.6% (Compared to 32.4% in 1Q2024)

Here’s what CEO Ryan said in a prepared statement that was aimed at the cemetery segment, “In the cemetery segment, we are continuing to focus on production, which will benefit us in future periods, as undeveloped property sold is constructed.”

It should also be noted that Preneed production mostly slipped in 1Q2025 also.  However, it should be pointed out that the preneed sales staff is in the process of moving from a trust based system where some revenue is counted upon early delivery to an insurance based product, with their new alliance with Global Atlantic Insurance, where most of the revenue will not be counted until delivery at need.

I think it will be very difficult to comprehend how the actual preneed numbers are for SCI until they have at least one full year of comparables in the insurance-based operating model under their belts.  At this point they are, in my opinion, in a transitionary process.

On preneed however, SCI did report average preneed contracts moving up 1.1% in dollar volume.  One might wonder, however, if that actually portends a trend of less services being purchased in the future because 1.1% is certainly not keeping up with inflation.

Finally, in CEO Ryan’s opening statement he did mention acquisitions.  Here’s what he said on that subject, “. . . our robust cash flow has allowed us to continue investment toward our extensive pipeline of acquisitions while also providing us the flexibility to be opportunistic with stock repurchases.”

Disclaimer — The author of this article for Funeral Director Daily is a shareholder of Service Corporation International.

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Joe Weigel
Guest Columnist

Yesterday Funeral Director Daily published an article on “Getting heard in the Information Age“.  That article dealt with the idea that in a new world of Death Care consumers taking different actions on marketing might be a wise thing to think about.  Today, I’m skiing down the “other side of the mountain” and featuring an article written by a veteran funeral home marketer that reminds you not to forget about older “tried and true” marketing efforts as well.

I’m posting a recent article by Joe Weigel of Weigel Strategic Marketing, with his permission, that reminds us that “trusted ways of reaching the consumer can still work” also.

From my point of view it is good advice.  I’ve always been one to do things in moderation —  and how you market your Death Care business might be one area where you don’t want to go “full speed ahead” in one direction or one advertising medium.  Weigel makes a good point about the fact that “Trusted Tools” may continue to work for you.

Don’t Toss Your Trusted Tools

By Joe Weigel, Weigel Strategic Marketing

It’s that time of year when I find myself drawn to the big box home improvement stores to wander down the lawn and garden section looking for the latest gadget.   You see, I am what’s termed a “gentleman gardener” and I love to putter around the yard doing whatever to “improve” the landscaping.

Of course, when I bring that shiny new toy — er, tool — home, I don’t toss all my older tools in the trash. While that new dual-powered blower vacuum may be great for cleaning flower beds, there are many times when the trusty leaf rake I‘ve had for years is the perfect choice for the job.

That’s why I’m puzzled when I see how some funeral companies and funeral homes react to new marketing opportunities and channels. Presented with a shiny new toy — er, tool — they’re quick to devote most of their resources to it and to discard the time-honored tactics they’ve been using.

Even in these days of YouTube and Facebook, what many funeral home owners and managers see as old-fashioned strategies and tactics still work quite well.  As your competitors make those moves to abandon or dramatically reduce their presence in those other channels, sticking with “traditional” tactics may be even more powerful.

The key is to look at each new tool as an enhancement to your toolbox, not as a replacement for something you’ve already been using. That Facebook fan page may be a great way to connect with families on an informal basis, but you may still need a presence in the local newspaper that reaches the community at large. A posting may create a buzz that drives people to your website in a single week, but the majority of your calls still happen because of traditional media like newspaper and radio as well as word of mouth.

By adding those new tools, you broaden your reach and may connect with the same audiences in more ways. That’s a lesson that bankers have learned. Way back when ATMs first emerged on the scene, many bankers saw them as a way to reduce the number of tellers. However, they discovered that customers who used ATMs still liked to come to teller windows at times. The same is true for online banking and the ability to check transactions with smartphones. The smart bankers in the crowd recognize that customers appreciate those multiple avenues of contact, and that very few customers limit themselves to just one.

“All-or-nothing” approaches rarely work well in marketing. Instead, the most successful marketers employ multiple channels to present their messages, tailoring their messages and tactics to the nature of each channel, and connecting them effectively. By weaving those channels together, they allow each contact to lead to others, and ensure that every touch point supports the message and overall objectives.

Don’t make the mistake of discarding strategies that performed five, ten, or twenty years ago as obsolete or useless. Instead, consider them as familiar tools that have a place in your marketing efforts. After all, there’s a big difference between making a one-time splash and delivering successful long-term performance.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take:  Good advice from a veteran Death Care marketer!!!

An interesting personal observation about the banks and ATM’s Weigel mentions hit home with me.  One thing I learned during my days on a Norwest/Wells Fargo Regional Board was that the “lowest cost” business practice sometimes had big disadvantages.

I served on this board in the 1990’s and banks were just starting to learn and use internet banking.  From my recollection, at Wells Fargo we had an internal itemized cost of a customer seeing a teller of about $1 per transaction, that was lowered to about 15 cents when a customer went to an ATM, and to less than pennies when they did an internet transaction.

So, you would think that we would want all customers to do internet transactions and lower our cost of doing business.  That sounded great until we realized that we were missing out on Certificate of Deposits, mortgages, investment accounts, and the like that our tellers had the opportunity to inform customers about when they went to the (higher cost transaction) teller line.  In Weigel’s vernacular, the teller line was a “familiar tool that worked”.

Just a reminder that “One size generally does not fit all”.

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“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”