These results came as the number of title orders opened during the quarter rose from 166,100 a year ago to 191,300 during Q3 2025. However, the average revenue per direct title order dropped 3% year-over-year to $3,801, which can be attributed to a shift in the mix from higher premium commercial transactions to lower premium refinance and default transactions. In total, the firm said revenue from refinance orders was up 28% annually.
“Although we’ve seen an uptick in volumes, the refinance market remains at historically low levels,” First American CEO Mark Seaton said during his firm’s Q3 2025 earnings call. “We’re at the early stages of the next real estate cycle, and our industry-leading investments in data, technology and AI position us to outperform as the market strengthens. By modernizing our platforms and integrating AI across our operations, we expect to drive significant productivity gains, reduce risk and unlock new revenue opportunities, further extending First American’s leadership in the industry.”
Stewart post strong gains
Like First American, Stewart’s title insurance segment also posted strong gains in Q3 2025. Overall, the company recorded $796.9 million in revenue, up from $667.9 million a year ago. This helped fuel an increase in net income, which rose from $30.1 million in Q3 2024 to $44.3 million in Q3 2025.
Stewart’s title segment posted a 19% annual increase in revenue, which jumped to $659.9 million, while the segment’s pre-tax income rose 38% annually to $62.0 million. This growth came as the total number of title orders opened domestically fell slightly to 87,403 for the quarter, compared to 87,464 a year ago.
This is primarily due to a decrease in the number of “other” title orders opened during the quarter, which fell from 13,421 in Q3 2024 to 9,823 orders in Q3 2025. The number of refinance orders opened posted the largest gain, rising by nearly 1,500 orders year-over-year to 22,399 orders.
The decrease in the number of orders opened was partially offset by a 6% year-over-year increase in the average domestic residential fee per file, which came in at $3,200.
“I am more confident in the market’s ability to improve over the next 12 months this year than I was last year at this time. The housing market continues to become a bit friendlier for buyers as inventory has been growing,” Fred Eppinger, the firm’s CEO, said on Stewart’s their-quarter 2025 earnings call. “Looking ahead, we believe the housing market will continue to gradually improve over the coming year, and 2026 will be the beginning of a transition back towards a more normal existing home sales environment, which we characterize as 5 million existing homes sold.”
Fidelity sees growth
Fidelity also recorded strong results in Q3 2025, reporting total revenue of $4.03 billion, up from $3.603 billion a year ago, and net earnings of $358 million, again up from $266 million in Q3 2024.
While Fidelity’s title segment also posted growth during Q3 2025, it did not post the same level of improvement as Stewart and First American. During Q3 2025, Fidelity’s title segment saw an 8% year increase in revenue to $2.3 billion. However, the segment’s pre-tax earnings fell year-over-year to $359 million compared to $372 million a year ago. This decrease comes even as the number of purchase orders opened on a daily basis during the quarter was up 1%, and the refinance orders opened on a daily basis increased 15% annually. Additionally, CEO Mike Nolan noted on his firm’s earnings call that the daily number of purchase orders opened in September was higher than in August.
“This is atypical and due to the modest downward trend in mortgage rates during the quarter, which we believe is indicative of the pent-up demand for housing,” Nolan said. “Refinance volumes have been responsive as 30-year mortgage rates decreased by 30 basis points during the third quarter. This generated an increase in refinance orders opened to 1,600 per day in the third quarter, up from 1,300 in the sequential quarter.”
Nolan also highlighted Fidelity’s digital transaction platform inHere and noted that the company is working on enhancing its identity verification process.
“These initiatives help combat the rise in impersonation and wire fraud in property sales, and they complement our existing efforts to deliver the most trusted, efficient and fully digital closing experience nationwide,” Nolan said.
Other areas where Fidelity is applying more technology is through AI tools designed to improve productivity and margin efficiency.
“With thousands of employees now actively engaging with AI through structured training, pilot programs, and targeted departmental adoption, we are building a sustainable AI fluency across our organization,” Nolan said. “Over time, we believe that our ongoing investments in technology, combined with our robust curated data, will lead to increased efficiency and productivity in our operations that will continue to support our market-leading pre-tax title margin.”
Old Republic net income falls
Although Old Republic reported an 8.1% annual increase in total revenue, which came in at $2.086, the firm’s overall net income fell to $279.5 million, from $338.9 million a year ago. The dip in net income came as operating expenses rose 8.2% annually to $2.071 billion.
The firm’s title insurance operation earned $767.0 million in net premiums and fees up 8.3% annually, and title insurance underwriting income rose 16.7% from a year ago to $27.8 million. The title insurance segment’s pretax net income also rose, jumping 13.7% annually to $45.7 million.
“The third quarter market story is a continuation of what we reported last quarter. We still see strong activity in the commercial sector, a modest uptick in refinance activity, and a softness in the residential purchase market driven by persistent price and affordability challenges,” Carolyn Monroe, the president of Old Republic National Title Holding Company, said during the firm’s third-quarter earnings call.
Like Fidelity, Monroe said her firm is also focused on technological advancements.
“During the quarter, we continued progressing with the advancement of digital transactions tools and solutions for our direct operations and title agents through our strategic partnership,” Monroe said. “We remain focused on the importance of providing our agents with the innovative technological solutions required to maintain a competitive edge.”