RKT Rocket Companies Inc

• Generated Q1'24 total revenue, net of $1.4 billion and adjusted revenue of $1.2 billion. Adjusted revenue exceeded the high end of guidance range, and year-over-year growth accelerated for the third quarter in a row
• Reported Q1'24 GAAP net income of $291 million, or $0.11 per GAAP diluted earnings per share and adjusted net income of $84 million, or $0.04 per adjusted diluted earnings per share
• Delivered Q1'24 adjusted EBITDA of $174 million, the highest adjusted EBITDA in two years

DETROIT, May 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Rocket Companies, Inc. (NYSE: RKT) ("Rocket Companies" or the "Company"), the Detroit-based fintech platform company including mortgage, real estate and personal finance businesses,  today announced results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024.

"Rocket entered 2024 with strong momentum. I'm incredibly proud of our team's performance in Q1, as we accelerated top-line growth for the third straight quarter and achieved our highest profitability in two years. Once again, we expanded both our purchase and refinance market share, through a combination of innovation, technology, process enhancements and strong execution," said Varun Krishna, CEO and Director of Rocket Companies. "In spite of rapidly changing market conditions, we see tremendous opportunity ahead to serve our clients. The homeownership space is vast, fragmented and ripe for modernization. Rocket is uniquely poised to leverage AI and drive transformative experiences in service of our mission to help everyone home."

First Quarter 2024 Financial Highlights

• Generated total revenue, net of $1.4 billion and GAAP net income of $291 million, or 11 cents per diluted share. Generated total adjusted revenue of $1.2 billion and adjusted net income of $84 million, or adjusted earnings of 4 cents per diluted share.
• Rocket Mortgage generated $20.2 billion in closed loan origination volume, a 19% increase over the same period the prior year.
• Gain on sale margin was 3.11%, a 72 bps increase over the same period the prior year.
• Total liquidity was approximately $8.9 billion, as of March 31, 2024, which includes $0.9 billion of cash on the balance sheet, and $2.6 billion of corporate cash used to self-fund loan originations, $3.4 billion of undrawn lines of credit, and $2.0 billion of undrawn MSR lines of credit.
• Servicing portfolio unpaid principal balance, which includes subserviced loans, was $511 billion or 2.5 million loans serviced as of March 31, 2024. The portfolio generates approximately $1.4 billion of recurring servicing fee income on an annualized basis. We acquired one mortgage servicing rights ("MSRs") portfolio in March and three MSR portfolios in April, for total consideration of $110 million. The MSR acquisitions added $8.2 billion of unpaid principal balance for loans with a blended weighted average coupon above that of our current portfolio, providing a compelling refinance opportunity when rates decline.

First Quarter 2024 Company Highlights

• Rocket again gained market share during the quarter. In Q1'24, both purchase and refinance market share expanded, showing double-digit percentage growth on a year-over-year basis.
• Our home equity loan product continues to fill a need in the market and resonate strongly with clients, offering a solution for those who may want to tap into their home's equity without impacting the lower rate on their first lien mortgage. In Q1'24, home equity loan volume grew more than 3.5 times over the same period last year, setting a new record.
• In April, Rocket Mortgage unveiled Rocket Logic, our patented AI-driven technology platform. Rocket Logic powers our front-facing client interactions and back-end processing, and currently includes capabilities such as Rocket Logic Docs, our intelligent document processing platform; Rocket Logic Assistant, our virtual assistant supporting team members for client interactions; and Rocket Logic Synopsis, our centralized client repository. We anticipate that Rocket Logic's automation capabilities will yield savings of over 170,000 team member hours annually. Notably, we have observed a 25% decrease in turn times from August 2022 to February 2024, contributing significantly to our ability to process loans nearly 2.5 times faster than the industry.
• In April, Rocket Mortgage announced Rocket Logic Synopsis, a tool used by our client-facing team members across mortgage banking, TPO, client operations and servicing. With AI doing the work behind the scenes, Rocket Logic Synopsis transcribes and tags client interactions, and logs client preferences for communication method, time to be contacted, call purpose, sentiment and more. Our teams engage in 65 million client calls annually, and Synopsis captures and organizes this invaluable data to construct unified client profiles in a centralized repository and to enhance client personalization.
• In April, Rocket Mortgage launched a pilot for a voice generative AI feature that enables clients to make instant modifications to their verified approval letters by simply using their voice, giving clients a meaningful edge in today's fast-paced and competitive housing market. Traditionally, clients would contact their mortgage banker to request adjustments, resulting in nearly 300,000 manual requests handled by our bankers and underwriters annually. This new feature is an industry-first, empowering our clients to take control of the process and complete modifications within minutes.
• In April, Rocket Homes launched Explore Spaces, a first-to-market visual home search experience, that allows users to instantly stream photos based on features that are most important to them, such as kitchens with marble counters or backyards with lush lawns. This is made possible by leveraging computer vision AI for image recognition and processing. Since launch, we have observed that users who engage with the Explore Spaces experience spend almost twice as long on the site per visit, and they return six times more often.
• In March and April, Rocket Mortgage received numerous accolades from industry outlets. Rocket Mortgage was recognized by Forbes as 'Best Lender for Flexible Mortgage Terms,' 'Best Online VA Lender' and 'Best Refinance Lender for Flexible Mortgage Terms,' and by TIME as 'Best Mortgage Lender for Digital Refinance' and 'Best for Low Down Payment.'

Rocket Corporate Responsibility: For-More-Than-Profit

• In March, Rocket Community Fund, a partner company, announced a combined $550,000 in new funding to protect Atlanta homeowners and renters from displacement. The investments include $250,000 for a pilot program with the city of Atlanta to cover the cost of property tax increases for qualified homeowners, and a $300,000 investment with the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation (AVLF) to strengthen their eviction defense services. In total, Rocket Community Fund has invested $2.5 million into housing stability in Atlanta.
• Rocket Community Fund recently launched the Make It Home program in Cleveland, an extension of the successful program in Detroit. Originally founded by the Rocket Community Fund in 2017, the Make It Home program has facilitated the transition of 1,500 Detroit residents into proud homeowners. Renters and other eligible residents are offered the first right to purchase their property for an average of $10,000, averting the risk of losing their homes in a tax auction.
• In March, Rocket Community Fund expanded the Detroit Area Talent Fund, an initiative designed to offer vital financial support to college and post-secondary students facing unforeseen challenges that hinder their academic journey. Since its launch in February 2023, the Detroit Area Talent Fund has supported nearly 1,300 Detroit students with mini grants to address issues like transportation limitations, lack of access to devices, and financial strains related to rent and utilities. Rocket Community Fund has committed $1 million in total to the effort.

Second Quarter 2024 Outlook² 

In Q2 2024, we expect adjusted revenue between $1.075 billion to $1.225 billion.

Direct to Consumer

In the Direct to Consumer segment, clients have the ability to interact with the Rocket Mortgage app and/or with the Company's mortgage bankers. The Company markets to potential clients in this segment through various brand campaigns and performance marketing channels. The Direct to Consumer segment derives revenue from originating, closing, selling and servicing predominantly agency-conforming loans, which are pooled and sold to the secondary market. The segment also includes title insurance, appraisals and settlement services complementing the Company's end-to-end mortgage origination experience. Servicing activities are fully allocated to the Direct to Consumer segment and are viewed as an extension of the client experience. Servicing enables Rocket Mortgage to establish and maintain long term relationships with our clients, through multiple touchpoints at regular engagement intervals.

Partner Network

The Rocket Professional platform supports our Partner Network segment, where we leverage our superior client service and widely recognized brand to grow marketing and influencer relationships, and our mortgage broker partnerships through Rocket Pro TPO ("third party origination"). Our marketing partnerships consist of well-known consumer-focused companies that find value in our award-winning client experience and want to offer their clients mortgage solutions with our trusted, widely recognized brand. These organizations connect their clients directly to us through marketing channels and a referral process. Our influencer partnerships are typically with companies that employ licensed mortgage professionals that find value in our client experience, technology and efficient mortgage process, where mortgages may not be their primary offering. We also enable clients to start the mortgage process through the Rocket platform in the way that works best for them, including through a local mortgage broker.

Balance Sheet and Liquidity

Total available cash was $3.5 billion as of March 31, 2024, which includes $0.9 billion of cash and cash equivalents, and $2.6 billion of corporate cash used to self-fund loan originations. Additionally, we have access to $3.4 billion of undrawn lines of credit, and $2.0 billion of undrawn MSR lines of credit from financing facilities, for a total liquidity position of $8.9 billion as of March 31, 2024.

First Quarter Earnings Call

Rocket Companies will host a live conference call at 4:30 p.m. ET on May 2, 2024 to discuss its results for the quarter ended March 31, 2024. A live webcast of the event will be available online by clicking on the "Investor Info" section of our website. The webcast will also be available via rocketcompanies.com.

A replay of the webcast will be available on the Investor Relations site following the conclusion of the event.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures 

To provide investors with information in addition to our results as determined by GAAP, we disclose Adjusted revenue, Adjusted net income (loss), Adjusted diluted earnings (loss) per share and Adjusted EBITDA (collectively "our non-GAAP financial measures") as non-GAAP measures. We believe that the presentation of our non-GAAP financial measures provides useful information to investors regarding our results of operations because each measure assists both investors and management in analyzing and benchmarking the performance and value of our business. Our non-GAAP financial measures are not calculated in accordance with GAAP and should not be considered as a substitute for revenue, net income (loss), or any other operating performance measure calculated in accordance with GAAP. Other companies may define non-GAAP financial measures differently, and as a result, our measures of our non-GAAP financial measures may not be directly comparable to those of other companies. Our non-GAAP financial measures provide indicators of performance that are not affected by fluctuations in certain costs or other items. Accordingly, management believes that these measurements are useful for comparing general operating performance from period to period, and management relies on these measures for planning and forecasting of future periods. Additionally, these measures allow management to compare our results with those of other companies that have different financing and capital structures.

We define "Adjusted revenue" as total revenues net of the change in fair value of mortgage servicing rights ("MSRs") due to valuation assumptions, net of hedges. We define "Adjusted net income (loss)" as tax-effected net income (loss) before share-based compensation expense, the change in fair value of MSRs due to valuation assumptions, net of hedges and the tax effects of those adjustments as applicable. We define "Adjusted diluted earnings (loss) per share" as Adjusted net income (loss) divided by the diluted weighted average number of Class A common stock outstanding for the applicable period, which assumes the pro forma exchange and conversion of all outstanding Class D common stock for Class A common stock. We define "Adjusted EBITDA" as net income (loss) before interest and amortization expense on non-funding debt, income tax, depreciation and amortization, share-based compensation expense, and change in fair value of MSRs due to valuation assumptions, net of hedges.

We exclude from each of our non-GAAP financial measures the change in fair value of MSRs due to valuation assumptions, net of hedges, as this represents a non-cash non-realized adjustment to our total revenues, reflecting changes in assumptions including discount rates and prepayment speed assumptions, mostly due to changes in market interest rates, which is not indicative of our performance or results of operation. We also exclude effects of contractual prepayment protection associated with sales of MSRs. Adjusted EBITDA includes Interest expense on funding facilities, which are recorded as a component of Interest income, net, as these expenses are a direct cost driven by loan origination volume. By contrast, interest and amortization expense on non-funding debt is a function of our capital structure and is therefore excluded from Adjusted EBITDA.

Our definitions of each of our non-GAAP financial measures allow us to add back certain cash and non-cash charges, and deduct certain gains that are included in calculating Total revenue, net, Net income (loss)  attributable to Rocket Companies or Net income (loss). However, these expenses and gains vary greatly, and are difficult to predict. From time to time in the future, we may include or exclude other items if we believe that doing so is consistent with the goal of providing useful information to investors.

Although we use our non-GAAP financial measures to assess the performance of our business, such use is limited because they do not include certain material costs necessary to operate our business. Our non-GAAP financial measures can represent the effect of long-term strategies as opposed to short-term results. Our presentation of our non-GAAP financial measures should not be construed as an indication that our future results will be unaffected by unusual or nonrecurring items. Our non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as analytical tools, and you should not consider them in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under U.S. GAAP. Because of these limitations, our non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered as measures of discretionary cash available to us to invest in the growth of our business or as measures of cash that will be available to us to meet our obligations.

For financial outlook information, the Company is not providing a quantitative reconciliation of adjusted revenue to the most directly comparable GAAP measure because the GAAP measure cannot be reliably estimated and the reconciliation cannot be performed without unreasonable effort due to their dependence on future uncertainties and adjusting items that the Company cannot reasonably predict at this time but which may be material.

Forward Looking Statements

Some of the statements contained in this document are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are generally identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "target," "will," "would" and, in each case, their negative or other various or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements reflect our views with respect to future events as of the date of this document and are based on our management's current expectations, estimates, forecasts, projections, assumptions, beliefs and information. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these expectations will prove to have been correct. All such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside of our control, and could cause future events or results to be materially different from those stated or implied in this document. It is not possible to predict or identify all such risks. These risks include, but are not limited to, the risk factors that are described under the section titled "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included in this document and in our SEC filings. We expressly disclaim any obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

About Rocket Companies

Founded in 1985, Rocket Companies (NYSE: RKT) is a Detroit-based fintech platform company including personal finance and consumer technology brands Rocket Mortgage, Rocket Homes, Amrock, Rocket Money, Rocket Loans, Rocket Mortgage Canada, Lendesk and Core Digital Media.

The Company helps clients achieve the goal of home ownership and financial freedom through industry-leading client experiences powered by its simple, fast and trusted digital solutions. J.D. Power has ranked Rocket Mortgage #1 in client satisfaction for both primary mortgage origination and servicing a total of 21 times.

For more information, please visit our Corporate Website or Investor Relations Website.

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SOURCE Rocket Companies, Inc.