Equifax blames weak mortgage market for reduced earnings outlook, stock falls

By Emily Bary

Credit-reporting company also expects a slowness in hiring to continue throughout the course of 2023

Equifax Inc. called out a weaker mortgage market Wednesday as it trimmed its outlook for the full year.

The credit-reporting company now expects $5.27 billion to $5.33 billion in full-year revenue, whereas its prior forecast was for $5.275 billion to $5.375 billion. Equifax (EFX) now is calling for $6.85 a share to $7.10 a share in adjusted earnings, down from its previous guidance of $7.05 a share to $7.35 a share.

"We expect the weaker-than-expected U.S. mortgage market that we saw in June to continue," Chief Executive Mark Begor said in a Wednesday afternoon release. The new outlook accounts for "the more negative impact of the weaker mortgage market and loss of high-margin mortgage revenue."

Shares were down 5% in after-hours trading.

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Additionally, Equifax expects a slowness in hiring to persist throughout the course of the year, though it projects that stronger growth in its workforce government business will help offset that negative impact to the company's non-mortgage business.

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For the second quarter, Equifax delivered net income of $138.3 million, or $1.12 a share, whereas the company posted net income of $200.6 million, or $1.63 a share, in the year-prior period.

Adjusted earnings per share fell to $1.71 from $2.09, while analysts were modeling $1.68 a share.

Begor said in the earnings release that Equifax showed "very good execution" against its plan to cut cloud spending on the year. "We are taking actions to realize additional cloud-spending reductions of $10 million in the second half," he said.

Revenue for the second quarter came in nearly flat at $1.32 billion, whereas analysts had been calling for $1.33 billion.

See also: Only a tenth of mortgages have an interest rate above 6% -- that's a big problem for the U.S. housing market

-Emily Bary

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07-20-23 0756ET

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