United Wholesale Mortgage returned to the black in 2024, seeing growth in loan volume and profitability, and buoyed largely by a boom in refinance activity. 

The Pontiac-based mortgage lending giant’s parent company, UWM Holdings Corp. (NYSE: UWMC), released its full-year 2024 and fourth-quarter 2024 earnings Wednesday morning. The earnings report shows that UWM’s total lending grew nearly 29% last year compared to 2023, to $139.4 billion.

On a year-over-year basis, refinancing volume grew 200% as sporadic periods of lower interest rates last year spurred homeowners to seek lower payments. In total, UWM’s refinancing volume of $43.4 billion amounted to about 31% of its total loan volume, compared to just 13% in 2023.

UWM’s $96 billion in purchase volume — loans to consumers to buy houses — amounted to its best year in company history, according to a news release. 

The company reported a 2023 loss of about $70 million, but in 2024 returned to the black, generating $329.4 million in total profit. The company’s gain margin — the amount it makes selling a loan on the secondary market — expanded 18 basis points from the prior year to 1.1%. 

On a quarterly basis, the end of 2024 saw UWM lend a total of $38.7 billion, down slightly from the previous quarter, but up about 58.6% from the final quarter of 2023. Fourth-quarter net income of $40.6 million was also up from the previous quarter and up substantially from the fourth quarter of 2023 when the company reported a big loss.

All told, 2024 made for a “fantastic year,” according to UWM Chairman and CEO Mat Ishbia, especially within the context that it was the worst year for home sales in 30 years.

“All the themes we’ve been talking about have continued to happen,” Ishbia said during a Wednesday morning investor call. “We continue to dominate the purchase market, leverage our competitive advantage and talent, technology and world-class service. And, like I said, help the broker channel grow to its highest share (in the) industry in years.”

Ishbia’s company works exclusively with independent mortgage brokers who work on behalf of their consumer clients. The wholesale market accounted for about 27% of the total mortgage sector at the end of the third quarter of last year, up nearly 4% from a year earlier, according to data from Inside Mortgage Finance. 

UWM rival, Detroit-based Rocket Companies Inc., will report its fourth quarter and full-year earnings Thursday afternoon.

Wall Street analysts on the Wednesday morning call expressed some surprise at the company’s growing expenses, which were nearly $518 million at the end of 2024, 46% higher than a year earlier. 

Ishbia, however, dismissed such concerns. 

“What we’re doing is we’re investing in our business to dominate,” Ishbia said. “So the expenses are not even a thought on my mind.”

CFO Andrew Hubacker noted that UWM is positioned to handle an additional $100 billion in origination volume without impacting fixed expenses. 

UWM’s annual proxy statement, filed Wednesday, shows employee headcount at the end of last year was approximately 9,100, up from about 6,700 employees a year earlier. The UWM earnings report shows expenses related to salaries, commissions and benefits grew 35% in 2024.

2024 amounted to a tough year in the mortgage and broader housing market sectors as high housing prices and still-elevated mortgage rates weighed on consumers. Mortgage rates have been trending downward in recent weeks, but continue to hover just below 7%, still high for many would-be borrowers who also face historically high housing prices. 

The company’s earning report forecasts a slowdown in originations in the first quarter, typically a slower period, but comparable profitability.

Despite a return to profitability in 2024, investors appear nonplussed with the company’s performance. Shares of the company stock around mid-day Wednesday were trading at around $6, down more than 8%. 

The low stock price, Ishbia said, does make it difficult for him to increase the closely-held company’s share of stock available for purchase, an issue he did start to tackle last year. Wall Street analysts, he said, are undervaluing the company’s stock. 

“It’s just silliness,” Ishbia told a Morgan Stanley analyst. “Even your price targets are silly, too. I saw yours as well. But … we’re going to do better. We’re going to keep winning and people that buy into and understand what UWM does will understand that and will continue to grow with us.”