Service Corporation Revenue Mix: What's Powering the Top Line?

Service Corporation International SCI reported third-quarter 2025 revenue of $1.06 billion, up 4.4% from the prior-year quarter. The increase reflects how the company’s revenue mix is evolving across its cemetery and funeral operations, with certain categories contributing more meaningfully to the top line than others.

Cemetery operations were a significant contributor during the third quarter. Cemetery revenue rose to $484.0 million from $448.0 million a year ago. The increase was largely driven by higher recognized preneed cemetery revenue, which totaled $338.5 million compared with $307.0 million in the prior-year period. This included growth in both recognized preneed property revenue and recognized preneed merchandise and service revenue. 

On a comparable basis, cemetery revenue increased 6.9%, while comparable core cemetery revenue grew 6.7%. Cemetery preneed sales production increased about 10%, supporting higher revenue recognition as contracts matured.

Funeral operations showed more mixed trends. Total funeral revenue increased to $574.1 million from $566.0 million in the third quarter of 2024. However, comparable funeral revenue declined 0.3%. Core funeral services performed fell 3.5% on a comparable basis, which weighed on at-need revenue. This decline was partially offset by higher average revenue per service. Comparable total average revenue per service increased 3.1%, reflecting higher pricing and mix across both at-need and matured preneed services.

Non-funeral home sales channels also influenced the revenue mix. Comparable non-funeral home revenue increased 12.6%, driven by a 13.4% rise in average revenue per service, despite a slight decrease in services performed. At the same time, comparable non-funeral home preneed sales revenue declined, primarily due to the company’s operational decision to defer delivery of certain merchandise until the time of need. Management stated that this affected the timing of revenue recognition rather than underlying contract values.

The Bottom Line

Overall, the quarter’s revenue growth highlights how Service Corporation’s top line is being shaped by changes in mix. Higher recognized preneed cemetery revenue, rising average revenue per service and growth in non-funeral home revenue helped support the Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company’s consolidated revenue growth, even as funeral service volumes declined on a comparable basis.

Shares of SCI have gained 3.9% in the past year, outperforming the industry’s growth of 2.3%.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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