Carriage Services Inc (CSV) · Nov 4, 2026 · Earnings
Miss — Adjusted EPS $0.59 vs ~$0.79 consensus
Carriage Services earnings missed consensus as cemetery weakness drove a sharp 2026 guidance cut, despite improving funeral volumes and new acquisition capacity.
Carriage is trying to execute a two-part strategy: revive organic funeral growth while returning to disciplined, acquisition-led expansion and protecting its balance sheet. That backdrop was already established before this release, including a new $300 million credit facility and a stated focus on selective acquisitions and leverage discipline.
The quarter missed the market’s bar by a wide margin. Adjusted diluted EPS of $0.59 was well below the roughly $0.79 published consensus, while revenue of $100.3 million trailed expectations near $109.5 million. The miss was not just an accounting issue: adjusted EBITDA fell 16% year over year, and margin dropped from 32.1% to 27.6% as cemetery profitability weakened and trust-tax costs pressured financial revenue.
| Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Consensus | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue (Financial Highlights) | $100.3M (-2.4%) | $102.7M | ~$109.5M |
| Adjusted diluted EPS (Non-GAAP reconciliation) | $0.59 (-21.3%) | $0.75 | ~$0.79 |
| Adjusted EBITDA (Financial Highlights) | $27.7M (-16.0%) | $33.0M | |
| Adjusted EBITDA margin (Financial Highlights) | 27.6% (-4.5 pts) | 32.1% | |
| Funeral contracts (Financial Highlights) | 10,374 (+2.5%) | 10,124 | |
| Cemetery preneed rights sold (Financial Highlights) | 3,307 (-7.3%) | 3,569 |
Funeral execution improved, but it was not enough to carry the company. Comparable funeral contracts rose 2.3% and average revenue per contract increased 1.9%, showing that the operating initiatives are beginning to repair the slower first half. 〔0〕 But cemetery comparable revenue fell 7.8%, with preneed production down and cemetery EBITDA margin collapsing from 48.3% to 41.8%. Management has started sales-discipline and AI-dashboard initiatives, but those are corrective actions, not yet demonstrated results. 〔1〕
The biggest change is the full-year reset. The revenue midpoint fell from $440 million to $417.5 million, adjusted EBITDA from $137.5 million to $127.5 million, and adjusted EPS from $3.45 to $2.98. The cuts acknowledge that the weaker first half, cemetery underperformance, trust taxes, and delayed acquisitions have materially reduced the earnings base for 2026; this is more consequential than a single-quarter miss.
| Original 2026 outlook | Revised 2026 outlook | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue (2026 Outlook) | $435M–$445M | $415M–$420M |
| Adjusted EBITDA (2026 Outlook) | $135M–$140M | $125M–$130M |
| Adjusted diluted EPS (2026 Outlook) | $3.35–$3.55 | $2.90–$3.05 |
| Adjusted free cash flow (2026 Outlook) | $40M–$50M | $40M–$45M |
The acquisition pipeline and new credit facility are helpful, but remain future support rather than current earnings. More than $14 million of annual revenue is under contract or letter of intent, with closings expected later in 2026 and early 2027, while the enlarged facility provides capacity to pursue the strategy. Neither changes the fact that current comparable operations are under pressure, and the outlook explicitly reflects revised acquisition timing.
Bottom line: This release weakens Carriage’s current growth story: funeral trends are improving, but cemetery execution and the resulting guidance cut overwhelm that progress. The acquisition and financing developments preserve a path back to growth, yet they do not offset the clear near-term earnings reset.
Third-quarter earnings call, November 5, 2026
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