NMIH

Image source: The Motley Fool. Thursday, July 30, 2026 at 5 p.m. ET Vice President of Investor Relations and Treasury - John Swenson Executive Chairman - Brad Shuster President and Chief Executive Officer - Adam Pollitzer Chief Financial Officer - Aurora Swithenbank Operator: Good day. Welcome to the NMI Holdings Inc. 2026 second quarter earnings conference call. All participants will be in listen-only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by zero. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press star, then one on your telephone keypad. To withdraw your question, please press star, then two. Please note, this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to John Swenson, Vice President of Investor Relations and Treasury. Please go ahead. John Swenson: Thank you, operator. Good afternoon. Welcome to the 2026 second quarter conference call for National MI. I'm John Swenson, Vice President of Investor Relations and Treasury. Joining us on the call today are Brad Shuster, Executive Chairman, Adam Pollitzer, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Aurora Swithenbank, Chief Financial Officer. Financial results for the quarter were released after the close today. The press release may be accessed on NMI's website, located at nationalmi.com under the Investors tab. During the course of this call, we may make comments about our expectations for the future. Actual results could differ materially from those contained in these forward-looking statements. Additional information about the factors that could cause actual results or trends to differ materially from those discussed on the call can be found on our website or through our filings with the SEC. If, to the extent the company makes forward-looking statements, we do not undertake any obligation to update those statements in the future in light of subsequent developments. No one should rely on the fact that the guidance of such statements is current at any time other than the time of this call. Note that on this call, we may refer to certain non-GAAP measures. In today's press release and on our website, we've provided a reconciliation of these measures to the most comparable measures under GAAP. I'll turn the call over to Brad. Brad Shuster: Thank you, John. Good afternoon, everyone. I'm pleased to report that in the second quarter, National MI again delivered standout operating performance, continued growth in our insured portfolio, and record financial results. Our lenders and their borrowers continued to turn to us for critical down payment support. In the second quarter, we generated $16 billion of NIW volume, ending the period with a record $227.1 billion of high-quality, high-performing primary insurance in force. We also surpassed $500 billion of insurance ever written during the quarter—a notable milestone that serves to highlight the consistent and significant success we've been delivering for so long. National MI was formed with a goal to provide a differentiated commitment and standard of service and a clear vision as to how we should engage in the market to drive value for our borrowers, our lender customers, our employees, and our shareholders. It's remarkable to reflect on all that we have achieved to date. We've helped nearly 2.2 million borrowers gain access to a mortgage and opened the door to affordable and sustainable homeownership in communities across the country. We've established a broadly diversified national customer franchise, serving over 1,700 lenders from a foundation of partnership, trust, and innovation. We've attracted a talented, dedicated team who drive our success every day and have built a culture of collaboration, integrity, and performance. We have consistently outperformed, delivering exceptionally strong operating and financial results quarter after quarter. The long-term private MI market opportunity is compelling, and I'm as excited as I've ever been about how we're positioned to continue to outperform as we go forward. With that, let me turn it over to Adam. Adam Pollitzer: Thank you, Brad. Good afternoon, everyone. I'm delighted to talk to you today as I share Brad's excitement about our milestone success and his confidence in the opportunity we have as we look ahead. National MI continued to outperform in the second quarter, delivering significant new business production, consistent growth in our insured portfolio, and record financial results. We generated $16 billion of NIW volume and ended the period with a record $227.1 billion of high-quality, high-performing primary insurance in force. Total revenue in the second quarter was a record $187.9 million, and we delivered record adjusted net income of $106 million or $1.38 per diluted share and a 15.9% return on equity. Overall, we had a terrific quarter and are confident as we look ahead. The macro environment and housing market have remained resilient. Our lender customers and their borrowers continue to rely on us in size for critical down payment support. We see an attractive and sustained new business opportunity fueled by long-term secular trends. We have an exceptionally high-quality insured portfolio covered by a comprehensive set of risk transfer solutions. Our credit performance continues to stand ahead. We're delivering consistent growth and embedded value gains in our insured book. We continue to manage our expenses and capital position with discipline and efficiency, building a robust balance sheet that's supported by the significant earnings power of our platform. Taken together, we see a clear opportunity for continued outperformance. Notwithstanding these strong positives, however, macro risks do remain. We've maintained a proactive stance with respect to our pricing, risk selection, and reinsurance decisioning. It's an approach that has served us well and continues to be the prudent and appropriate course. More broadly, we've been encouraged by the continued discipline that we see across the private MI market. Overall, we had a terrific quarter, delivering strong operating performance, consistent growth in our insured portfolio, and record financial results. We're in the market every day with a clear mandate and purpose, offering a low-cost, high-value solution that makes homeownership more affordable and achievable for millions of deserving Americans in communities across the country, with coverage that serves to insulate the GSEs and taxpayers from risk and loss in a downturn. Looking ahead, we're well-positioned to continue to serve our customers and their borrowers, invest in our employees and their success, drive growth in our high-quality insured portfolio, and deliver through the cycle growth, returns, and value for our shareholders. With that, I'll turn it over to Aurora. Aurora Swithenbank: Thank you, Adam. We delivered record financial results in the second quarter. Total revenue was a record $187.9 million. Adjusted net income was a record $106 million, or $1.38 per diluted share, and return on equity was 15.9%. We generated $16 billion of NIW, and our primary insurance in force grew to $227.1 billion. 12-month persistency was 81.4% in the second quarter, compared to 82.2% in the first quarter. net premiums earned in the second quarter were a record $157.5 million, compared to $154.8 million in the first quarter and $149.1 million in the second quarter of 2025. Net yield for the quarter was 28 basis points, consistent with the first quarter. core yield, which excludes the cost of our reinsurance coverage and the contribution from cancellation earnings, was 34 basis points, also unchanged from the first quarter. Investment income was $30.3 million in the second quarter, compared to $28.6 million in the first quarter and $24.9 million in the second quarter of 2025. Total revenue was a record $187.9 million in the second quarter, up 2.4% compared to the first quarter and 8.1% compared to the second quarter of 2025. Underwriting and operating expenses were $30.5 million in the second quarter, compared to $30.6 million in the first quarter. Our expense ratio was 19.4% in the quarter, compared to 19.8% in the first quarter. We had 8,020 defaults at June 30th, compared to 8,044 at March 31st, and our default rate was 1.16% at quarter end. Claims expense in the second quarter was $13.1 million, compared to $20.7 million in the first quarter and $13.4 million in the second quarter of 2025. Adjusted net income was a record $106 million, up 7% compared to $99.4 million in the first quarter and 10% compared to $96.5 million in the second quarter of 2025. Adjusted diluted earnings per share was a record $1.38, up 8% compared to $1.28 in the first quarter and 14% compared to $1.22 in the second quarter of 2025. Shareholders' equity as of June 30th was $2.7 billion, and book value per share was $35.89. Book value per share, excluding the impact of our net unrealized gains and losses in the investment portfolio, was $36.88, up 4% compared to the first quarter and 15% compared to the second quarter of last year. In the second quarter, we repurchased $31.4 million of common stock, retiring 827,000 shares at an average price of $37.99. Since starting our buyback program in 2022, we've repurchased a total of $408 million of common stock, retiring 13.6 million shares at an average price of $29.95. We have $167 million of repurchase capacity remaining under our existing program. At quarter end, we reported $3.7 billion of total available assets under PMIERs and $2.1 billion of risk-based required assets. Excess available assets were $1.6 billion. Overall, we achieved record financial results during the quarter, delivering consistent growth in our high-quality insured portfolio, record top-line performance, standout credit experience, continued expense efficiency, and record bottom-line profitability. With that, let me turn it back to Adam. Adam Pollitzer: Thank you, Aurora. We had a terrific quarter, once again delivering significant new business production, continued growth in our high-quality insured portfolio, and record financial results. We have a strong customer franchise, a talented team driving us forward every day, an exceptionally high-quality book covered by a comprehensive set of risk transfer solutions, and a robust balance sheet supported by the significant earnings power of our platform. Taken together, we're well-positioned to continue to serve our customers and their borrowers, invest in our employees and their success, drive growth in our high-quality insured portfolio, and deliver through the cycle growth, returns, and value for our shareholders. Thank you for joining us today. I'll now ask the operator to come back on so we can take your questions. Operator: We will now begin the question-and-answer session. To ask a question, you may press star one on your telephone keypad. If you're using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. If at any time your question has been addressed and you would like to withdraw your question, please press star two. The first question comes from Bose George with KBW. Please go ahead. Bose George: Hey, everyone. Good afternoon. Starting with credit, can you discuss home price trends in your various markets? Are there areas where you're seeing things being better or worse than your expectations coming into the year? Adam Pollitzer: Yeah, no. I'd say in terms of the path of house prices, broadly speaking, nationally, we continue to be encouraged month after month on a national basis. House prices are setting records, obviously that's supportive for us in terms of need for our product. As house prices move higher, the need for affordability support increases. It obviously bolsters credit performance. It's a big positive. In terms of geo-by-geo local markets, nothing new is really developing. We continue to see the strongest markets in the Northeast and the Midwest. There continues to be degrees of pressure that are emerging in Florida, Texas, parts of the rest of the Sun Belt, Mountain West, and a little bit on the West Coast. From an encouraging standpoint, what we're seeing in some of those markets, and those markets are the same where we've seen inventories building a little bit of pressure on house prices for a while now. The most recent readings are showing that, in fact, some of the MSAs within that sort of broad regional footprint are actually bottoming and beginning to move off of their lows. Overall, nothing surprising or dramatic. Generally consistent with what we've been seeing for a while now. Bose George: Okay, great. Thanks. Actually from a capital return standpoint, in, I guess, a couple of years, your pull to par, as you call it, will be done. Your growth will look more similar to the others. In that scenario, it looks like some peers returned a lot of capital, others look outside the industry. Early thoughts on which camp you might fall into? Adam Pollitzer: Yeah, look, I guess, one, I would say thus far, we're really delighted with the consistency and success that we've achieved with our repurchase program. Like Aurora mentioned it, we've retired $408 million of stock, and that represents 16% of our total outstanding. As we roll forward pace of NIW, the organic opportunity, that will certainly factor into how we size our excess capital position. That pull to par that we've talked about, which is really just as a reminder for everybody, that's the fact that our share of new business production is still meaningfully higher than our share of industry insurance in force. We've got this embedded growth engine. It's a powerful one. Over the last four years since we launched our repurchase program, we've grown our insurance in force by 49% compared to 13% growth for the rest of the industry. We'll make decisions and evaluate what the right allocation of capital is at all times. It's one of the most critical roles that we have. We still see a lot of tailwind from that embedded growth engine as we look forward. Bose George: Okay, great. Thanks. Operator: The next question comes from Rich Shane with JPMorgan. Please go ahead. Rich Shane: Thanks, guys. I probably need to get in the queue just a little bit faster. I thought Bose asked the right questions. I will follow up just briefly. When you think about we're now halfway through 2026, it does feel like you guys picked up a little bit of market share in the second quarter. I'm curious what you guys are seeing in the market, how aggressive you want to be. I'm also curious to sort of benchmark how you feel about the 2026 vintage from a credit perspective versus the 2025 vintage which actually is showing hallmarks are performing pretty well. Adam Pollitzer: Yeah. Well, maybe I'll break them into three pieces. What we're seeing broadly in the market in terms of competitive dynamics. You guys said, how competitive do we want to be? What we're observing about the success we're having day-to-day with customers. Then we can talk about the credit environment and what we're seeing. I'd say broadly speaking, from a competitive standpoint, our view of what we observe in the market is that it looks like the industry is really at a point of balance in a very constructive way. I think we continue to be highly encouraged by the unit economics that we are achieving on new business. I think when we say we're where we should be, what we really mean is I think the industry overall, and certainly our approach and where we are, is that we want to make sure we are at a point where we could fully and fairly support our customers and their borrowers, but at the same time use rate among all the other tools that we have to appropriately protect our balance sheet, our returns, and our ability to deliver long-term value for shareholders. That's always going to be our focus, is making sure we're at a point of balance. Nothing has really changed. In terms of relative growth in NIW this quarter, I think we're the third out of six to report, so it's difficult to draw too many conclusions. I think we've had a little more growth in our NIW volume than the others who've reported. We're delighted with the result that we've achieved in the quarter, right? We wrote $16 billion of High return new business. We're working hard to support everybody who's turning to us in the market. As for a specific market share read-through, I think this is all just sort of in the normal plus/minus, right? There's always going to be fluctuations up or down that happen at any point in time. It could be because volume may have moved from one originator to another, where we happen to have greater wallet share. MI relationships aren't even across the board. There's really, I'd say, nothing of note that I would point out, and there's really nothing we do to manage the market share. What we do is to manage how we engage and show up for our customers every day. Rich, I'll pause and see if you had any follow-up there before I talk about the 2026 credit environment. Rich Shane: No, that's very helpful. Yes, I realized my question was pretty long, go ahead please. Sorry. Adam Pollitzer: No problem. I'd say, in terms of 2026 credit, most important, the underlying characteristics of the production that we're bringing onto the portfolio now are still incredibly high quality. We're still using all the tools that we've invested to develop individual risk underwriting, Rate GPS, the broad use of reinsurance on the back end to shape the profile of our portfolio. I'd say, as we're doing that, what we've really been most encouraged by is the resiliency that we're seeing in the economy and housing market as a backdrop. That sets the stage for a constructive environment today and hopefully strong performance as we carry through here. It's obviously very early, but we're not seeing anything in our portfolio experience on the early payment default side or other markers of underwriting strain that are emerging. We think it's another high-quality, productive year. Rich Shane: Okay. Appreciate that. Thank you. Operator: The next question comes from Mihir Bhatia with Bank of America. Please go ahead. Mihir Bhatia: Hi. Good afternoon. Thanks for taking my question. Adam, I was wondering if we could just follow up on the last point on credit and just in terms of the production you're seeing. I think you talked about your portfolio and not seeing any signs, but maybe just talk a little bit about competition and just pricing activity in the market. Are there any markets or pockets of the market where you feel things have gotten a little irrational, or you've had to move away from or pull back in? Adam Pollitzer: Mihir, it's a good question. Look, I'd reiterate—I'd say, broadly speaking, we think the industry is at a point of constructive balance right now. We've not seen any notable moves. I think the industry overall—and certainly when we're bringing volume into our books—is where we should be in providing that sort of balanced support for customers and borrowers and making sure, obviously, that we're building a high-quality portfolio that can generate adequate returns and meet our thresholds. That's still broadly the case in the market. The areas I would say where we see a little more pressure are nothing new. It's in some of the larger transactionally-oriented business, but that's not a new development in the market. That's been the case for going on 10 years at this point. Mihir Bhatia: All right. Great. Then maybe just on the default inventory, the loans in default this quarter ticked a little bit lower, I guess just marginally. Was that just seasonality and tax refunds, or should we read more into it? I guess anything to call out in terms of cures that have changed in the last few months that we should just keep an eye on? If you could even just comment on where you think default rates head from here. Thanks. Aurora Swithenbank: In terms of the activity in the quarter, I think you're right that there is a seasonal component to that. Just as a reminder, we tend to see—with tax refunds, year-end bonuses, and getting through the holidays in the first half of the year—there tends to be more positive credit experience. Then the tide tends to turn on that in the back half of the year. There was certainly some component of that. Some of that falls in the first quarter, some of that falls into the second quarter. There's also just broader macroeconomic environment, and the macro data, notwithstanding some headlines, continues to be very strong. The employment data is very strong. HPA continues to perform as Adam just spoke about. I think that's all very supportive of the default performance. In terms of outlook going forward, as you know, we don't provide any guidance. What I'd say is just point to the fact that some of those seasonal tailwinds that we have in the first part of the year become seasonal headwinds as we head into the back part of the year. We're keenly, as I know everyone is, watching the macroeconomic environment since I think that will be a key determinant of outcomes. Adam Pollitzer: We'd expect our default population to trend a bit higher from here. One, we saw for a while that we were seeing just a natural normalization of our credit experience given the growth and seasoning of the portfolio. As Aurora pointed to—seasonal dynamics—we always see a trend higher first in the third quarter and then again as we get into the back end of the year in the fourth quarter. Mihir Bhatia: Got it. Thank you. Thanks for taking my question. Operator: The next question comes from Mark Hughes with Truist. Please go ahead. Mark Hughes: Yeah, thank you. Good afternoon. The core yield of 34 basis points, given what you're seeing with pricing and the new business you're bringing on, is that sustainable at that level? Aurora Swithenbank: As you're aware, we don't provide any forward-looking guidance. Obviously the yield will be supported by the persistency of the in-force book; that tends to be a pretty stable number. It is influenced by the persistency of the in-force and the premium that we're bringing on in the new business. I'd expect that to be reasonably stable—plus minus—but it can be influenced by things like rate movements, which might cause a greater cohort of, say, refinancing activity to come through. Refinancing activity tends to be a little bit higher quality and therefore lower premium because you have borrowers who have higher FICO scores. They've been making payments on their mortgage. They may have embedded equity in those transactions. There's a number of things that can influence it, but given the large and stable in-force that we have and the strong persistency in the book, we would expect that to be broadly stable. Mark Hughes: Very good. The prior year reserve gains continue to be strong. Adam, is there anything structurally—when we think back at the timing of the different vintages: COVID, post-COVID, you name it—anything that you would call out as potentially influencing the trajectory of those prior year gains? I know they're obviously influenced by underlying credit trends, but anything else structurally or timing-wise that we ought to think about? Adam Pollitzer: No. It's a good question, and we always probe on this as we're doing our own internal analysis, but there really isn't anything. It's the fact that we're still in quite a constructive environment in terms of macro and housing market dynamics, and our existing borrowers remain really well-situated—even those that are falling behind—because of the strength in the labor market, because of the embedded equity in their homes. A lot of them are able to catch up and cure out a default at admittedly a faster and more successful pace than what we'd anticipated when we established the initial reserves; which is why we then have favorable development. Nothing that's structural or tied to a specific vintage. What we're seeing is really a constructive credit environment. Mark Hughes: Very good. Then maybe just one more, if I could: the net expense ratio continues to show nice improvement. Anything around timing on that could change that trajectory? Aurora Swithenbank: I think there's always seasonal fluctuations to expenses. We've talked about in the first quarter there's the FICA reset and 401 contributions. Depending on the trajectory of earnings—when that's strong—you have some accruals associated with share-based compensation. Those are things that kind of come year in, year out. There's no particular large expenditures that we are planning or that we have on the horizon which would impact the broad trajectory of expenses. Mark Hughes: Perfect. Thank you. Operator: Once again, if you have a question, please press star then one. The next question comes from Riley Sandham with RBC. Please go ahead. Riley Sandham: Good afternoon. I'm on for Rowland Mayor this evening. Can you walk through how you're thinking about traditional versus non-traditional reinsurance, and are you seeing any appetite change from reinsurers as P&C markets have softened? Adam Pollitzer: I'll just make one comment, and then Aurora will share more. The idea of traditional versus non-traditional—for us, it's all traditional because the ultimate structure that we face off against, it's excess of loss or it's quota share. We may source that capacity from a traditional slate of reinsurers, or we may source it from the capital markets in the form of ILN, but the transactions that we have are all quota share or excess of loss. I'll let Aurora speak to how we think about the balance between those two sources. Aurora Swithenbank: We like diversity in our sources of reinsurance. Recently, we've been more focused on traditional forms of reinsurance—to use your vocabulary. Honestly, that's on a couple of different vectors. One is we've been getting excellent execution; and I can go through reinsurer appetite and sort of what's driving that. We're able to get a little bit more flexible terms. In the capital markets, you need to warehouse risk either on your own balance sheet or through a warehouse facility in order to get the volume you need to do a securitization and place that into the capital markets. That's an extra complexity. Whereas in the reinsurance market, we have forward flow coverage, so we can lock in at a price certain today—coverage going out as far as three years in the future. That's pretty terrific in terms of the capital runway that it gives us and the certainty of execution for a complete planning horizon. Just the overall speed of execution in the reinsurance market—it tends to be very quick, and we can do it in smaller size. Debt capital markets transactions or securitization transactions, you need a minimum bulk in order to cover the fixed costs associated with those transactions. They tend to be a little bit less flexible, and we can't be quite as nimble in that market. Now that said, we like the ILN market. We would like to be back to the ILN market. I'll pivot back to what I said at the beginning, which is we like having a diversity of different outlets for our risk transfer. You'll expect to see us at certain points in the cycle come back to that market. I said I'd come back to why are reinsurers providing capital on such attractive terms. I think it's a couple of things. One, we've had a number of new reinsurers start writing mortgage reinsurance risk. I think they've seen the success of the early participants in that market, there is additional capacity as additional reinsurers join the market, hire teams, build analytics. There's the competitive dynamic. The GSEs have been laying off less risk into the reinsurance market over the past several years; that has left the private mortgage insurers as the primary source of that risk, and that's certainly been an important supply-demand dynamic in terms of the pricing. I'd point to those things, as you said, there's the broader softness in certain other lines of business. Broadly, this has been a line of business that's been very profitable for the reinsurers and is diversifying and non-correlated with some of their other businesses. I think that remains true today. Riley Sandham: Very helpful. If I could squeeze one more in here: the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act went into effect earlier this month, I was wondering if you believe any of those provisions or any other legislative proposals are able to help unfreeze this market. Adam Pollitzer: I'd say overall, we've been encouraged by what I would term a renewed focus that we've seen from the administration, from Congress, and others in D.C. on the housing market and housing finance issues. As for the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, I think it is great to see a coordinated bipartisan effort aimed at increasing housing supply, streamlining the development process, and ultimately improving affordability. We have a supply shortage of single-family homes in the U.S.—a broad, coordinated, bipartisan effort that brings focus and hopefully solutions to that issue is terrific. We're hugely supportive. What I would say, though, I'll focus more on us, right? In our market. I think while it's important overall, it's also noteworthy because it's really the first major piece of housing legislation that we've had in the U.S. since the 1990s. While we expect that it will be valuable for housing supply for affordability over the long term, it's not going to happen immediately. Because it's a supply-focused initiative, we don't expect that it's going to have a significant impact on the private MI market or our business, certainly not in the near term. Riley Sandham: That's great. Thank you very much. Operator: This concludes our question and answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Adam Pollitzer for any closing remarks. Please go ahead. Adam Pollitzer: Thank you all again for joining us. We'll be participating in the Barclays Financial Services Conference in New York on September 15th. We look forward to speaking with you again soon. Operator: The conference is now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect. Before you buy stock in NMI Holdings, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and NMI Holdings wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut are built for long-term growth and could produce monster returns in the coming years. 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As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability. The Motley Fool recommends NMI Holdings. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. NMI Holdings (NMIH) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript was originally published by The Motley Fool

Make better investment decisions with Simply Wall St's easy, visual tools that give you a competitive edge. NMI Holdings (NMIH) has drawn fresh attention after reporting record Q2 2026 results. The company reported higher revenue, net income and earnings per share, alongside growth in insurance volume and ongoing share repurchases. See our latest analysis for NMI Holdings. NMI Holdings’ recent record Q2 report appears to have supported positive momentum, with the 90 day share price return of 19.05% and 1 year total shareholder return of 19.12% both running ahead of its 9.09% year to date share price return. If the Q2 update has you looking beyond a single stock, this is a good time to broaden your search and check out the 18 top founder-led companies Bulls point to NMI Holdings’ record Q2 profits, expanding insurance portfolio and ongoing buybacks. Bears focus on mortgage cycle risk and expectations for higher defaults. Which side does the current valuation actually support? The most widely followed narrative currently points to a fair value of $48 for NMI Holdings compared with the last close at $44.30. That view rests on steady revenue growth, resilient margins and ongoing capital returns to shareholders. Read the complete narrative. Want to see what underpins that $48 fair value for NMI Holdings? The narrative leans on measured revenue growth, firm profitability and a future earnings multiple below many peers. Curious which specific assumptions tie those pieces together and how they build to the valuation gap? The full narrative sets out the detailed earnings, margin and share count path that supports this price target. Result: Fair Value of $48 (UNDERVALUED) Have a read of the narrative in full and understand what's behind the forecasts. However, the NMI Holdings story also hinges on housing health and regulation. Weaker home prices or tighter capital rules could quickly challenge this fair value narrative. Find out about the key risks to this NMI Holdings narrative. With sentiment leaning positive around NMI Holdings after record Q2 2026 results, it makes sense to move quickly and test the narrative against the numbers yourself. To see what investors view as the main upside drivers, take a closer look at the 3 key rewards. If you want to keep building on the work you have started with NMI Holdings, the Simply Wall St screener can quickly surface ideas that match your style. Target potential income opportunities by reviewing companies in the 9 dividend fortresses and see which payouts align with your goals. Spot potential value opportunities early by scanning the screener containing 19 high quality undiscovered gems before they attract wider attention. Prioritise resilience by checking companies in the 81 resilient stocks with low risk scores that may better fit a cautious approach. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include NMIH. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email [email protected]

Interested in NMI Holdings Inc? Here are five stocks we like better. NMI reported record second-quarter results: Revenue rose 8.1% year over year to $187.9 million, while adjusted net income increased 10% to $106 million, or $1.38 per diluted share. New insurance written reached $16 billion, and primary insurance in force grew to $227.1 billion. Credit performance remained favorable, with claims expense falling to $13.1 million and the default rate at 1.16%. Management expects defaults to rise somewhat in the second half because of seasonal trends and portfolio seasoning, but said it has not seen underwriting stress in 2026 production. Capital remained strong and shareholder returns continued: NMI held $1.6 billion in excess available assets under PMIERs and repurchased $31.4 million of stock during the quarter. Management cited constructive private mortgage-insurance competition and attractive traditional reinsurance capacity. NMI (NASDAQ:NMIH) reported record second-quarter financial results for 2026, supported by growth in new insurance written, a larger insured portfolio and higher investment income. The mortgage insurer generated $16 billion of new insurance written during the quarter and ended June with $227.1 billion of primary insurance in force, both figures highlighted by management as evidence of continued demand for down-payment support. The company also surpassed $500 billion of insurance written since its founding, Executive Chairman Brad Shuster said. → Why SK hynix Could Be the Best AI Chip Stock to Buy Now Total revenue reached a record $187.9 million, up 2.4% from the first quarter and 8.1% from the year-earlier period. Adjusted net income rose 7% sequentially and 10% year over year to a record $106 million, or $1.38 per diluted share. Return on equity was 15.9%. Net premiums earned totaled a record $157.5 million, compared with $154.8 million in the first quarter and $149.1 million a year earlier. Net yield was unchanged sequentially at 28 basis points, while core yield, excluding reinsurance costs and cancellation earnings, remained at 34 basis points. → Microsoft Just Flipped the AI Spending Narrative Overnight Chief Financial Officer Aurora Swithenbank said investment income increased to $30.3 million from $28.6 million in the first quarter and $24.9 million in the second quarter of 2025. Underwriting and operating expenses were $30.5 million, essentially flat with the prior quarter. The expense ratio improved to 19.4% from 19.8% in the first quarter. Swithenbank said the company did not have any large planned expenditures that would alter the broader expense trajectory, though expenses can experience seasonal fluctuations related to payroll taxes, retirement contributions and share-based compensation accruals. → Carrier Earnings Could Send the Stock to a New All-Time High Management did not provide forward-looking guidance. On core yield, Swithenbank said the company expects it to remain “broadly stable,” supported by its large insurance-in-force portfolio and persistency, although refinancing activity and other changes in business mix can affect premium levels. Claims expense declined to $13.1 million from $20.7 million in the first quarter and was slightly below the $13.4 million recorded a year earlier. NMI had 8,020 defaults as of June 30, down from 8,044 at March 31, while its default rate was 1.16% at quarter-end. CEO Adam Pollitzer said national home prices continue to set records, which he said supports both mortgage-insurance demand and credit performance. Regionally, he said the strongest housing markets remain in the Northeast and Midwest. The company continues to observe pressure in Florida, Texas, parts of the Sun Belt and Mountain West, and some West Coast markets, although recent readings indicate that some metropolitan areas in those regions may be bottoming and moving off their lows. Swithenbank attributed some of the quarter’s favorable default activity to seasonal factors, including tax refunds, year-end bonuses and the passage of the holiday period. She also cited strong employment data and home-price appreciation as supportive of borrowers’ performance. However, Pollitzer said NMI expects its default population to rise somewhat in the second half of the year, reflecting normal seasonal patterns as well as the growth and seasoning of its insurance portfolio. He said the company has not seen early-payment defaults or other indicators of underwriting strain in its 2026 production. Pollitzer said favorable prior-year reserve development has reflected a constructive macroeconomic and housing environment, as well as borrowers’ ability to cure delinquencies amid labor-market strength and home equity. He said the company has not identified a structural issue or a particular vintage-related factor behind the reserve gains. NMI ended the quarter with $2.7 billion of shareholders’ equity and book value per share of $35.89. Book value per share excluding net unrealized investment portfolio gains and losses was $36.88, up 4% from the first quarter and 15% from the prior-year quarter. The company repurchased $31.4 million of common stock during the quarter, retiring 827,000 shares at an average price of $37.99. Since launching its buyback program in 2022, NMI has repurchased $408 million of shares, or 13.6 million shares, at an average price of $29.95. The company had $167 million remaining under its authorization at quarter-end. Under PMIERs capital standards, NMI reported $3.7 billion of total available assets and $2.1 billion of risk-based required assets, resulting in $1.6 billion of excess available assets. Pollitzer said the company’s future capital allocation will depend partly on new-insurance-written trends and the pace at which its insurance-in-force market share moves closer to its share of new business production. He noted that NMI’s insurance in force has increased 49% over the past four years, compared with 13% growth for the rest of the industry. Management said it sees a constructive competitive environment in private mortgage insurance, with no notable changes in pricing behavior. Pollitzer said the company has seen somewhat more pressure in larger, transactionally oriented business, though he said this has been a longstanding market dynamic. Swithenbank said NMI has recently emphasized traditional reinsurance because it has received attractive execution and more flexible terms. Traditional reinsurers can provide forward-flow coverage at predetermined pricing for as long as three years, she said, while insurance-linked note transactions require risk to be warehoused and generally need larger transaction sizes. She added that NMI continues to value insurance-linked notes as a source of risk-transfer capacity and expects to return to that market at certain points in the cycle. Increased participation by reinsurers, lower risk transfer by government-sponsored enterprises and softer conditions in some other insurance lines have supported reinsurance capacity and pricing, according to Swithenbank. On housing policy, Pollitzer welcomed the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act as a supply-focused effort that could support affordability over the long term. However, he said the legislation is not expected to have a significant near-term effect on the private mortgage insurance market or NMI’s business. NMI Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: NMIH) is a publicly traded mortgage insurance company that provides private mortgage insurance to lenders across the United States and Canada. Through its principal subsidiary, National Mortgage Insurance Corporation, NMI underwrites and issues policies that protect originators and investors against losses arising from borrower default on residential mortgage loans. By mitigating credit risk on higher‐loan‐to‐value mortgages, the company supports homebuyers' access to financing and contributes to overall market liquidity. Beyond its core mortgage insurance products, NMI offers credit risk‐sharing and reinsurance solutions designed to help clients optimize capital utilization and manage portfolio exposure. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. The article "NMI Q2 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat. View MarketBeat's top stocks for July 2026.

Our analysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you invest and we'll show you why it's our #1 pick. Tap here. Achieved record financial results including $106 million in adjusted net income, driven by consistent growth in the insured portfolio and disciplined expense management. Surpassed $500 billion in total insurance ever written, reflecting a long-term strategy of differentiated service and a diversified national customer franchise of over 1,700 lenders. Performance was bolstered by a resilient macro environment where record-high national house prices increased the need for down payment support while simultaneously strengthening credit performance. Maintained a proactive stance on pricing and risk selection to protect the balance sheet against remaining macro risks, despite overall market stability. Credit performance remains a standout driver, with management attributing favorable reserve development to a constructive labor market and significant embedded equity helping borrowers cure defaults. Operational efficiency improved as the expense ratio decreased to 19.4%, benefiting from the significant earnings power of the platform and disciplined cost control. Management anticipates an 'embedded growth engine' will continue to drive outperformance as their share of new business production remains meaningfully higher than their share of industry insurance in force. Default populations are expected to trend higher in the second half of 2026 due to typical seasonal headwinds following the first-half benefits of tax refunds and bonuses. Core yield is expected to remain broadly stable, supported by high persistency in the in-force book, though it remains sensitive to potential refinancing activity if interest rates move. Capital allocation strategy will continue to prioritize share repurchases, with $167 million in remaining capacity, while evaluating organic growth opportunities as the portfolio seasons. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is viewed as a long-term positive for housing supply, though management does not expect a significant impact on the private MI market in the near term. Repurchased $31.4 million of common stock in Q2, bringing total capital returned since 2022 to $408 million, or approximately 16% of total shares outstanding. Shifted reinsurance focus toward traditional forward-flow coverage over capital market ILNs to secure flexible terms and a certain price for a three-year planning horizon. Identified regional house price pressure in Florida, Texas, and parts of the Sun Belt, though management noted some of these markets appear to be bottoming out. Maintained a robust capital position with $1.6 billion in excess available assets under PMIERs, providing a significant buffer for through-the-cycle growth. One stock. Nvidia-level potential. 30M+ investors trust Moby to find it first. Get the pick. Tap here. Management noted that while national prices are at record highs, regional pressures exist in the Sun Belt and Mountain West due to building inventory. Early indicators for the 2026 vintage show no signs of underwriting strain or early payment defaults, maintaining the high-quality profile of previous years. Management emphasized that their insurance in force has grown 49% over four years, significantly outpacing the industry's 13% growth. Future capital allocation will balance the 'embedded growth engine' of new business with consistent share repurchases as the portfolio matures. The industry is described as being at a 'point of constructive balance' with rational pricing and attractive unit economics on new business. Management clarified they do not manage for specific market share targets, attributing Q2 volume growth to strong relationships with specific high-volume originators. NMI is currently favoring traditional reinsurance over ILNs due to speed, flexibility, and the ability to lock in forward-flow coverage for up to three years. Increased appetite from new reinsurers and lower risk layoff from GSEs have created a favorable supply-demand dynamic for private mortgage insurers.

Image source: The Motley Fool. Thursday, July 30, 2026 at 5 p.m. ET Vice President of Investor Relations and Treasury - John Swenson Executive Chairman - Brad Shuster President and Chief Executive Officer - Adam Pollitzer Chief Financial Officer - Aurora Swithenbank Operator: Good day. Welcome to the NMI Holdings Inc. 2026 second quarter earnings conference call. All participants will be in listen-only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by zero. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press star, then one on your telephone keypad. To withdraw your question, please press star, then two. Please note, this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to John Swenson, Vice President of Investor Relations and Treasury. Please go ahead. John Swenson: Thank you, operator. Good afternoon. Welcome to the 2026 second quarter conference call for National MI. I'm John Swenson, Vice President of Investor Relations and Treasury. Joining us on the call today are Brad Shuster, Executive Chairman, Adam Pollitzer, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Aurora Swithenbank, Chief Financial Officer. Financial results for the quarter were released after the close today. The press release may be accessed on NMI's website, located at nationalmi.com under the Investors tab. During the course of this call, we may make comments about our expectations for the future. Actual results could differ materially from those contained in these forward-looking statements. Additional information about the factors that could cause actual results or trends to differ materially from those discussed on the call can be found on our website or through our filings with the SEC. If, to the extent the company makes forward-looking statements, we do not undertake any obligation to update those statements in the future in light of subsequent developments. No one should rely on the fact that the guidance of such statements is current at any time other than the time of this call. Note that on this call, we may refer to certain non-GAAP measures. In today's press release and on our website, we've provided a reconciliation of these measures to the most comparable measures under GAAP. I'll turn the call over to Brad. Brad Shuster: Thank you, John. Good afternoon, everyone. I'm pleased to report that in the second quarter, National MI again delivered standout operating performance, continued growth in our insured portfolio, and record financial results. Our lenders and their borrowers continued to turn to us for critical down payment support. In the second quarter, we generated $16 billion of NIW volume, ending the period with a record $227.1 billion of high-quality, high-performing primary insurance in force. We also surpassed $500 billion of insurance ever written during the quarter—a notable milestone that serves to highlight the consistent and significant success we've been delivering for so long. National MI was formed with a goal to provide a differentiated commitment and standard of service and a clear vision as to how we should engage in the market to drive value for our borrowers, our lender customers, our employees, and our shareholders. It's remarkable to reflect on all that we have achieved to date. We've helped nearly 2.2 million borrowers gain access to a mortgage and opened the door to affordable and sustainable homeownership in communities across the country. We've established a broadly diversified national customer franchise, serving over 1,700 lenders from a foundation of partnership, trust, and innovation. We've attracted a talented, dedicated team who drive our success every day and have built a culture of collaboration, integrity, and performance. We have consistently outperformed, delivering exceptionally strong operating and financial results quarter after quarter. The long-term private MI market opportunity is compelling, and I'm as excited as I've ever been about how we're positioned to continue to outperform as we go forward. With that, let me turn it over to Adam. Adam Pollitzer: Thank you, Brad. Good afternoon, everyone. I'm delighted to talk to you today as I share Brad's excitement about our milestone success and his confidence in the opportunity we have as we look ahead. National MI continued to outperform in the second quarter, delivering significant new business production, consistent growth in our insured portfolio, and record financial results. We generated $16 billion of NIW volume and ended the period with a record $227.1 billion of high-quality, high-performing primary insurance in force. Total revenue in the second quarter was a record $187.9 million, and we delivered record adjusted net income of $106 million or $1.38 per diluted share and a 15.9% return on equity. Overall, we had a terrific quarter and are confident as we look ahead. The macro environment and housing market have remained resilient. Our lender customers and their borrowers continue to rely on us in size for critical down payment support. We see an attractive and sustained new business opportunity fueled by long-term secular trends. We have an exceptionally high-quality insured portfolio covered by a comprehensive set of risk transfer solutions. Our credit performance continues to stand ahead. We're delivering consistent growth and embedded value gains in our insured book. We continue to manage our expenses and capital position with discipline and efficiency, building a robust balance sheet that's supported by the significant earnings power of our platform. Taken together, we see a clear opportunity for continued outperformance. Notwithstanding these strong positives, however, macro risks do remain. We've maintained a proactive stance with respect to our pricing, risk selection, and reinsurance decisioning. It's an approach that has served us well and continues to be the prudent and appropriate course. More broadly, we've been encouraged by the continued discipline that we see across the private MI market. Overall, we had a terrific quarter, delivering strong operating performance, consistent growth in our insured portfolio, and record financial results. We're in the market every day with a clear mandate and purpose, offering a low-cost, high-value solution that makes homeownership more affordable and achievable for millions of deserving Americans in communities across the country, with coverage that serves to insulate the GSEs and taxpayers from risk and loss in a downturn. Looking ahead, we're well-positioned to continue to serve our customers and their borrowers, invest in our employees and their success, drive growth in our high-quality insured portfolio, and deliver through the cycle growth, returns, and value for our shareholders. With that, I'll turn it over to Aurora. Aurora Swithenbank: Thank you, Adam. We delivered record financial results in the second quarter. Total revenue was a record $187.9 million. Adjusted net income was a record $106 million, or $1.38 per diluted share, and return on equity was 15.9%. We generated $16 billion of NIW, and our primary insurance in force grew to $227.1 billion. 12-month persistency was 81.4% in the second quarter, compared to 82.2% in the first quarter. net premiums earned in the second quarter were a record $157.5 million, compared to $154.8 million in the first quarter and $149.1 million in the second quarter of 2025. Net yield for the quarter was 28 basis points, consistent with the first quarter. core yield, which excludes the cost of our reinsurance coverage and the contribution from cancellation earnings, was 34 basis points, also unchanged from the first quarter. Investment income was $30.3 million in the second quarter, compared to $28.6 million in the first quarter and $24.9 million in the second quarter of 2025. Total revenue was a record $187.9 million in the second quarter, up 2.4% compared to the first quarter and 8.1% compared to the second quarter of 2025. Underwriting and operating expenses were $30.5 million in the second quarter, compared to $30.6 million in the first quarter. Our expense ratio was 19.4% in the quarter, compared to 19.8% in the first quarter. We had 8,020 defaults at June 30th, compared to 8,044 at March 31st, and our default rate was 1.16% at quarter end. Claims expense in the second quarter was $13.1 million, compared to $20.7 million in the first quarter and $13.4 million in the second quarter of 2025. Adjusted net income was a record $106 million, up 7% compared to $99.4 million in the first quarter and 10% compared to $96.5 million in the second quarter of 2025. Adjusted diluted earnings per share was a record $1.38, up 8% compared to $1.28 in the first quarter and 14% compared to $1.22 in the second quarter of 2025. Shareholders' equity as of June 30th was $2.7 billion, and book value per share was $35.89. Book value per share, excluding the impact of our net unrealized gains and losses in the investment portfolio, was $36.88, up 4% compared to the first quarter and 15% compared to the second quarter of last year. In the second quarter, we repurchased $31.4 million of common stock, retiring 827,000 shares at an average price of $37.99. Since starting our buyback program in 2022, we've repurchased a total of $408 million of common stock, retiring 13.6 million shares at an average price of $29.95. We have $167 million of repurchase capacity remaining under our existing program. At quarter end, we reported $3.7 billion of total available assets under PMIERs and $2.1 billion of risk-based required assets. Excess available assets were $1.6 billion. Overall, we achieved record financial results during the quarter, delivering consistent growth in our high-quality insured portfolio, record top-line performance, standout credit experience, continued expense efficiency, and record bottom-line profitability. With that, let me turn it back to Adam. Adam Pollitzer: Thank you, Aurora. We had a terrific quarter, once again delivering significant new business production, continued growth in our high-quality insured portfolio, and record financial results. We have a strong customer franchise, a talented team driving us forward every day, an exceptionally high-quality book covered by a comprehensive set of risk transfer solutions, and a robust balance sheet supported by the significant earnings power of our platform. Taken together, we're well-positioned to continue to serve our customers and their borrowers, invest in our employees and their success, drive growth in our high-quality insured portfolio, and deliver through the cycle growth, returns, and value for our shareholders. Thank you for joining us today. I'll now ask the operator to come back on so we can take your questions. Operator: We will now begin the question-and-answer session. To ask a question, you may press star one on your telephone keypad. If you're using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. If at any time your question has been addressed and you would like to withdraw your question, please press star two. The first question comes from Bose George with KBW. Please go ahead. Bose George: Hey, everyone. Good afternoon. Starting with credit, can you discuss home price trends in your various markets? Are there areas where you're seeing things being better or worse than your expectations coming into the year? Adam Pollitzer: Yeah, no. I'd say in terms of the path of house prices, broadly speaking, nationally, we continue to be encouraged month after month on a national basis. House prices are setting records, obviously that's supportive for us in terms of need for our product. As house prices move higher, the need for affordability support increases. It obviously bolsters credit performance. It's a big positive. In terms of geo-by-geo local markets, nothing new is really developing. We continue to see the strongest markets in the Northeast and the Midwest. There continues to be degrees of pressure that are emerging in Florida, Texas, parts of the rest of the Sun Belt, Mountain West, and a little bit on the West Coast. From an encouraging standpoint, what we're seeing in some of those markets, and those markets are the same where we've seen inventories building a little bit of pressure on house prices for a while now. The most recent readings are showing that, in fact, some of the MSAs within that sort of broad regional footprint are actually bottoming and beginning to move off of their lows. Overall, nothing surprising or dramatic. Generally consistent with what we've been seeing for a while now. Bose George: Okay, great. Thanks. Actually from a capital return standpoint, in, I guess, a couple of years, your pull to par, as you call it, will be done. Your growth will look more similar to the others. In that scenario, it looks like some peers returned a lot of capital, others look outside the industry. Early thoughts on which camp you might fall into? Adam Pollitzer: Yeah, look, I guess, one, I would say thus far, we're really delighted with the consistency and success that we've achieved with our repurchase program. Like Aurora mentioned it, we've retired $408 million of stock, and that represents 16% of our total outstanding. As we roll forward pace of NIW, the organic opportunity, that will certainly factor into how we size our excess capital position. That pull to par that we've talked about, which is really just as a reminder for everybody, that's the fact that our share of new business production is still meaningfully higher than our share of industry insurance in force. We've got this embedded growth engine. It's a powerful one. Over the last four years since we launched our repurchase program, we've grown our insurance in force by 49% compared to 13% growth for the rest of the industry. We'll make decisions and evaluate what the right allocation of capital is at all times. It's one of the most critical roles that we have. We still see a lot of tailwind from that embedded growth engine as we look forward. Bose George: Okay, great. Thanks. Operator: The next question comes from Rich Shane with JPMorgan. Please go ahead. Rich Shane: Thanks, guys. I probably need to get in the queue just a little bit faster. I thought Bose asked the right questions. I will follow up just briefly. When you think about we're now halfway through 2026, it does feel like you guys picked up a little bit of market share in the second quarter. I'm curious what you guys are seeing in the market, how aggressive you want to be. I'm also curious to sort of benchmark how you feel about the 2026 vintage from a credit perspective versus the 2025 vintage which actually is showing hallmarks are performing pretty well. Adam Pollitzer: Yeah. Well, maybe I'll break them into three pieces. What we're seeing broadly in the market in terms of competitive dynamics. You guys said, how competitive do we want to be? What we're observing about the success we're having day-to-day with customers. Then we can talk about the credit environment and what we're seeing. I'd say broadly speaking, from a competitive standpoint, our view of what we observe in the market is that it looks like the industry is really at a point of balance in a very constructive way. I think we continue to be highly encouraged by the unit economics that we are achieving on new business. I think when we say we're where we should be, what we really mean is I think the industry overall, and certainly our approach and where we are, is that we want to make sure we are at a point where we could fully and fairly support our customers and their borrowers, but at the same time use rate among all the other tools that we have to appropriately protect our balance sheet, our returns, and our ability to deliver long-term value for shareholders. That's always going to be our focus, is making sure we're at a point of balance. Nothing has really changed. In terms of relative growth in NIW this quarter, I think we're the third out of six to report, so it's difficult to draw too many conclusions. I think we've had a little more growth in our NIW volume than the others who've reported. We're delighted with the result that we've achieved in the quarter, right? We wrote $16 billion of High return new business. We're working hard to support everybody who's turning to us in the market. As for a specific market share read-through, I think this is all just sort of in the normal plus/minus, right? There's always going to be fluctuations up or down that happen at any point in time. It could be because volume may have moved from one originator to another, where we happen to have greater wallet share. MI relationships aren't even across the board. There's really, I'd say, nothing of note that I would point out, and there's really nothing we do to manage the market share. What we do is to manage how we engage and show up for our customers every day. Rich, I'll pause and see if you had any follow-up there before I talk about the 2026 credit environment. Rich Shane: No, that's very helpful. Yes, I realized my question was pretty long, go ahead please. Sorry. Adam Pollitzer: No problem. I'd say, in terms of 2026 credit, most important, the underlying characteristics of the production that we're bringing onto the portfolio now are still incredibly high quality. We're still using all the tools that we've invested to develop individual risk underwriting, Rate GPS, the broad use of reinsurance on the back end to shape the profile of our portfolio. I'd say, as we're doing that, what we've really been most encouraged by is the resiliency that we're seeing in the economy and housing market as a backdrop. That sets the stage for a constructive environment today and hopefully strong performance as we carry through here. It's obviously very early, but we're not seeing anything in our portfolio experience on the early payment default side or other markers of underwriting strain that are emerging. We think it's another high-quality, productive year. Rich Shane: Okay. Appreciate that. Thank you. Operator: The next question comes from Mihir Bhatia with Bank of America. Please go ahead. Mihir Bhatia: Hi. Good afternoon. Thanks for taking my question. Adam, I was wondering if we could just follow up on the last point on credit and just in terms of the production you're seeing. I think you talked about your portfolio and not seeing any signs, but maybe just talk a little bit about competition and just pricing activity in the market. Are there any markets or pockets of the market where you feel things have gotten a little irrational, or you've had to move away from or pull back in? Adam Pollitzer: Mihir, it's a good question. Look, I'd reiterate—I'd say, broadly speaking, we think the industry is at a point of constructive balance right now. We've not seen any notable moves. I think the industry overall—and certainly when we're bringing volume into our books—is where we should be in providing that sort of balanced support for customers and borrowers and making sure, obviously, that we're building a high-quality portfolio that can generate adequate returns and meet our thresholds. That's still broadly the case in the market. The areas I would say where we see a little more pressure are nothing new. It's in some of the larger transactionally-oriented business, but that's not a new development in the market. That's been the case for going on 10 years at this point. Mihir Bhatia: All right. Great. Then maybe just on the default inventory, the loans in default this quarter ticked a little bit lower, I guess just marginally. Was that just seasonality and tax refunds, or should we read more into it? I guess anything to call out in terms of cures that have changed in the last few months that we should just keep an eye on? If you could even just comment on where you think default rates head from here. Thanks. Aurora Swithenbank: In terms of the activity in the quarter, I think you're right that there is a seasonal component to that. Just as a reminder, we tend to see—with tax refunds, year-end bonuses, and getting through the holidays in the first half of the year—there tends to be more positive credit experience. Then the tide tends to turn on that in the back half of the year. There was certainly some component of that. Some of that falls in the first quarter, some of that falls into the second quarter. There's also just broader macroeconomic environment, and the macro data, notwithstanding some headlines, continues to be very strong. The employment data is very strong. HPA continues to perform as Adam just spoke about. I think that's all very supportive of the default performance. In terms of outlook going forward, as you know, we don't provide any guidance. What I'd say is just point to the fact that some of those seasonal tailwinds that we have in the first part of the year become seasonal headwinds as we head into the back part of the year. We're keenly, as I know everyone is, watching the macroeconomic environment since I think that will be a key determinant of outcomes. Adam Pollitzer: We'd expect our default population to trend a bit higher from here. One, we saw for a while that we were seeing just a natural normalization of our credit experience given the growth and seasoning of the portfolio. As Aurora pointed to—seasonal dynamics—we always see a trend higher first in the third quarter and then again as we get into the back end of the year in the fourth quarter. Mihir Bhatia: Got it. Thank you. Thanks for taking my question. Operator: The next question comes from Mark Hughes with Truist. Please go ahead. Mark Hughes: Yeah, thank you. Good afternoon. The core yield of 34 basis points, given what you're seeing with pricing and the new business you're bringing on, is that sustainable at that level? Aurora Swithenbank: As you're aware, we don't provide any forward-looking guidance. Obviously the yield will be supported by the persistency of the in-force book; that tends to be a pretty stable number. It is influenced by the persistency of the in-force and the premium that we're bringing on in the new business. I'd expect that to be reasonably stable—plus minus—but it can be influenced by things like rate movements, which might cause a greater cohort of, say, refinancing activity to come through. Refinancing activity tends to be a little bit higher quality and therefore lower premium because you have borrowers who have higher FICO scores. They've been making payments on their mortgage. They may have embedded equity in those transactions. There's a number of things that can influence it, but given the large and stable in-force that we have and the strong persistency in the book, we would expect that to be broadly stable. Mark Hughes: Very good. The prior year reserve gains continue to be strong. Adam, is there anything structurally—when we think back at the timing of the different vintages: COVID, post-COVID, you name it—anything that you would call out as potentially influencing the trajectory of those prior year gains? I know they're obviously influenced by underlying credit trends, but anything else structurally or timing-wise that we ought to think about? Adam Pollitzer: No. It's a good question, and we always probe on this as we're doing our own internal analysis, but there really isn't anything. It's the fact that we're still in quite a constructive environment in terms of macro and housing market dynamics, and our existing borrowers remain really well-situated—even those that are falling behind—because of the strength in the labor market, because of the embedded equity in their homes. A lot of them are able to catch up and cure out a default at admittedly a faster and more successful pace than what we'd anticipated when we established the initial reserves; which is why we then have favorable development. Nothing that's structural or tied to a specific vintage. What we're seeing is really a constructive credit environment. Mark Hughes: Very good. Then maybe just one more, if I could: the net expense ratio continues to show nice improvement. Anything around timing on that could change that trajectory? Aurora Swithenbank: I think there's always seasonal fluctuations to expenses. We've talked about in the first quarter there's the FICA reset and 401 contributions. Depending on the trajectory of earnings—when that's strong—you have some accruals associated with share-based compensation. Those are things that kind of come year in, year out. There's no particular large expenditures that we are planning or that we have on the horizon which would impact the broad trajectory of expenses. Mark Hughes: Perfect. Thank you. Operator: Once again, if you have a question, please press star then one. The next question comes from Riley Sandham with RBC. Please go ahead. Riley Sandham: Good afternoon. I'm on for Rowland Mayor this evening. Can you walk through how you're thinking about traditional versus non-traditional reinsurance, and are you seeing any appetite change from reinsurers as P&C markets have softened? Adam Pollitzer: I'll just make one comment, and then Aurora will share more. The idea of traditional versus non-traditional—for us, it's all traditional because the ultimate structure that we face off against, it's excess of loss or it's quota share. We may source that capacity from a traditional slate of reinsurers, or we may source it from the capital markets in the form of ILN, but the transactions that we have are all quota share or excess of loss. I'll let Aurora speak to how we think about the balance between those two sources. Aurora Swithenbank: We like diversity in our sources of reinsurance. Recently, we've been more focused on traditional forms of reinsurance—to use your vocabulary. Honestly, that's on a couple of different vectors. One is we've been getting excellent execution; and I can go through reinsurer appetite and sort of what's driving that. We're able to get a little bit more flexible terms. In the capital markets, you need to warehouse risk either on your own balance sheet or through a warehouse facility in order to get the volume you need to do a securitization and place that into the capital markets. That's an extra complexity. Whereas in the reinsurance market, we have forward flow coverage, so we can lock in at a price certain today—coverage going out as far as three years in the future. That's pretty terrific in terms of the capital runway that it gives us and the certainty of execution for a complete planning horizon. Just the overall speed of execution in the reinsurance market—it tends to be very quick, and we can do it in smaller size. Debt capital markets transactions or securitization transactions, you need a minimum bulk in order to cover the fixed costs associated with those transactions. They tend to be a little bit less flexible, and we can't be quite as nimble in that market. Now that said, we like the ILN market. We would like to be back to the ILN market. I'll pivot back to what I said at the beginning, which is we like having a diversity of different outlets for our risk transfer. You'll expect to see us at certain points in the cycle come back to that market. I said I'd come back to why are reinsurers providing capital on such attractive terms. I think it's a couple of things. One, we've had a number of new reinsurers start writing mortgage reinsurance risk. I think they've seen the success of the early participants in that market, there is additional capacity as additional reinsurers join the market, hire teams, build analytics. There's the competitive dynamic. The GSEs have been laying off less risk into the reinsurance market over the past several years; that has left the private mortgage insurers as the primary source of that risk, and that's certainly been an important supply-demand dynamic in terms of the pricing. I'd point to those things, as you said, there's the broader softness in certain other lines of business. Broadly, this has been a line of business that's been very profitable for the reinsurers and is diversifying and non-correlated with some of their other businesses. I think that remains true today. Riley Sandham: Very helpful. If I could squeeze one more in here: the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act went into effect earlier this month, I was wondering if you believe any of those provisions or any other legislative proposals are able to help unfreeze this market. Adam Pollitzer: I'd say overall, we've been encouraged by what I would term a renewed focus that we've seen from the administration, from Congress, and others in D.C. on the housing market and housing finance issues. As for the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, I think it is great to see a coordinated bipartisan effort aimed at increasing housing supply, streamlining the development process, and ultimately improving affordability. We have a supply shortage of single-family homes in the U.S.—a broad, coordinated, bipartisan effort that brings focus and hopefully solutions to that issue is terrific. We're hugely supportive. What I would say, though, I'll focus more on us, right? In our market. I think while it's important overall, it's also noteworthy because it's really the first major piece of housing legislation that we've had in the U.S. since the 1990s. While we expect that it will be valuable for housing supply for affordability over the long term, it's not going to happen immediately. Because it's a supply-focused initiative, we don't expect that it's going to have a significant impact on the private MI market or our business, certainly not in the near term. Riley Sandham: That's great. Thank you very much. Operator: This concludes our question and answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Adam Pollitzer for any closing remarks. Please go ahead. Adam Pollitzer: Thank you all again for joining us. We'll be participating in the Barclays Financial Services Conference in New York on September 15th. We look forward to speaking with you again soon. Operator: The conference is now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect. Before you buy stock in NMI Holdings, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and NMI Holdings wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut are built for long-term growth and could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $397,081!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,166,221!* That performance is why people listen. With a track record of beating the S&P 500 by 4x, Stock Advisor offers a distinct advantage. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built for the long haul. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 30, 2026. This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability. The Motley Fool recommends NMI Holdings. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. NMI Holdings (NMIH) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript was originally published by The Motley Fool

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Total Revenue: Record $187.9 million in Q2 2026, up 2.4% sequentially and 8.1% year-over-year. Adjusted Net Income: Record $106 million, up 7% from Q1 2026 and 10% from Q2 2025. Adjusted Diluted EPS: Record $1.38, up 8% sequentially and 14% year-over-year. Return on Equity: 15.9% for the quarter. New Insurance Written (NIW): $16 billion in Q2 2026. Primary Insurance in Force: Record $227.1 billion at quarter end. Net Premiums Earned: Record $157.5 million, up from $154.8 million in Q1 2026 and $149.1 million in Q2 2025. Net Yield: 28 basis points, consistent with Q1 2026. Core Yield: 34 basis points, unchanged from Q1 2026. Investment Income: $30.3 million, up from $28.6 million in Q1 2026 and $24.9 million in Q2 2025. Underwriting and Operating Expenses: $30.5 million, down slightly from $30.6 million in Q1 2026. Expense Ratio: 19.4%, improved from 19.8% in Q1 2026. Claims Expense: $13.1 million, down from $20.7 million in Q1 2026. Defaults: 8,020 at June 30, down from 8,044 at March 31; default rate was 1.16%. Book Value Per Share: $35.89; $36.88 excluding net unrealized investment gains/losses, up 4% sequentially and 15% year-over-year. Share Repurchases: $31.4 million of common stock repurchased in Q2, retiring 827,000 shares at an average price of $37.99. PMIERs Excess Available Assets: $1.6 billion at quarter end. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Sign with NMIH. Is NMIH fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Release Date: July 30, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. NMI Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:NMIH) delivered record financial results in Q2 2026, with total revenue of $187.9 million and adjusted net income of $106 million, or $1.38 per diluted share. The company achieved significant new business production, generating $16 billion of NIW volume and growing its primary insurance in force to a record $227.1 billion. NMI Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:NMIH) surpassed the $500 billion milestone of insurance ever written, highlighting its consistent market success and scale. Credit performance remains strong, with a low default rate of 1.16% and favorable prior-year reserve development driven by a constructive macroeconomic and housing market environment. The company maintains a robust capital position with $1.6 billion in excess available assets under PMIERs and continues to return capital to shareholders, having repurchased $408 million of stock since 2022. NMI Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:NMIH) is benefiting from a favorable reinsurance market, securing flexible and cost-effective coverage from traditional reinsurers, which supports its capital efficiency and risk management. NMI Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:NMIH) expects its default population to trend higher in the second half of 2026 due to seasonal headwinds and the natural normalization of credit experience as the portfolio seasons. Persistency declined to 81.4% in Q2 2026 from 82.2% in Q1 2026, indicating a slight increase in policy cancellations or refinancing activity. The company faces ongoing macro risks, including potential pressure in certain regional housing markets such as Florida, Texas, and parts of the Sunbelt, which could impact future credit performance. While the 21st Century Road to Housing Act is supportive of housing supply, NMI Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:NMIH) does not expect it to have a significant near-term impact on the private MI market or its business. The company's core yield remained flat at 34 basis points, and while expected to be stable, it could be negatively influenced by future rate movements that increase refinancing activity, which typically carries lower premiums. NMI Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:NMIH) noted that competitive pressure persists in larger transactionally oriented business segments, a trend that has been present for nearly a decade. Q: Can you discuss home price trends in your various markets? Are there areas where you're seeing things being better or worse than your expectations coming into the year?A: Adam Pollitzer, President and CEO, noted that nationally, house prices continue to set records, which is supportive for the product and bolsters credit performance. While the strongest markets remain in the Northeast and Midwest, pressure persists in Florida, Texas, parts of the Sunbelt, Mountain West, and West Coast. However, recent readings suggest some MSAs in those pressured regions are bottoming out and beginning to move off their lows, with nothing surprising or dramatic developing. Q: From a capital return standpoint, once your "pull to par" is done and growth looks more similar to peers, which camp might you fall into regarding capital return?A: Adam Pollitzer, President and CEO, highlighted the success of the repurchase program, having retired $408 million of stock, representing 16% of total outstanding. He emphasized that the "pull to par" is an embedded growth engine, noting that over the last four years, the company has grown insurance in force by 49% compared to 13% for the rest of the industry. While capital allocation decisions will be evaluated continuously, the company still sees significant tailwind from this embedded growth engine. Q: How aggressive do you want to be in the market, and how do you feel about the '26 vintage from a credit perspective versus the '25 vintage?A: Adam Pollitzer, President and CEO, stated the industry is at a point of constructive balance, with the company achieving highly encouraging unit economics on new business. He noted the $16 billion of NIW volume was a strong result, but cautioned against drawing market share conclusions from one quarter due to normal fluctuations. Regarding credit, the 2026 production is incredibly high quality, utilizing tools like individual risk underwriting and reinsurance, with no signs of early payment default strain emerging. Q: Are there any markets or pockets where you feel things have gotten a little irrational or you've had to pull back?A: Adam Pollitzer, President and CEO, reiterated that the industry is at a point of constructive balance with no notable moves. The only area with a little more pressure is some larger transactionally oriented business, but that is not a new development and has been the case for going on 10 years. Q: The loans in default ticked slightly lower this quarter. Was that just seasonality and tax refunds, or should we read more into it? Where do default rates head from here?A: Aurora Swithenbank, CFO, attributed the decline to seasonal components like tax refunds and year-end bonuses, alongside a strong macroeconomic environment with robust employment data and HPA. Adam Pollitzer added that the default population is expected to trend higher from here due to natural normalization of credit experience from portfolio growth and seasoning, as well as seasonal dynamics that typically push defaults higher in the third and fourth quarters. Q: Is the core yield of 34 basis points sustainable at that level given what you're seeing with pricing and new business?A: Aurora Swithenbank, CFO, stated that while no forward-looking guidance is provided, the yield is supported by the persistency of the in-force book, making it a reasonably stable number. It can be influenced by rate movements that might cause a greater cohort of refinancing activity, which tends to be higher quality and lower premium, but given the large, stable in-force and strong persistency, the yield is expected to be broadly stable. Q: Is there anything structurally or timing-wise that could influence the trajectory of prior year reserve gains?A: Adam Pollitzer, President and CEO, explained there is nothing structural or tied to a specific vintage. The favorable development is due to the constructive macro and housing market environment, where existing borrowers remain well situated. Even those falling behind are able to catch up and cure defaults at a faster pace than anticipated due to labor market strength and embedded home equity. Q: Can you walk through how you're thinking about traditional versus nontraditional reinsurance? Are you seeing any appetite change from reinsurers as P&C markets have softened?A: Aurora Swithenbank, CFO, explained the company prefers diversity in reinsurance sources but has recently focused on traditional forms due to excellent execution, flexible terms, and the ability to lock in forward flow coverage for up to three years. While the ILN market is attractive, securitizations require minimum bulk and are less nimble. Reinsurer appetite remains strong due to new entrants, the GSEs laying off less risk, and the line being profitable and noncorrelated with other businesses. Q: Do you believe any provisions of the 21st Century Road to Housing Act or other legislative proposals can help unfreeze the housing market?A: Adam Pollitzer, President and CEO, expressed encouragement over the renewed focus on housing from the administration and Congress. He views the Act as a great bipartisan effort to increase supply and improve affordability, but noted it is supply-focused and will not have a significant impact on the private MI market in the near term. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

NMI Holdings, Inc. NMIH reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $1.38 per share, which rose 13.1% year over year. The bottom line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.28 by 7.81%.Revenues rose 8.1% year over year to $188 million and surpassed the consensus mark of $185 million by 1.73%. Higher earned premiums, stronger investment income and lower claims supported the results. Primary insurance in force increased 5.8% to $227.1 billion. NMI Holdings Inc price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | NMI Holdings Inc Quote Net premiums earned increased 5.7% year over year to $157.5 million, reflecting continued expansion in the insured portfolio. Our estimate was $157 million.Net investment income climbed 21.6% to $30.3 million, providing another meaningful lift to the top line. Our estimate was $27 million.The company recorded net realized investment losses of $0.2 million compared with $0.4 million a year earlier. Other revenues were $0.3 million, up from $0.2 million in the prior-year quarter. New insurance written totaled $16.1 billion, up 28.8% year over year. Purchase originations accounted for $14.3 billion, while refinance volume was $1.8 billion. The weighted average credit score on new business improved to 760 from 756.Primary risk in force grew to $60.8 billion (our estimates was $63.3 billion) from $57.5 billion. Policies in force rose to 694,273 (our estimate was 713,246) from 668,638. Annual persistency declined to 81.4% from 84.1%, indicating a somewhat faster pace of policy runoff. Insurance claims and claim expenses decreased 2.2% year over year to $13.1 million. The loss ratio improved 70 basis points to 8.3%, signaling favorable underwriting performance despite a higher default inventory.Underwriting and operating expenses increased 3.3% to $30.5 million. Still, the expense ratio improved 40 basis points to 19.4%, while the combined ratio improved 110 basis points to 27.7% (the Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at 31.03). Net income rose 10% year over year to $105.8 million. Income before taxes increased to $136.9 million from $123.6 million, supported by revenue growth and disciplined claims and expense management.Adjusted net income advanced 9.8% to $106 million. Annualized adjusted return on equity was 15.9%, down 40 basis points from the year-ago quarter. Book value per share excluding net unrealized investment gains and losses increased 15% year over year to $36.88. Reported book value per share was $35.89, while total shareholders’ equity was $2.7 billion at quarter-end.Total PMIERs available assets were $3.7 billion compared with $3.2 billion a year earlier. Net risk-based required assets were $2.1 billion, leaving available assets well above the regulatory requirement and supporting further portfolio growth. Loans with credit scores of 760 or higher represented $115 billion of primary insurance in force. Fixed-rate mortgages accounted for 98% of primary risk in force, limiting exposure to adjustable-rate loan resets.The default rate was 1.16%, up from 1% a year ago, and loans in default totaled 8,020. However, the portfolio remained broadly diversified, with the top 10 states accounting for 51.1% of primary risk in force.Management highlighted the company’s customer franchise, insured-book quality, risk-transfer arrangements and balance-sheet strength. These factors underpin its ability to pursue growth while maintaining protection against mortgage credit losses. Cash and cash equivalents totaled $72.1 million as of June 30, 2026, up from $43.9 million at the end of 2025. Total assets increased to $4 billion from $3.8 billion over the same period.Debt was $418 million, nearly unchanged from $417 million at 2025-end. The company also reported $3.3 billion of fixed-maturity investments at fair value. Its reserve for insurance claims and claim expenses was $214.6 million, up from $196.4 million at the end of 2025. NMIH currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. W.R. Berkley Corporation WRB reported second-quarter 2026 operating income of $1.27 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 16.5%. The bottom line increased 21% year over year. Operating revenues totaled $3.8 billion, up 3.6% year over year. The top line surpassed the consensus estimate by 1.87%.W.R. Berkley’s net premiums written were about $3.4 billion, up 2.4% year over year. The consolidated combined ratio (a measure of underwriting profitability) improved 160 basis points year over year to 90, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 92.AXIS Capital Holdings Limited AXS reported second-quarter 2026 operating income of $2.84 per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.23 and fell 12.1% year over year. Total operating revenues of $1.7 billion marginally missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1%. The top line rose nearly 7.4% year over year on higher premiums earned.Net premiums written decreased 1.8% to $1.6 billion, reflecting lower premiums in the Reinsurance segment, partially offset by growth in the Insurance segment. AXIS Capital’s underwriting income of $142.9 million decreased 24.5% year over year. The combined ratio deteriorated to 93.1 in the quarter from 88.9 a year ago, reflecting higher catastrophe and weather-related losses. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at 93.2. Our estimate was 93.8.Selective Insurance Group, Inc. SIGI reported second-quarter 2026 operating earnings of $1.95 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 13.4%. The bottom line increased 48.9% year over year. Revenues of $1.37 billion rose 4.5% from the year-ago quarter and topped the consensus estimate by 0.7%. Net premiums written declined 5% year over year to $1.22 billion due to a 6% decrease in Standard Commercial Lines, an 8% fall in Standard Personal Lines, and a 2% decline in Excess and Surplus Lines. Our estimate was $1.33 billion. Net premiums earned increased 2.3%. Direct new business fell to $206.1 million from $248.1 million. Renewal pure price increases averaged 6.5%, down from 9.9% in the prior-year quarter. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report NMI Holdings Inc (NMIH) : Free Stock Analysis Report W.R. Berkley Corporation (WRB) : Free Stock Analysis Report Axis Capital Holdings Limited (AXS) : Free Stock Analysis Report Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (SIGI) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

NMI Holdings (NMIH) came out with quarterly earnings of $1.38 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.28 per share. This compares to earnings of $1.22 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +7.81%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this mortgage insurance company would post earnings of $1.22 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.28, delivering a surprise of +4.92%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times. NMI Holdings, which belongs to the Zacks Insurance - Property and Casualty industry, posted revenues of $187.89 million for the quarter ended June 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.73%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $173.78 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates four times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. NMI Holdings shares have added about 8.7% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 6.9%. While NMI Holdings has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for NMI Holdings was unfavorable. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to underperform the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $1.33 on $186.14 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $5.11 on $741.71 million in revenues for the current fiscal year. Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Insurance - Property and Casualty is currently in the bottom 40% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. Hagerty, Inc. (HGTY), another stock in the same industry, has yet to report results for the quarter ended June 2026. The results are expected to be released on August 5. This company is expected to post quarterly loss of $0.08 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -161.5%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. Hagerty, Inc.'s revenues are expected to be $321.01 million, down 12.9% from the year-ago quarter. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report NMI Holdings Inc (NMIH) : Free Stock Analysis Report Hagerty, Inc. (HGTY) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

EMERYVILLE, Calif., July 30, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NMI Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: NMIH) today reported net income of $105.8 million, or $1.38 per diluted share, for the second quarter ended June 30, 2026, compared to $99.3 million, or $1.28 per diluted share, for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026 and $96.2 million, or $1.21 per diluted share, for the second quarter ended June 30, 2025. Adjusted net income for the quarter was $106.0 million, or $1.38 per diluted share, compared to $99.4 million, or $1.28 per diluted share, for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026 and $96.5 million, or $1.22 per diluted share, for the second quarter ended June 30, 2025. Adam Pollitzer, President and Chief Executive Officer of National MI, said, “In the second quarter, we again delivered standout operating performance, consistent growth in our high-quality insured portfolio, and record financial results. We have a strong customer franchise, a talented team driving us forward every day, an exceptionally high-quality book covered by a comprehensive set of risk transfer solutions, and a robust balance sheet supported by the significant earnings power of our platform. Looking forward, we’re well positioned to continue delivering differentiated growth, returns and value for our shareholders.” Selected second quarter 2026 highlights include: Primary insurance-in-force at quarter end was $227.1 billion, compared to $222.3 billion at the end of the first quarter and $214.7 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2025. Net premiums earned were $157.5 million, compared to $154.8 million in the first quarter and $149.1 million in the second quarter of 2025. Total revenue was $187.9 million, compared to $183.5 million in the first quarter and $173.8 million in the second quarter of 2025. Insurance claims and claim expenses were $13.1 million, compared to $20.7 million in the first quarter and $13.4 million in the second quarter of 2025. Loss ratio was 8.3%, compared to 13.3% in the first quarter and 9.0% in the second quarter of 2025. Underwriting and operating expenses were $30.5 million, compared to $30.6 million in the first quarter and $29.5 million in the second quarter of 2025. Expense ratio was 19.4%, compared to 19.8% in the first quarter and 19.8% in the second quarter of 2025. Net income was $105.8 million, compared to $99.3 million in the first quarter and $96.2 million in the second quarter of 2025. Diluted EPS was $1.38, compared to $1.28 in the first quarter and $1.21 in the second quarter of 2025. Adjusted net income was $106.0 million, compared to $99.4 million in the first quarter and $96.5 million in the second quarter of 2025. Adjusted diluted EPS was $1.38, compared to $1.28 in the first quarter and $1.22 in the second quarter of 2025. Shareholders' equity was $2.7 billion at quarter end and book value per share was $35.89. Book value per share excluding the impact of net unrealized gains and losses in the investment portfolio was $36.88, up 4% compared to $35.46 in the first quarter and up 15% compared to $32.08 in the second quarter of 2025. Annualized return on equity for the quarter was 15.9%, compared to 15.2% in the first quarter and 16.2% in the second quarter of 2025. Annualized adjusted return on equity was 15.9%, compared to 15.2% in the first quarter and 16.3% in the second quarter of 2025. At quarter-end, total PMIERs available assets were $3.7 billion and net risk-based required assets were $2.1 billion. (1) Percentages may not be replicated based on the rounded figures presented in the table.(2) Book value per share (excluding net unrealized gains and losses) is defined as total shareholders' equity, excluding the after-tax effects of unrealized gains and losses on our investment portfolio, divided by shares outstanding. Conference Call and Webcast Details The company will hold a conference call, which will be webcast live today, July 30, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time / 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The webcast will be available on the company's website, www.nationalmi.com, in the “Investor Relations” section. The conference call can also be accessed by dialing (844) 481-2708 in the U.S. or (412) 317-0664 internationally and referencing NMI Holdings, Inc. About NMI Holdings, Inc. NMI Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: NMIH), is the parent company of National Mortgage Insurance Corporation (National MI), a U.S.-based, private mortgage insurance company enabling low down payment borrowers to realize homeownership while protecting lenders and investors against losses related to a borrower's default. To learn more, please visit www.nationalmi.com. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release or any other written or oral statements made by or on behalf of the Company in connection therewith may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “PSLRA”). The PSLRA provides a “safe harbor” for any forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in or incorporated by reference in this release are forward-looking statements, including any statements about our expectations, outlook, beliefs, plans, predictions, forecasts, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance. These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “can,” “could,” “may,” “predict,” “assume,” “potential,” “should,” “will,” “estimate,” “perceive,” “plan,” “project,” “continuing,” “ongoing,” “expect,” “intend” and similar words or phrases. All forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve estimates, known and unknown risks, assumptions and uncertainties that may turn out to be inaccurate and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in them. Many risks and uncertainties are inherent in our industry and markets. Others are more specific to our business and operations. Important factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those indicated in such statements include, but are not limited to: changes in general economic, market and political conditions and policies (including changes in interest rates and inflation) and investment results or other conditions that affect the U.S. housing market or the U.S. markets for home mortgages, mortgage insurance, reinsurance and credit risk transfer markets, including the risk related to geopolitical instability, inflation, an economic downturn (including any decline in home prices) or recession, international trade policies in areas such as tariffs or other trade restrictions, and their impacts on our business, operations and personnel; changes in the charters, business practices, policies, pricing or priorities of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (collectively, the GSEs), which may include decisions that have the impact of decreasing or discontinuing the use of mortgage insurance as credit enhancement generally, or with first-time homebuyers or on very high loan-to-value mortgages; or changes in the direction of housing policy objectives of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (“FHFA”), such as the FHFA’s priority to increase the accessibility to and affordability of homeownership for low- and moderate-income borrowers and underrepresented communities; our ability to remain an eligible mortgage insurer under the private mortgage insurer eligibility requirements (“PMIERs”) and other requirements imposed by the GSEs, which they may change at any time; retention of our existing certificates of authority in each state and the District of Columbia (“D.C.”) and our ability to remain a mortgage insurer in good standing in each state and D.C.; our future profitability, liquidity and capital resources; actions of existing competitors, including other private mortgage insurers and government mortgage insurers such as the Federal Housing Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Service and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and potential market entry by new competitors or consolidation of existing competitors; adoption of new or changes to existing laws, rules and regulations that impact our business or financial condition directly or the mortgage insurance industry generally or their enforcement and implementation by regulators, including the implementation of the final rules defining and/or concerning “Qualified Mortgage” and “Qualified Residential Mortgage”; U.S. federal tax reform and other potential changes in tax law and their impact on us and our operations; legislative or regulatory changes to the GSEs’ role in the secondary mortgage market or other changes that could affect the residential mortgage industry generally or mortgage insurance industry in particular; potential legal and regulatory claims, investigations, actions, audits or inquiries that could result in adverse judgments, settlements, fines or other relief that could require significant expenditures or have other negative effects on our business; our ability to successfully execute and implement our capital plans, including our ability to access the equity, credit and reinsurance markets and to enter into, and receive approval of, reinsurance arrangements on terms and conditions that are acceptable to us, the GSEs and our regulators; lenders, the GSEs, or other market participants seeking alternatives to private mortgage insurance; our ability to implement our business strategy, including our ability to write mortgage insurance on high-quality low down payment residential mortgage loans, successfully and timely implement complex infrastructure, systems, procedures, and internal controls to support our business and regulatory and reporting requirements of the insurance industry; our ability to attract and retain a diverse customer base, including the largest mortgage originators; failure of risk management or pricing or investment strategies; decrease in the length of time our insurance policies are in force; emergence of unexpected claim and coverage issues, including claims exceeding our reserves or amounts we had expected to experience; potential adverse impacts arising from natural disasters including, with respect to affected areas, a decline in new business, adverse effects on home prices, and an increase in notices of default on insured mortgages; climate risk and efforts to manage or regulate climate risk by government agencies could affect our business and operations; potential adverse impacts arising from the occurrence of any man-made disasters or public health emergencies, including pandemics; the inability of our counterparties, including third-party reinsurers, to meet their obligations to us; failure to maintain, improve and continue to develop necessary information technology systems or the failure of technology providers to perform; effectiveness and security of our information technology systems and digital products and services, including the risks these systems, products or services may fail to operate as expected or planned, or expose us to cybersecurity or third-party risks (including the exposure of our confidential customer and other information); and our ability to recruit, train and retain key personnel. These risks and uncertainties also include, but are not limited to, those set forth under the heading “Risk Factors” detailed in Item 1A of Part I of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, as subsequently updated through other reports we file with the SEC. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. We caution you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement, which speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect new information, future events or circumstances that occur after the date on which the statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events except as required by law. Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures We believe the use of the non-GAAP measures of adjusted income before tax, adjusted net income, adjusted diluted EPS, adjusted return-on-equity, adjusted expense ratio, adjusted combined ratio and book value per share (excluding net unrealized gains and losses) enhance the comparability of our fundamental financial performance between periods and provide relevant information to investors. These non-GAAP financial measures align with the way the company's business performance is evaluated by management. These measures are not prepared in accordance with GAAP and should not be viewed as alternatives to GAAP measures of performance. These measures have been presented to increase transparency and enhance the comparability of our fundamental operating trends across periods. Other companies may calculate these measures differently; their measures may not be comparable to those we calculate and present. Adjusted income before tax is defined as GAAP income before tax, excluding the pre-tax effects of net realized gains or losses from our investment portfolio, periodic costs incurred in connection with capital markets transactions, and other infrequent, unusual or non-operating items in the periods in which such items are incurred. Adjusted net income is defined as GAAP net income, excluding the after-tax effects of net realized gains or losses from our investment portfolio, periodic costs incurred in connection with capital markets transactions, and other infrequent, unusual or non-operating items in the periods in which such items are incurred. Adjustments to components of pre-tax income are tax effected using the applicable federal statutory tax rate for the respective periods. Adjusted diluted EPS is defined as adjusted net income divided by adjusted weighted average diluted shares outstanding. Adjusted weighted average diluted shares outstanding is defined as weighted average diluted shares outstanding, adjusted for changes in the dilutive effect of non-vested shares that would otherwise have occurred had GAAP net income been calculated in accordance with adjusted net income. There will be no adjustment to weighted average diluted shares outstanding in the periods that non-vested shares are anti-dilutive under GAAP. Adjusted return on equity is calculated by dividing adjusted net income on an annualized basis by the average shareholders' equity for the period. Adjusted expense ratio is defined as GAAP underwriting and operating expenses, excluding the pre-tax effects of periodic costs incurred in connection with capital markets transactions, divided by net premiums earned. Adjusted combined ratio is defined as the total of GAAP underwriting and operating expenses, excluding the pre-tax effects of periodic costs incurred in connection with capital markets transactions and insurance claims and claims expenses, divided by net premiums earned. Book value per share (excluding net unrealized gains and losses) is defined as total shareholders' equity, excluding the after-tax effects of unrealized gains and losses on investments, divided by shares outstanding. Although adjusted income before tax, adjusted net income, adjusted diluted EPS, adjusted return-on-equity, adjusted expense ratio, adjusted combined ratio and book value per share (excluding net unrealized gains and losses) exclude certain items that have occurred in the past and are expected to occur in the future, the excluded items: (1) are not viewed as part of the operating performance of our primary activities; or (2) are impacted by market, economic or regulatory factors and are not necessarily indicative of operating trends, or both. These adjustments, and the reasons for their treatment, are described below. (1) Net realized investment gains and losses. The recognition of net realized investment gains or losses can vary significantly across periods as the timing is highly discretionary and is influenced by factors such as market opportunities, tax and capital profile, and overall market cycles that do not reflect our current period operating results. (2) Capital markets transaction costs. Capital markets transaction costs result from activities that are undertaken to improve our debt profile or enhance our capital position through activities such as debt refinancing and capital markets reinsurance transactions that may vary in their size and timing due to factors such as market opportunities, tax and capital profile, and overall market cycles. (3) Other infrequent, unusual or non-operating items. Items that are the result of unforeseen or uncommon events, and are not expected to recur with frequency in the future. Identification and exclusion of these items provide clarity about the impact special or rare occurrences may have on our current financial performance. Past adjustments under this category include infrequent, unusual or non-operating adjustments related to severance, restricted stock modification and other expenses incurred in connection with the CEO transition announced in September 2021 and the effects of the release of the valuation allowance recorded against our net federal and certain state net deferred tax assets in 2016 and the re-measurement of our net deferred tax assets in connection with tax reform in 2017. We believe such items are infrequent or non-recurring in nature, and are not indicative of the performance of, or ongoing trends in, our primary operating activities or business. (4) Net unrealized gains and losses on investments. The recognition of net unrealized gains or losses on investment can vary significantly across periods and is influenced by factors such as interest rate movement, overall market and economic conditions, and tax and capital profiles. These valuation adjustments may not necessarily result in economic gains or losses and are not reflective of ongoing operations. Investor ContactJohn M. SwensonVice President, Investor Relations & [email protected] (1) Loss ratio is calculated by dividing insurance claims and claim expenses by net premiums earned.(2) Expense ratio is calculated by dividing underwriting and operating expenses by net premiums earned. (1) Marginal tax impact of non-GAAP adjustments is calculated based on our statutory U.S. federal corporate income tax rate of 21%, except for those items that are not eligible for an income tax deduction.(2) Expense ratio is calculated by dividing underwriting and operating expenses by net premiums earned.(3) Adjusted expense ratio is calculated by dividing adjusted underwriting and operating expense (underwriting and operating expenses excluding costs related to capital markets reinsurance transactions) by net premiums earned.(4) Combined ratio is calculated by dividing the total of underwriting and operating expenses and insurance claims and claim expenses by net premiums earned.(5) Adjusted combined ratio is calculated by dividing the total of adjusted underwriting and operating expenses (underwriting and operating expenses excluding costs related to capital market reinsurance transaction) and insurance claims and claim expenses by net premiums earned.(6) Book value per share is calculated by dividing total shareholders' equity by shares outstanding.(7) Book value per share (excluding net unrealized gains and losses) is defined as total shareholders' equity, excluding the after-tax effects of unrealized gains and losses on our investment portfolio, divided by shares outstanding. (1) Loss ratio is calculated by dividing insurance claims and claim expenses by net premiums earned.(2) Expense ratio is calculated by dividing underwriting and operating expenses by net premiums earned.(3) Combined ratio may not foot due to rounding. Portfolio Statistics The table below highlights trends in our primary portfolio as of the date and for the periods indicated. (1) Reported as of the end of the period.(2) Calculated as end of period RIF divided by end of period IIF.(3) Calculated as net premiums earned, divided by average primary IIF for the period, annualized.(4) Defined as the percentage of IIF that remains on our books after a given twelve-month period.(5) Defined as the percentage of IIF that is no longer on our books after a given three-month period. NIW, IIF and Premiums The tables below present NIW and primary IIF, as of the dates and for the periods indicated. The following table presents the amounts related to the company's quota-share reinsurance transactions (the 2018 QSR Transaction, 2020 QSR Transaction, 2021 QSR Transaction, 2022 QSR Transaction, 2022 Seasoned QSR Transaction, 2023 QSR Transaction, 2024 QSR Transaction, 2025 QSR Transaction, and 2026 QSR Transaction and collectively, the QSR Transactions), traditional reinsurance transactions (the 2022-1 XOL Transaction, 2022-2 XOL Transaction, 2022-3 XOL Transaction, 2023-1 XOL Transaction, 2023-2 XOL Transaction, 2024 XOL Transaction, 2025 XOL Transaction, 2026-1 XOL, and 2026-2 XOL Transaction and collectively, the XOL Transactions), and insurance-linked note transaction (the 2021-2 ILN Transaction) for the periods indicated. (1) Effective July 1, 2025, NMIC terminated its coverage with all reinsurers under the 2016 QSR Transaction by mutual agreement on a cut-off basis.(2) Effective April 27, 2026, NMIC exercised its optional call to terminate and commute its previously outstanding excess-of-loss reinsurance agreement with Oaktown Re VI Ltd., and the associated insurance-linked notes were redeemed in full with a distribution of remaining collateral assets. The tables below present our total NIW by credit score, loan-to-value (LTV) ratio, and purchase/refinance mix for the periods indicated. (1) Includes de minimis amounts related to loans with VantageScore 4.0 credit scores for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026. The table below presents a summary of our primary IIF and RIF by book year as of June 30, 2026. The tables below present our total primary IIF and RIF by credit score and LTV, and total primary RIF by loan type as of the dates indicated. (1) Includes de minimis amounts related to loans with VantageScore 4.0 credit scores as of June 30, 2026. (1) Includes de minimis amounts related to loans with VantageScore 4.0 credit scores as of June 30, 2026. The table below presents a summary of the change in total primary IIF for the dates and periods indicated. Geographic Dispersion The following table shows the distribution by state of our primary RIF as of the periods indicated. The table below presents selected primary portfolio statistics, by book year, as of June 30, 2026. (1) Calculated as total claims incurred (paid and reserved) divided by cumulative premiums earned, net of reinsurance.(2) Calculated as the sum of the number of claims paid ever to date and number of loans in default divided by policies ever in force.(3) Calculated as the number of loans in default divided by number of policies in force. The following table provides a reconciliation of the beginning and ending reserve balances for insurance claims and claim expenses: (1) Related to ceded losses recoverable under the QSR Transactions. (2) Related to insured loans with their most recent defaults occurring in the current year. For example, if a loan defaulted in a prior year and subsequently cured and later re-defaulted in the current year, the default would be included in the current year. Amounts are presented net of reinsurance and included $61.4 million attributed to net case reserves and $11.8 million attributed to net IBNR reserves for the six months ended June 30, 2026 and $51.5 million attributed to net case reserves and $8.8 million attributed to net IBNR reserves for the six months ended June 30, 2025.(3) Related to insured loans with defaults occurring in prior years, which have been continuously in default before the start of the current year. Amounts are presented net of reinsurance and included $28.8 million attributed to net case reserves and $10.8 million attributed to net IBNR reserves for the six months ended June 30, 2026 and $34.9 million attributed to net case reserves and $8.1 million attributed to net IBNR reserves for the six months ended June 30, 2025.(4) Excludes aggregate termination fees of $0.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2025 incurred in connection with the amendment of certain QSR Transactions.(5) Represents the settlement of reinsurance recoverables in conjunction with the termination or amendment of certain QSR transactions. The following table provides a reconciliation of the beginning and ending count of loans in default: The following table provides details of our claims paid, before giving effect to claims ceded under the QSR Transactions, for the periods indicated: (1) Count includes 15 and 27 claims settled without payment during the three and six months ended June 30, 2026, respectively, and 16 and 36 claims settled without payment during the three and six months ended June 30, 2025, respectively. (2) Severity represents the total amount of claims paid including claim expenses divided by the related RIF on the loan at the time the claim is perfected, and is calculated including claims settled without payment. The following table shows our average reserve per default, before giving effect to reserves ceded under the QSR Transactions, as of the dates indicated: (1) Defined as the gross reserve per insured loan in default.(2) Amount includes claims adjustment expenses. The following table provides a comparison of the PMIERs available assets and net risk-based required asset amount as reported by NMIC as of the dates indicated: