Latest news with #FNF
Perth Now
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Elmo's X hacked with vile posts, with potential link to WA
The official X account for childhood hero Elmo was hacked early on Monday morning, with a post by the hacker indicating a Perth local may be connected. Many Australians woke up to see the Sesame Street star was trending online, but were shocked to discover it was due to several vile messages posted on the page by a hacker. Posts made on the hacked account contained antisemitic, racist, and transphobic language as well as references to US President Donald Trump. 'Donald Trump is Netanyahu's puppet because he is in the Epstein files,' one post said, referencing the relationship between the leaders of the United States and Israel. 'Release the files @RealDonaldTrump,' another post said, before using an offensive term to describe the US President. Three of the offensive posts put on the account by the hacker. Credit: @elmo / X Another post called for harm against the Jewish people. One individual who replied to the hacker's post saying they were going to mute the Sesame Street account was met with a swift response from the Elmo account, which contained a transphobic slur. A post from the account amid the hack listed the names of three individuals who it claimed contribute to account hacks on X - with the post stating one of the named hackers is 'residing in Western Australia'. 'H** aka H**** M***** hacks twitter accounts, and his partner @c****3***, aka I**** J**** P******, residing in Western Australia launches and bundles them, then with the help of his friend @w******_*** they shill it to FNF.' One post by the hacker indicated a Western Australian resident was involved in Credit: @elmo / X The account of the Western Australian has since been banned from X for violations of the platform's rules. There is no confirmation yet as to what the man's connection is to this hacking, other than him being named in the Elmo account's post. The account for Elmo, under the username @elmo, has more than 645,000 followers and has existed on the platform since November 2012. The official Elmo account has more than 645,000 followers. Credit: @elmo / X A representative for Sesame Workshop confirmed the digital security breach to media outlets. 'Elmo's X account was compromised today by an unknown hacker who posted disgusting messages, including antisemitic and racist posts,' the rep said. 'We are working to restore full control of the account.' Fans of the red puppet took to social media to voice their anger at the hacking. 'Whoever hacked Elmo to make it look like that baby boy was evil you're not seeing Heaven,' one user posted. 'World must be getting eviler for someone to be heartless enough to hack Elmo,' another user said. 'Elmo shouldn't even be on Twitter anyway… he's three,' a third person joked.
San Francisco Chronicle
07-05-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
FNF Group: Q1 Earnings Snapshot
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Fidelity National Financial Inc. (FNF) on Wednesday reported profit of $83 million in its first quarter. On a per-share basis, the Jacksonville, Florida-based company said it had net income of 30 cents. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were 78 cents per share. The provider of title insurance and mortgage services posted revenue of $2.73 billion in the period.
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Fidelity National Financial Inc (FNF) Q4 2024 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Title Segment ...
Adjusted Pre-Tax Title Earnings (Q4 2024): $343 million Adjusted Pre-Tax Title Margin (Q4 2024): 16.6% Adjusted Pre-Tax Title Earnings (Full-Year 2024): $1.2 billion Adjusted Pre-Tax Title Margin (Full-Year 2024): 15.1% Total Revenue (Q4 2024): $3.6 billion Total Revenue Excluding Gains/Losses (Q4 2024): $4 billion Net Earnings (Q4 2024): $450 million Adjusted Net Earnings (Q4 2024): $366 million or $1.34 per diluted share Total Revenue Excluding Gains/Losses (Full-Year 2024): $13.6 billion Adjusted Net Earnings (Full-Year 2024): $1.3 billion Title Segment Revenue (Q4 2024): $2.1 billion Direct Premiums Increase (Q4 2024): 28% Agency Premiums Increase (Q4 2024): 27% Escrow, Title-Related, and Other Fees Increase (Q4 2024): 15% Personnel Costs Increase (Q4 2024): 11% Other Operating Expenses Increase (Q4 2024): 8% F&G Assets Under Management (End of 2024): $65.3 billion F&G Gross Sales (Full-Year 2024): $15.3 billion F&G Net Sales (Full-Year 2024): $10.6 billion F&G Adjusted Net Earnings (Q4 2024): $123 million F&G Adjusted Net Earnings (Full-Year 2024): $475 million Cash and Short-Term Liquid Investments (End of 2024): $786 million Warning! GuruFocus has detected 6 Warning Sign with FNF. Release Date: February 21, 2025 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Fidelity National Financial Inc (NYSE:FNF) reported strong fourth-quarter results with adjusted pre-tax title earnings of $343 million and a margin of 16.6%. The Title segment showed resilience with a 6% increase in daily purchase opened orders in Q4 2024 compared to Q4 2023. FNF's F&G segment profitably grew assets under management to a record $65.3 billion by the end of 2024. F&G contributed 38% of FNF's consolidated adjusted net earnings for the full year 2024, highlighting its role as a strong growth engine. The company maintained a strong balance sheet with $786 million in cash and short-term liquid investments at the holding company by the end of 2024. Refinance volumes remain significantly lower than the levels seen in early 2021 due to high mortgage rates. The housing market faced challenges with home sales in 2024 at the lowest level since 1995, attributed to high mortgage rates and a housing shortage. The Title segment's personnel costs increased by 11% and other operating expenses rose by 8% in Q4 2024. F&G's alternative investment returns were below long-term expectations by $27 million in Q4 2024. The company faces potential challenges with elevated mortgage rates persisting around 7%, which could impact future transaction volumes. Q: I was surprised to learn that your open orders in the Title business are accelerating into January despite the backup in rates. Could you give us more color on what's driving the strength in January? Are you taking market share? A: Michael Nolan, CEO: It's hard to determine on a monthly basis if we're taking market share, but we're encouraged by the 6% increase in purchase orders in the fourth quarter over last year. Refinance numbers were up 16% in January, indicating pent-up demand despite higher rates. We'll need more time to see how market share plays out. Q: On your F&G earnings call, you mentioned benefits from FNF's majority ownership. Are there any material benefits or synergies critical to executing your growth plans, or could F&G execute well as a standalone entity? A: Chris Blunt, CEO of F&G: We've run F&G as a standalone business, but benefits like hard capital support and cybersecurity advancements have been significant. The ratings upgrade was crucial for channel expansion, which has been a major growth driver. Q: What's your best guess on the impact of the data breach from the previous year on the Title margin expansion? A: Anthony Park, CFO: The impact was minor, possibly around 50 basis points on margin. We only had two days of disrupted transactions, and much of the revenue was recovered in December of last year. Q: Can you discuss the sustainability of the strong commercial results and your confidence in continuing to grow off the $1.2 billion base? A: Michael Nolan, CEO: Starting in June, we've seen strong growth in national orders, averaging about 12% over the last three quarters. Clients and business partners are optimistic about 2025, and the office sector's recovery could further boost commercial volumes. Q: How should we think about margins in 2025 compared to 2024, assuming market trends persist? A: Michael Nolan, CEO: Margins depend on factors like the mix of Direct and Agency, Commercial performance, and non-Title businesses. If 2025 sees more transactional volume, we expect better margins than in 2024, outperforming prior cycles with improved conditions. Q: Can you break down the margin by segment? A: Anthony Park, CFO: In Q4 2024, Direct operations had a margin of over 23%, Agency was about 7.5%, National Commercial units were around 34%, Loan Care was 23%, and Home Warranty was flat compared to the prior year. Q: Any impact from the wildfires on Q1 closings? A: Michael Nolan, CEO: The impact is minimal. While the fires are tragic, the affected areas don't have significant transactional volume, so the effect on our business is negligible. Q: How have investments in efficiency and technology impacted the Title segment, and what are the future focus areas? A: Michael Nolan, CEO: We've moved to cloud data storage and integrated our operations on the SoftPro platform, enhancing efficiency. Future focus includes improving the closing process and leveraging AI for better customer and employee experiences. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Sign in to access your portfolio
