Equifax’s U.S. mortgage revenue increased 25% year over year during the second quarter, even though higher interest rates pushed industry transaction volume below the company’s expectations.
The increase was considerably smaller when the effect of FICO pricing was removed. During its earnings call, Equifax said U.S. mortgage revenue grew approximately 7% excluding FICO. Mortgage revenue within its U.S. Information Solutions, or USIS, division climbed 40%, but increased by the mid-single digits without FICO.
The difference shows that Equifax’s mortgage growth was not driven solely by greater origination activity. Higher credit-score revenue contributed heavily to the gains at a time when lenders remain under pressure to reduce the cost of producing a loan.
Equifax reported $1.7 billion in total second-quarter revenue, an 11% increase from one year earlier. Net income attributable to the company declined 4% to $183.9 million, while adjusted earnings per share increased 13% to $2.25.
“U.S. Mortgage revenue grew 25% and in line with our expectations despite higher mortgage rates throughout the second quarter,” Equifax CEO Mark Begor said.
Mortgage revenue within Workforce Solutions increased 8%. The division, which includes Equifax’s employment and income verification business, generated $705.4 million in total revenue, up 7% annually. Verification Services revenue also grew 7% to $607.6 million.
USIS produced $611.6 million in revenue, a 17% year-over-year increase. Online Information Solutions revenue rose 19% to $545.4 million.
The results arrive during an intensifying competition over the scores and data used in mortgage underwriting. Equifax and TransUnion cut the price of VantageScore 4.0 mortgage credit scores to $4.50 earlier this year, responding to lender concerns about credit-report expenses and the mortgage industry’s reliance on FICO.
VantageScore activity is increasing, although exclusive use remains limited. Equifax said mortgage transactions involving VantageScore increased 175% sequentially to approximately 2.2 million during the second quarter. Only about 10,000 transactions used VantageScore exclusively, however.
Lenders operating outside the government-sponsored enterprise market accounted for most of the exclusive production use, with home equity lenders representing the majority of that group.
The disparity suggests lenders are testing or receiving VantageScore alongside existing scores more frequently without broadly replacing FICO in production. In the meantime, Equifax’s results show how FICO-related pricing can lift mortgage-data revenue even when underlying loan activity remains weaker than expected.
Equifax has also been building out its mortgage verification offerings. The company introduced Income Qualify in December, giving lenders access to employment and income information from The Work Number during prequalification and preapproval.
Beyond mortgage, Equifax doubled its AI-driven cost-reduction target for 2026 through 2028 to $150 million. The company said it is deploying AI agents and tools across its operations, technology, and support teams to improve productivity, although it did not specify how much of the projected savings will come from its mortgage businesses or whether those savings will affect customer pricing.
Equifax also signed an agreement to acquire Mexican credit bureau Círculo de Crédito for an enterprise value of $750 million. The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter.
For full-year 2026, Equifax expects total revenue between $6.71 billion and $6.78 billion, representing reported growth of 10.5% to 11.6%. The company projected adjusted earnings of $8.39 to $8.69 per share.
*This article was primarily written by a human author. AI tools were used in a limited capacity for research assistance or light editing.
