United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), the nation’s largest mortgage lender, posted a net loss of $247 million for the first quarter of 2025 — which the company’s Chairman, President, and CEO Mat Ishbia was quick to point out was due to a $388 million reduction of fair value of its mortgage servicing rights (MSR) portfolio.
“We have zero control over this — MSR values — whether it goes up or down,” Ishbia said on an earnings call this morning. “We did have an amazing quarter and we're profitable on all the measures we look at,” he added.
UWM reported Q1 2025 revenue of $613.5 million, up 4.8% year-over-year. Part of the more positive news to come from the lender is that it closed $32.4 billion in production, up 17.1% from the first quarter of 2024. UWM saw its refinancing business nearly double to $10.6 billion, a 92.5% increase from Q1 2024.
Speaking of the refi volume, Ishbia noted that a large portion of that business came “in a small window between the end of February and the beginning of March,” which was exactly when mortgage rates began sliding downward for several weeks.
And on that note, Ishbia spoke of UWM’s capacity to handle production increases without losing speed or efficiency. “Our [loan] submission to clear-to-close for the quarter was 12.7 days, while some of the best in the industry are still running 40 to 45 days,” he contended. “And we improved this metric by over a day — from 13.9 in the first quarter of 2024 — despite doing almost 20% more business.”
“UWM is uniquely prepared to win in any type of market, and with the significant volatility of the past couple months, we've showcased that preparation several times when there were brief periods of low rates,” Ishbia emphasized. “Our refi operational excellence enables us to double our daily production levels without sacrificing speed, quality, or service.”
"Whatever you think you know about our business ... it's about to change in a big way.” —UWM President and CEO Mat Ishbia
And when mortgage rates are higher and refi business slows, UWM will focus on its purchase business, he asserted. UWM continues to originate more than $20 billion in purchase volume per quarter, now marking eight consecutive quarters having done so.
Ishbia contended market conditions have been shifting in UWM’s favor in the last few years.
“Since 2022, the mortgage-brokerage-channel share of the industry is up almost 40%, from about 19.7% to almost 28%,” he said. “That is the highest level we've seen since 2008.”
In-House Servicing, And More To Come
The UWM Chief Executive pointed to the company’s announcement last week that it’s bringing its mortgage servicing in-house by licensing ICE Mortgage Technology’s MSP loan servicing system. Ishbia said on the call it was a long-calculated move, and that the company expects it could save costs in the multiple tens of millions of dollars annually.
“This is something we've been contemplating for many years; however, we believe now is the time to make this investment by leveraging the latest technology and AI,” he noted of bringing servicing in-house. “Our plan is to be the most efficient servicer in America.”
“We are excited to control this part of the process,” Ishbia continued, “and look forward to the cost savings that we will achieve, which some people estimate [could be] between $40 and $100 million a year.”
Still, it was anything but a decision taken lightly, Ishbia explained. We think bringing servicing in-house is best for us at this point. It's been an inflection point — we've been 50-50 for a while on it, and we kind of pushed ourselves over the edge recently, and we're excited about those savings and that enhancement.”
Meanwhile, on the call, Ishbia struck a tone along the lines of “you ain’t seen nothin’ yet,” hinting at more significant moves the company is planning to announce in the coming weeks and months. “Just so you guys know — whatever you think you know about our business, how dominant we are — it's about to change in a big way,” he quipped.
Going forward, the company expects Q2 2025 production will be between $38 and $45 billion, with a gain margin between 90 and 115 basis points.
