United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), the nation’s largest mortgage originator, closed $32.4 billion in loan originations in the first quarter of 2025, up 17% from $27.6 billion during the same period a year ago, according to the company’s first quarter 2025 earnings report.
While UWM (NYSE: UWMC) saw positive annual gains in loan originations, the lender posted a net loss of $247 million over the quarter, with lower fair value of mortgage servicing rights (MSR) to blame. MSR valuations moved lower on interest rate declines, resulting in a paper loss the company had no operational control over, executives said during an earnings call with investors Tuesday morning.
Mat Ishbia, chairman, CEO and president of UWM, also addressed the future privatization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, a stated priority of President Donald Trump’s administration and a topic that has been hotly debated within the mortgage industry.
In response to an investor question on how UWM is preparing, Ishbia said, “that stuff’s way, way far in the future, if it even happens.”
“Here’s what I’d say about it: I think you’ve got great leaders now running the mortgage market from FHFA Director Bill Pulte to HUD Director Scott Turner. You got people on top of the mortgage business,” Ishbia said. “So I think they’re going to make the right decisions for all of us. And so my view on it is whatever happens, we will win with it because we are nimble, we react quickly, we make changes, and we impact the business and our brokers in a positive way.”
Ishbia also took a question on mergers and acquisitions, with an investor noting that there was “a big transaction in the space from one of your competitors.”
Rather than look to “go out and buy a bunch of these companies and try to…pump my stock,” Ishbia said UWMC was “going to keep doing it our way,” specifically by building technology in-house and focusing on organic business.
“If an opportunity comes up, we always look at it, but that’s really not the strategy right now. The strategy is let’s dominate,” he said.
Looking purely at the financials, the Q1 net loss for UWM marks a stark contrast to the net profit of $40.6 million UWM saw in the previous quarter and $180.5 million in Q1 2024. According to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company reported a non-GAAP net loss of $195.3 million for the first quarter of 2025, illustrating the significant impact of MSR valuations on its bottom line.
Although year-over-year loan originations rose, purchase mortgage volume reached $21.7 billion, down slightly from both the previous quarter’s $21.9 billion and $22.1 billion the same period a year ago. Meanwhile, refinances generated $10.6 billion in originations, down 37% from $16.8 billion the previous quarter, but nearly doubling the $5.5 billion in Q1 2024 refi activity as homeowners rushed to take advantage of a short-lived decline in interest rates midway through the quarter.
Despite the mixed performance results, executives are optimistic about what lies ahead.
“We executed with precision and broker marketshare grew,” Ishbia said in prepared remarks. “When rates briefly dipped, we swiftly capitalized on the refinance opportunity—all while maintaining our best-in-class performance in the purchase market.”
He added, “In both Q4 of 2024 and Q1 of 2025, we once again proved our ability to quickly adapt and scale in response to rate changes, a direct result of the investments and groundwork we’ve laid over the past three years.”
The company reported diluted earnings per share of $0.12. Total gain margin was 94 basis points, within the company’s projected range of 90 to 115 basis points.
UWM ended the quarter with $2.4 billion in liquidity, including $485 million in cash and available borrowing capacity.
The company’s first-quarter performance was on par with projections from the Q4 2024 earnings call, where it estimated Q1 2025 production volume between $28 billion and $35 billion. At that time, the company reported a total 2024 loan origination volume of $139.4 billion and net income of $329.4 million.
In April, UWM named Rami Hasani as its new chief financial officer, succeeding Andrew Hubacker, who moved into a senior advisor role. Hasani said Tuesday that UWM continues expanding its underwriting and technology teams to manage the surge in mortgage production, anticipating the lender can “handle twice our 2024 origination volume with minimal impact or fixed costs.”
In Q1, the lender partnered with Sphere LOS, providing its brokers with a single workflow platform at no cost for two years. Additionally, UWM expanded a flat-fee title solution for borrowers to 14 states.
As it looks to the future, UWM expects loan origination volume in Q2 2025 to finish at $38 billion to $45 billion, with gain margin expected to remain in the 90- to 115-basis-point range.
UWM originates loans exclusively through the wholesale channel and works with independent mortgage brokers. The company has maintained its position as the largest wholesale mortgage lender for 10 straight years.
The company’s Q1 performance comes amid increasing competition in the mortgage industry, stubborn interest rates hovering around the 7% mark and uncertainty about future Federal Reserve policy as President Trump’s trade wars rage on.
Shares of UWM Holdings were trading near $4.30 by noon ET Tuesday, 10% lower than their previous close.