Funeral services company Carriage Services (NYSE: CSV) missed Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q2 CY2026, with sales flat year on year at $102.9 million. The company’s full-year revenue guidance of $440 million at the midpoint came in 0.6% below analysts’ estimates. Its non-GAAP profit of $0.78 per share was 5.1% below analysts’ consensus estimates.
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Carriage Services (CSV) Q2 CY2026 Highlights:
- Revenue: $102.9 million vs analyst estimates of $108.9 million (flat year on year, 5.5% miss)
- Adjusted EPS: $0.78 vs analyst expectations of $0.82 (5.1% miss)
- Adjusted EBITDA: $33.26 million vs analyst estimates of $33.2 million (32.3% margin, in line)
- The company dropped its revenue guidance for the full year to $440 million at the midpoint from $445 million, a 1.1% decrease
- Management reiterated its full-year Adjusted EPS guidance of $3.45 at the midpoint
- EBITDA guidance for the full year is $137.5 million at the midpoint, in line with analyst expectations
- Operating Margin: 23.3%, in line with the same quarter last year
- Free Cash Flow Margin: 2.2%, down from 6.8% in the same quarter last year
- Market Capitalization: $643 million
Carlos Quezada, Vice Chairman and CEO, stated, "We are pleased with our second-quarter performance. Against the backdrop of lower national mortality trends that emerged earlier this year, resulting in a 3.5% decline in our at-need volume compared with the second quarter of 2025, we delivered strong financial results. Comparable average revenue per contract increased 3.7% in funeral homes and 17.9% in preneed cemetery average revenue per interment, while total financial revenue grew 14.0%. Another positive during the second quarter was the continued growth in our preneed programs, a key driver of our long-term growth strategy, highlighted by 21.1% growth in insurance-funded preneed funeral contracts and 5.0% growth in consolidated cemetery preneed sales production. These accomplishments more than offset the volume impact, driving revenue to $102.9 million, an increase of 0.8% year over year.
Company Overview
Established in 1991, Carriage Services (NYSE: CSV) is a provider of funeral and cemetery services in the United States.
Revenue Growth
Reviewing a company’s long-term sales performance reveals insights into its quality. Even a bad business can shine for one or two quarters, but a top-tier one grows for years. Regrettably, Carriage Services’s sales grew at a weak 3% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years. This was below our standard for the consumer discretionary sector and is a tough starting point for our analysis.
We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within consumer discretionary, a stretched historical view may miss a company riding a successful new product or trend. Carriage Services’s annualized revenue growth of 2.8% over the last two years aligns with its five-year trend, suggesting its demand was consistently weak. 
This quarter, Carriage Services’s $102.9 million of revenue was flat year on year, falling short of Wall Street’s estimates.
Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 9% over the next 12 months. Although this projection implies its newer products and services will spur better top-line performance, it is still below the sector average.
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Operating Margin
Operating margin is a key measure of profitability. Think of it as net income - the bottom line - excluding the impact of taxes and interest on debt, which are less connected to business fundamentals.
Carriage Services’s operating margin has generally stayed the same over the last 12 months, and we generally like to see margin increases due to economies of scale and cost efficiency over time.
In Q2, Carriage Services generated an operating margin profit margin of 23.3%, in line with the same quarter last year. This indicates the company’s overall cost structure has been relatively stable.
Earnings Per Share
We track the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) for the same reason as long-term revenue growth. Compared to revenue, however, EPS highlights whether a company’s growth is profitable.
Carriage Services’s weak 4.4% annual EPS growth over the last five years aligns with its revenue performance. This tells us it maintained its per-share profitability as it expanded.
In Q2, Carriage Services reported adjusted EPS of $0.78, up from $0.74 in the same quarter last year. Despite growing year on year, this print missed analysts’ estimates. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street expects Carriage Services’s full-year EPS to grow 14.4% from $3.14 to $3.59.
Key Takeaways from Carriage Services’s Q2 Results
We struggled to find many positives in these results. Its revenue missed and its EPS fell short of Wall Street’s estimates. Overall, this quarter could have been better. The stock remained flat at $41.21 immediately after reporting.
Is Carriage Services an attractive investment opportunity at the current price? The latest quarter does matter, but not nearly as much as longer-term fundamentals and valuation, when deciding if the stock is a buy. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).
