Funeral Director Daily

Titan Casket: Here’s their Valentine ad

By Funeral Director Daily / February 13, 2026 /

    In only a few short years Titan Casket has proved to have “staying power” as a “Direct-to-Consumer” casket company.  And, while they have bonafide products to sell to the public their way of doing so has to be termed “a little unconventional”.   They are what I term “a little edgy” in their…

Seeking Alpha article looks at Carriage Services’ dividend paying ability as criteria

By Funeral Director Daily / February 13, 2026 /

  I found an interesting but somewhat unusual opinion article from Seeking Alpha the other day that dealt with Death Care provider Carriage Services.  The article is titled “Carriage:  Dividend trends by the numbers” and can be accessed here.   While Funeral Director Daily generally does not give opinions on articles such as this I’m…

Private Equity company Epiris to sell a “Structured Minority interest” in Pure Cremation

By Funeral Director Daily / February 12, 2026 /

  I’ve watched the growth of direct cremation provider and preneed cremation business Pure Cremation from a start-up to, in my opinion, the most profitable investment in Death Care over the past decade.  According to the Sun Life “Cost of Dying Report” in Great Britain, direct cremation has grown from a 2-3% market share in…

Will the large-scale use of Hydrogen-powered cremation come into play?

By Funeral Director Daily / February 11, 2026 /

    One of the positive things of living during the winter months in a Florida golf community is that I get to meet and play golf with lots of new people with greatly differing backgrounds from my own.  Just last Friday I got paired up with two new friends — one a retired police…

Matthews International 1Q 2026 Earnings Call: Commentary and Q&A on “Memorialization”

By Funeral Director Daily / February 10, 2026 /

  Last week Death Care supplier Matthews International held their First Quarter 2026 Earnings Call with interested parties including investment company representatives.  You can access a full transcript of that Earnings Call courtesy of Seeking Alpha here.   As has become our custom at Funeral Director Daily we will publish some excerpts from that transcript…

Just for Fun. . . .

By Funeral Director Daily / February 9, 2026 /

    I subscribe to an investment advisory service called “Seeking Alpha“.  I do so because I learned about the markets from my father when I was growing up and I’ve always enjoyed learning about how companies sell their products and build their profits.  Knowing how a company operates helps me in making my decision…

Here we go again. . . .

By Funeral Director Daily / February 9, 2026 /

  For as long as I can remember, those of us who work in Death Care have been un-deservedly percieved by many as part of a strange or dark world.  You’re going to see that perception rise again as the new movie “The Mortuary Assistant” will debut in theatres on Friday the 13th of February.…

Matthews 1Q Fiscal 2026: Streamlined company shows Memorialization Segment rise in revenue

By Funeral Director Daily / February 6, 2026 /

  When it is all said and done, corporate conglomerate Matthews International, with a heavy presence in Death Care, will probably be glad that they have left Fiscal Year 2025 behind and are charging into Fiscal Year 2026.   FY2025 found Matthews streamline their company by divesting their SGK unit and, while technically FY2026, the…

Funeral homes and cemeteries — Where’s the future potential?

By Funeral Director Daily / February 5, 2026 /

  I’ve been around the Death Care business my whole life. . . . and one thing I can tell you is that, like other businesses, “things” change.  For instance, Death Care clientele used to spend a high percentage of their “Death Care spend” on caskets and other merchandise.  That’s not always the case anymore.…

Carriage Services announces Executive promotions

By Funeral Director Daily / February 4, 2026 /

  Effective as of yesterday, February 2, 2026, Carriage Services implemented “a series of executive leadership promotions and appointments that reflect the Company’s continued momentum and its deliberate efforts over the past several years to build a durable foundation for sustained growth” according to this January press release from the company.   Carlos Quezada, Vice…