Growth vs. Income

By Funeral Director Daily July 1, 2025

    Last week I read this article authored by Kenio Fontes from Seeking Alpha concerning Death Care behometh Service Corporation International (SCI) and titled “The quiet dividend machine you probably overlooked“.  As is the custom of Funeral Director Daily I will not comment on the specifics of a stock market related article, but it…

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Memoria aims to be the “technology disrupter” of Deathcare

By Funeral Director Daily June 30, 2025

      I don’t know what Death Care will look like ten years from now but I do know that change happens, and in some way, the logistics of it will be different than today.  This recent article from Forbes titled “Tech and Deathcare:  A new challenge to an old industry” ends with the…

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The Psychology of Commitment

By Funeral Director Daily June 27, 2025

    When you are in a competitive business you need to acquire customers and then find a way to make sure that those customers are “commited to you”.  Many times acquiring the customer might be the easy part, but making sure the customer stays commited to you and loyal to your brand can be…

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Data is all around you — do you see it?

By Funeral Director Daily June 26, 2025

    There’s a lot of places that one can collect data to help them with their business – and that business could be Death Care or international espionage.  This story is not necessarily about Death Care, but it is about finding data in interesting places that you may not be looking for it.  …

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Carriage Services’ lack of acquisitions disappoints Seeking Alpha researcher

By Funeral Director Daily June 26, 2025

  About ten days ago this article appeared on investor site Seeking Alpha authored by Caffital Research.  The article was about funeral home/crematory/cemetery operator Carriage Services.  The title of the article was “Carriage Services:  Further upside requires further M&A.”   In that article the author(s) stated “Carriage Services, Inc. has still been quiet on the M&A…

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BUSINESS

New York audit of state funeral industry finds “Red flags”

By Funeral Director Daily | December 19, 2025

    A recent report (November 2025) from the State of New York Department of Health with the results of an audit “which covered April 2019 through November 2023, concluded that the state Department of…

More Americans take on debt to cover funerals

By Funeral Director Daily | December 12, 2025

  I came across this recent article from USA Today titled “Americans are going into debt over death.  Here are affordability tips.”  Reading that article led me to a survey and results from Debt.com and…

The Green Funeral movement is alive in New York City

By Funeral Director Daily | December 11, 2025

  Amy Cunningham is a friend of mine.  She was a writer/editor who has become a funeral director and she has teased me that I was a funeral director who has became a writer/editor with…

FINANCE

Pinnacle Funeral Service makes Green Bay acquisition

By Funeral Director Daily | December 18, 2025

  We learned earlier this week that Pinnacle Funeral Service, a funeral home owner and operator based in St. Petersburg, Florida, has acquired the Malcore Funeral Home & Crematory as well as Simply Cremation in…

Hillenbrand sale progressing, but some questions remain

By Funeral Director Daily | December 17, 2025

I had almost forgot that Hillenbrand Inc., the former parent company of Batesville, had itself agreed to be sold to Lone Star Funds last August (2025).  I was reminded of that transaction from this recent…

Park Lawn purchases 8 funeral homes in greater Oklahoma City

By Funeral Director Daily | December 15, 2025

  Late last week we received this press release that indicates that Park Lawn Corporation acquired eight stand-alone funeral homes in locations spanning the greater Oklahoma City market.  It represents Park Lawn’s entrance into the…

REGULATIONS

New York audit of state funeral industry finds “Red flags”

By Funeral Director Daily | December 19, 2025

    A recent report (November 2025) from the State of New York Department of Health with the results of an audit “which covered April 2019 through November 2023, concluded that the state Department of…

Missing body causing problems between family and cemetery

By Funeral Director Daily | December 3, 2025

    According to details in this article from CBC Canada Royal Air Force glider pilot veteran Gordon Patrick was buried at the Green Acres Cemetery outside of Winnipeg, Manitoba, following his death in 1973. …

Subject of iconic “Homecoming” photo died on Veterans Day

By Funeral Director Daily | November 28, 2025

  This is Thanksgiving weekend — a time to reflect and give thanks for the lives we are living.  Those of you who are old enough will remember back in 1973 a time when our…

CEMETERY

Cremations, and now tariffs creating headwinds for monument dealers

By Funeral Director Daily | December 16, 2025

  American monument dealers have become accustomed to dealing with the rising cremation rates in the country and the dwindling sales opportunities for cemetery monuments that fact brings.   But now, according to this recent…

The Green Funeral movement is alive in New York City

By Funeral Director Daily | December 11, 2025

  Amy Cunningham is a friend of mine.  She was a writer/editor who has become a funeral director and she has teased me that I was a funeral director who has became a writer/editor with…

Opinion: The Jewish Faith and Cremation

By Funeral Director Daily | December 10, 2025

  I grew up in the very homogeneous community of Alexandria, Minnesota.  From this Wikipedia article you can see that the city at the time of my growing up had a population of a little…

CREMATION

Cremations, and now tariffs creating headwinds for monument dealers

By Funeral Director Daily | December 16, 2025

  American monument dealers have become accustomed to dealing with the rising cremation rates in the country and the dwindling sales opportunities for cemetery monuments that fact brings.   But now, according to this recent…

Opinion: The Jewish Faith and Cremation

By Funeral Director Daily | December 10, 2025

  I grew up in the very homogeneous community of Alexandria, Minnesota.  From this Wikipedia article you can see that the city at the time of my growing up had a population of a little…

Does KFC have a template for Death Care?

By Funeral Director Daily | November 24, 2025

  Alex Fasciano, an analyst for CFRA Research suggests that quick service restaurant player KFC’s (formerly Kentucky Fried Chicken) strategy is “. .centered on driving growth through brand relevance, marketing innovation, (and) operational excellence. .…

PRENEED

More Americans take on debt to cover funerals

By Funeral Director Daily | December 12, 2025

  I came across this recent article from USA Today titled “Americans are going into debt over death.  Here are affordability tips.”  Reading that article led me to a survey and results from Debt.com and…

Preneed companies emerge as funeral home lending sources

By Funeral Director Daily | October 3, 2025

    Morgan Stanley, a global financial services firm that provides a wide range of products and services, including investment banking, wealth management, consumer banking, and brokerage services, recently made this comment in an article, “Life…

Co-op Funeralcare increases “Funeral Plan” sales over 17% despite cyberattack

By Funeral Director Daily | October 1, 2025

  An April cyberattack which you can read about here probably cost the parent company of Great Britain’s largest funeral home operator, Co-op Funeralcare, about a US$ 107 million profit swing but didn’t seem to…

PRODUCTS

Cremations, and now tariffs creating headwinds for monument dealers

By Funeral Director Daily | December 16, 2025

  American monument dealers have become accustomed to dealing with the rising cremation rates in the country and the dwindling sales opportunities for cemetery monuments that fact brings.   But now, according to this recent…

The Green Funeral movement is alive in New York City

By Funeral Director Daily | December 11, 2025

  Amy Cunningham is a friend of mine.  She was a writer/editor who has become a funeral director and she has teased me that I was a funeral director who has became a writer/editor with…

More breakthrough technologies from OneRoom available

By Funeral Director Daily | December 5, 2025

  The streaming, recording, and re-watching of Death Care memorial events is becoming more and more a staple of what consumers are now expecting from their Death Care event professional.  And much like any new…