SCI’s 1st Quarter 2025 shows “Strong” Funeral side performance

By Funeral Director Daily May 5, 2025

  Service Corporation International (SCI) reported their 1st Quarter 2025 financial results last week and in doing so showed an overall revenue increase of 2.8% in year over year results.  Total Revenue for the quarter was $ 1.074.2 billion as compared to the 1st Quarter of 2024 which came in at $ 1.045.4 billion.  …

Trump’s first 100 Days: Any effect on funeral service?

By Funeral Director Daily May 2, 2025

    We’ve just lived through the first 100 days of the 2nd Trump presidency.  On the equity market front there has been a lot of predictions and a lot of ups and downs. . . . However, as far as funeral service or Death Care goes, where are we and what can we expect…

Will Gen Z lead the way back to more traditional funerals?

By Funeral Director Daily May 1, 2025

    I think it is a real longshot and we are a long way from proclaiming that the funeral is back in American culture.  However, a couple of indicators show that Generation Z, those who are in today’s age bracket of between 13 and 28 years of age, may be yearning for a life…

. . . .and the caissons go rolling along

By Funeral Director Daily April 30, 2025

  It will have been over two years since the last horse-drawn caisson carried a United States military member to their grave at Arlington National Cemetery when the horse-drawn caissons are again given that opportunity.   According to this article, “The U.S. Army announced . .  the limited reintegration of the caisson into funeral services…

The Cremation Aftermarket: Here’s a great idea to spur interest and sales

By Funeral Director Daily April 29, 2025

    If you read Funeral Director Daily and listen to me when I have a chance to be a guest on an industry podcast you know that I believe that there is a great, and growing, potential market in what I call the “Cremation Aftermarket”.  My take on the the “Cremation Aftermarket” is that…

BUSINESS

Service Corporation purchases two funeral homes in Ontario

By Funeral Director Daily | February 2, 2026

  We learned from this article written by Fort Erie Radio that Service Corporation International (SCI) recently purchased two funeral homes in the Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada, community.  According to the article, the Williams Funeral…

“Mattering”: Can your funeral home help “It”. . . Can “It” help your funeral home?

By Funeral Director Daily | January 29, 2026

  It’s not something I thought about ever.  And, while I sensed some of the psychological needs associated with it, I’d never thought of it in the sense I learned about it last week.  …

The “Humanity” of Death Care

By Funeral Director Daily | January 28, 2026

  Funeral Director Daily publishes lots of articles that deal with the business, or money side of Death Care.  That’s good. . .and readers seem to like it, however, I never want any of us…

FINANCE

Service Corporation purchases two funeral homes in Ontario

By Funeral Director Daily | February 2, 2026

  We learned from this article written by Fort Erie Radio that Service Corporation International (SCI) recently purchased two funeral homes in the Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada, community.  According to the article, the Williams Funeral…

Seeking Alpha authors “Bullish” on SCI

By Funeral Director Daily | January 27, 2026

  When you follow the public companies in Death Care like I do it is unusual to find articles about them appearing very often.  But, last week two separate authors of Seeking Alpha gave opinions…

What’s with Private Equity?

By Funeral Director Daily | January 26, 2026

  I guess “Private” means “Privacy” and that is probably why it is so difficult to get information on how the Private Equity market is doing.  The status of the industry is, however, of much…

REGULATIONS

Offender to be dis-interred and removed from Fort Sam Houston National Military Cemetery

By Funeral Director Daily | January 30, 2026

  Texas Senator John Cornyn authored a bill that was passed by the Senate, the House, and signed into law by President Trump in late December 2025, that was included in the 2026 National Defense…

Veterans’ Affairs recently grants $77 million to state-operated veteran cemeteries

By Funeral Director Daily | January 22, 2026

    According to this recent article in Newsweek “The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has awarded more than $77 million in new grants aimed at expanding and improving state-operated Veterans cemeteries.  The funding, announced…

Cemetery legal dispute ends in disinterment

By Funeral Director Daily | January 15, 2026

  A lengthy legal case of about four years that involved a Service Corporation International (SCI) cemetery and also included a well-known and succesful business family has ended in a disinterment ruling of the keepsakes…

CEMETERY

Offender to be dis-interred and removed from Fort Sam Houston National Military Cemetery

By Funeral Director Daily | January 30, 2026

  Texas Senator John Cornyn authored a bill that was passed by the Senate, the House, and signed into law by President Trump in late December 2025, that was included in the 2026 National Defense…

The “Humanity” of Death Care

By Funeral Director Daily | January 28, 2026

  Funeral Director Daily publishes lots of articles that deal with the business, or money side of Death Care.  That’s good. . .and readers seem to like it, however, I never want any of us…

Veterans’ Affairs recently grants $77 million to state-operated veteran cemeteries

By Funeral Director Daily | January 22, 2026

    According to this recent article in Newsweek “The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has awarded more than $77 million in new grants aimed at expanding and improving state-operated Veterans cemeteries.  The funding, announced…

CREMATION

Veterans’ Affairs recently grants $77 million to state-operated veteran cemeteries

By Funeral Director Daily | January 22, 2026

    According to this recent article in Newsweek “The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has awarded more than $77 million in new grants aimed at expanding and improving state-operated Veterans cemeteries.  The funding, announced…

Washington crematories stymied by air quality regulations

By Funeral Director Daily | January 7, 2026

  Washington State cremation owners and operators find themselves in somewhat of a Catch-22 when it comes to new cremation equipment.  According to this article from the Seattle Times Pacific Northwest Magazine old cremation machines…

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…

PRENEED

Is a 10% credit card interest rate ceiling good news for funeral homes? . . . Maybe not

By Funeral Director Daily | January 20, 2026

  Today is January 20.  It is the day that President Trump wanted to institute one of his ideas for making life more “affordable”.  That idea is a 10% cap on interest rates on credit…

Can you the provide the opportunity for additional Preneed sales in the 1st Quarter of 2026?

By Funeral Director Daily | January 14, 2026

  “Strike when the iron is hot“.  That’s a 15th-century saying that came from the blacksmith trade and meant to suggest that the blacksmith should “bend the metal when it is hot and somewhat flexible”. …

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…

PRODUCTS

Is a 10% credit card interest rate ceiling good news for funeral homes? . . . Maybe not

By Funeral Director Daily | January 20, 2026

  Today is January 20.  It is the day that President Trump wanted to institute one of his ideas for making life more “affordable”.  That idea is a 10% cap on interest rates on credit…

Can you the provide the opportunity for additional Preneed sales in the 1st Quarter of 2026?

By Funeral Director Daily | January 14, 2026

  “Strike when the iron is hot“.  That’s a 15th-century saying that came from the blacksmith trade and meant to suggest that the blacksmith should “bend the metal when it is hot and somewhat flexible”. …

Creedy, Jefferson form advisory firm

By Funeral Director Daily | January 9, 2026

    Long-time Death Care executives and advisors Alan Creedy and Danny Jefferson have again joined together to form a new firm to help those in the business.  A press release issued earlier this week…