NMI NASDAQ: NMIH executives highlighted record revenue, continued growth in insurance in force, and what management described as resilient credit performance during the company’s first-quarter 2026 earnings call.
National MI generated $12.3 billion of new insurance written (NIW) in the quarter and ended the period with a record $222.3 billion of primary insurance in force, which Executive Chairman Bradley M. Shuster called a “high-quality, high-performing” book. Shuster also said the company’s conversations in Washington “remain active and constructive,” adding that there is “bipartisan recognition” of the private mortgage insurance industry’s role in supporting down payments and providing risk protection to the GSEs and taxpayers.
Quarterly results and portfolio growth
President and CEO Adam S. Pollitzer said the company “continued to outperform” in Q1, pointing to “significant new business production, consistent growth in our insured portfolio, and strong financial results.”
Chief Financial Officer Aurora Jean Swithenbank reported total revenue of $183.5 million, which she described as a record. Adjusted net income was $99.4 million, or $1.28 per diluted share, and adjusted return on equity was 15.2%. GAAP net income was $99.3 million, also $1.28 per diluted share.
Net premiums earned increased to a record $154.8 million, compared with $152.5 million in Q4 and $149.4 million in the prior-year quarter. Swithenbank said the company’s net yield was 28 basis points, consistent with Q4, while core yield (excluding reinsurance costs and cancellation earnings) was 34 basis points, also unchanged from the prior quarter.
Investment income rose to $28.6 million from $27.5 million in Q4 and $23.7 million in Q1 2025.
Expenses, capital, and share repurchases
Underwriting and operating expenses were $30.6 million, down from $31.1 million in Q4. The expense ratio improved to 19.8% from 20.4% in the prior quarter.
Asked about the trajectory of expenses, Swithenbank said the company expects absolute expenses to increase over time but aims to “be very disciplined about minimizing those increases.” She noted expenses were $30.2 million in Q1 2025 versus $30.6 million this quarter, while emphasizing the company wants to continue investing in “our people, our systems, our data and analytics, and risk management.”
Shareholders’ equity totaled $2.6 billion at March 31, and book value per share was $34.57. Book value per share excluding net unrealized investment gains and losses was $35.46, which Swithenbank said was up 3% versus Q4 and 15% year over year.
The company repurchased $27.7 million of common stock in Q1, retiring 716,000 shares at an average price of $38.65. Since the buyback program began in 2022, Swithenbank said NMI has repurchased $377 million of stock, retiring 12.8 million shares at an average price of $29.43, with $198 million of capacity remaining.
Under PMIERs, NMI reported $3.6 billion of total available assets and $2.2 billion of risk-based required assets, resulting in $1.5 billion of excess available assets.
Credit performance: defaults, claims, and normalization
NMI reported 8,044 defaults at March 31, up from 7,661 at December 31. The default rate was 1.17% at quarter end. Twelve-month persistency was 82.2%, compared to 83.4% in Q4.
Claims expense was $20.7 million in Q1, compared with $21.2 million in Q4 and $4.5 million in Q1 2025. During Q&A, management noted the company paid 170 claims in the first quarter.
In response to a question from KBW’s Bose George about reserve per new notice, Swithenbank said it was $14,200, “broadly consistent” with the $14,500 figure from the prior quarter. On loss severity, she attributed the movement to “the law of small numbers” and the “growth and the seasoning of our book,” adding that more claims are coming from post-COVID vintages (2022 and later) that “inherently have less embedded equity in them.”
When asked by Barclays’ Terry Ma about whether credit normalization is accelerating, Pollitzer said “there’s nothing that stood out this quarter” that would suggest a faster move to normal. He said comparing notice-of-default trends over the past six months “comps favorably” to the prior-year period. Swithenbank added that the cure rate was 28% versus 31% in Q1 of last year, describing the change as only “very nominally” down year over year.
Bank of America’s Mihir Bhatia asked about higher period credit losses. Pollitzer said changes reflect loan-level modeling and mix, including higher mark-to-market loan-to-value ratios for newer-vintage defaults that did not benefit from the same level of home price appreciation as earlier vintages. Swithenbank also pointed to larger loan sizes in default as a key driver, noting the average reserve across the notice-of-default population increased about 2% quarter over quarter.
Market conditions, rates, and competitive environment
Pollitzer said the housing market and economy have remained “resilient” despite volatility, while adding that “macro risks do remain.” He said the company has maintained a proactive stance on pricing, risk selection, and reinsurance decisions.
Discussing macro and consumer conditions, Pollitzer cited low headline unemployment, continued consumer spending and business investment, and equity market strength, while also pointing to signs of strain such as slower hiring and weaker consumer confidence. He also said larger tax refunds under the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” could provide “a little bit of stimulus.”
On higher energy prices and geopolitical conflict, Pollitzer said NMI does not expect gas prices, “in isolation,” to drive meaningful changes in default activity or claims experience, while acknowledging there could be pockets of impact. Regionally, he said trends were consistent with prior quarters, including more strain in higher-risk cohorts and continued focus geographies “like Florida and Texas.”
JPMorgan’s Richard Shane asked about rate dynamics across the quarter. Pollitzer said January and February saw a rally in rates, noting the 30-year fixed mortgage rate touched 5.99% toward the end of February, which he said had psychological significance. He said rates later moved higher, with the market closing “something close to 6.5%” on the day of the call, and that the shift has been most evident in a slowdown in refinancing activity after a stronger refinance contribution earlier in the quarter.
On competition, Pollitzer described the private MI market as “balanced and constructive,” citing disciplined underwriting and a constructive pricing environment. He attributed NMI’s year-over-year NIW growth to day-to-day execution with customers and market conditions, including early-quarter rate declines that supported purchase and refinance activity. He also reiterated that the company does not provide guidance and said it entered 2026 expecting overall market volume to look similar to 2025, which he described as a “highly constructive environment.”
In response to a question about the profit commission in reinsurance, Swithenbank said the downward trend was tied to “normalizing credit defaults.”
Management also said the company plans to participate in upcoming investor conferences, including the BTIG Housing & Real Estate Conference on May 6, the KBW Virtual Real Estate Finance & Technology Conference on May 19, and the Truist Securities Financial Services Conference on May 20.
About NMI NASDAQ: NMIH
NMI Holdings, Inc NASDAQ: NMIH is a publicly traded mortgage insurance company that provides private mortgage insurance to lenders across the United States and Canada. Through its principal subsidiary, National Mortgage Insurance Corporation, NMI underwrites and issues policies that protect originators and investors against losses arising from borrower default on residential mortgage loans. By mitigating credit risk on higher‐loan‐to‐value mortgages, the company supports homebuyers' access to financing and contributes to overall market liquidity.
Beyond its core mortgage insurance products, NMI offers credit risk‐sharing and reinsurance solutions designed to help clients optimize capital utilization and manage portfolio exposure.
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