Service Corporation International (SCI) Business Profile

What it does

Service Corporation International, or SCI, provides funeral, cremation and cemetery products and services in North America. It was incorporated in July 1962, is headquartered in Houston, Texas, and is led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Thomas L. Ryan.

SCI serves families making arrangements after a death and people planning arrangements in advance. Its funeral locations arrange and conduct services, prepare the deceased, provide cremations and offer memorialization and catering. They also sell merchandise such as caskets, urns, flowers and online tributes.

Its cemeteries sell rights to use burial spaces, mausoleum spaces and cremation niches, as well as memorial markers and other merchandise. They also provide graveside services and interments. Some locations combine a funeral home and cemetery, allowing a family to arrange both parts of a service in one place.

The company sells under several names, including Dignity Memorial, Dignity Planning, National Cremation Society, Advantage Funeral and Cremation Services and Neptune Society. Many acquired locations retain their existing local names while also carrying the Dignity Memorial brand.

Customers can purchase services when they are needed or agree to arrangements to be delivered later. SCI calls the latter preneed sales. These agreements can cover funeral services, cemetery property and related merchandise.

How it makes money

SCI earns revenue through funeral and cemetery operations. Funeral locations charge for professional services, use of facilities and vehicles, cremations and merchandise. Cemeteries sell interment rights, merchandise and services, including developed lots, mausoleum spaces, markers and interments. The company offers both traditional burial and cremation arrangements, with additional memorialization options for families who choose cremation.

Pricing and average revenue depend in part on the services and merchandise a family selects. SCI says its average revenue for cremations is lower than for traditional burials. It also develops cremation-specific packages and memorialization products for customers seeking additional services.

Preneed contracts let customers agree to future arrangements before a death occurs. Revenue from most preneed merchandise and service sales is deferred until the time of need. By contrast, sales of preneed cemetery property can be recognized in full when the property is developed and available for use. As a result, sales activity and reported revenue do not always occur in the same period.

SCI funds preneed merchandise and service products through trusts and insurance. Its insurance arrangements generate general agency commissions, while trust investments can generate income associated with the contracts. SCI says commissions from preneed insurance sales help offset selling compensation across its trust and insurance sales. Cemetery endowment care trusts also generate income.

At December 31, 2025, SCI had a $17.0 billion backlog of unfulfilled preneed contracts. The company reported an $18 billion backlog in the third quarter of 2026. A backlog represents future obligations and potential revenue, not revenue already recognized.

Customers and how it sells

SCI serves families arranging funerals, cremations and cemetery services at the time of a death, as well as customers purchasing arrangements in advance. Its Dignity Memorial brand serves approximately 700,000 families each year.

Customers can choose products and services suited to different religious, ethnic and cultural traditions. Options range from cremation packages and memorial services to burial spaces, family estates and private mausoleums. SCI uses its funeral homes and cemeteries, a preneed sales force, community events, seminars and digital channels to reach customers. It also uses websites and customer portals to provide information and support transactions.

At December 31, 2025, SCI operated 1,485 funeral service locations and 500 cemeteries, including 312 funeral service/cemetery combination locations. Its network covered 44 states, eight Canadian provinces, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Combination locations are included in the funeral and cemetery counts.

The company operated in markets including California, Florida and Texas, as well as Canadian provinces including British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec. At December 31, 2025, it owned approximately 90% of the real estate and buildings used at its facilities and leased the remainder.

Suppliers and costs

SCI purchases merchandise and services for its funeral and cemetery operations. It uses centralized procurement and longstanding supplier relationships, and says its scale gives it purchasing power. Its combination locations can share facility, personnel and equipment costs between a funeral home and cemetery.

Employees are a significant part of the operation: SCI employed 25,187 people at December 31, 2025. Other operating costs include merchandise, facilities, promotion and selling compensation. The company also spends on cemetery development, improvements to existing locations, digital systems, acquisitions and new facilities.

In the third quarter of 2026, SCI said funeral fixed costs increased by $10 million from the prior-year quarter. It attributed higher cemetery fixed costs primarily to healthcare costs and media spending and training for a cemetery cremation memorialization project. The company also said a transition to guaranteed hourly wages increased selling compensation rates.

Preneed sales create a timing distinction in costs and revenue. SCI says a greater portion of selling compensation is fixed and recognized immediately, while revenue from merchandise, services and undeveloped cemetery property is deferred until the related obligations are satisfied.

Competitive position

SCI competes with funeral homes, cemeteries and retail locations. Most deathcare businesses in North America are locally owned independent operations. SCI estimates its share of the North American funeral and cemetery market at approximately 18%, based on estimated total industry revenue. It says its internal nationwide analysis showed that it maintained market share throughout 2026.

The success of an individual funeral home or cemetery depends on its name, reputation and location, as well as competitive pricing, professional service, attention to detail and maintenance. SCI says funeral services have low to moderate barriers to entry, while cemetery barriers are high because of land, permitting and capital requirements. No competing company is named in the available business information.

Our reading: Cemetery land and permitting requirements are a meaningful barrier to new competitors, although existing local operators remain important competitors. Our reading: SCI’s network and combination locations provide a cost advantage through shared facilities and purchasing, but local reputation and pricing still matter to winning business. Our reading: The Dignity Memorial brand and retained local names support recognition across markets; their value depends on the standing of individual locations as well as the national network.

SCI also uses its preneed sales force, digital channels and community seminars to reach customers before services are needed. The company says its preneed program gives it opportunities to build brand awareness and gain future market share.

Growth opportunities

SCI’s growth plans include expanding preneed sales, adapting its services to customer preferences, acquiring funeral homes and cemeteries, and building or expanding locations. The company expects the aging of the Baby Boomer generation to affect future at-need results as preneed contracts mature. It also expects continued growth in preneed sales to support future revenue expansion.

The company uses sales counselors, seminars and digital lead channels to reach people planning ahead. It is investing in customer relationship tools and digital interfaces to support sales and transactions. SCI also offers personalized services and more cremation property and memorialization options as customer preferences change.

In 2025, SCI invested $101.3 million to acquire 22 funeral service locations and 2 cemeteries, including 2 combination locations. It also spent $18.5 million on real estate acquisitions for future funeral service or cemetery locations. In the third quarter of 2026, the company deployed $34 million on acquisitions adding funeral and cemetery locations in Michigan, Illinois, Florida and Indiana.

For that quarter, comparable preneed cemetery sales production grew by 5% and comparable preneed funeral sales production grew by 6%. SCI said it was rolling out a cemetery memorialization project in waves and was seeing increased cremation memorialization sales in markets with promotional materials. It expects preneed sales production to continue growing in 2027.

Structural risks

• Trust investments and inflation: SCI’s affiliated trusts hold securities affected by market conditions. Significant investment declines or high inflation could leave insufficient trust funds to cover future merchandise, services or cemetery maintenance.

• Funeral volumes and service mix: Death rates affect funeral volumes, and cremations produce lower average revenue than traditional burials. SCI said third-quarter 2026 funeral volumes were below its expectations and reduced its full-year earnings outlook.

• Preneed revenue timing: Sales of merchandise, services and undeveloped cemetery property can be deferred while associated selling compensation is recognized immediately. SCI said this timing mismatch affected reported earnings in 2026.

• Debt and financing restrictions: SCI had $5.1 billion in aggregate principal outstanding on debt and finance leases at December 31, 2025. Its credit facilities contain covenants that limit activities including additional borrowing, acquisitions, dividends and share purchases.

• Regulation and operations: Funeral and cemetery activities are subject to licensing, consumer disclosure, trust, environmental and other rules. Regulatory changes could affect operations, while a failure of a key information technology system or process could disrupt the business.

Bottom line

Our reading

Our reading: SCI combines a geographically distributed network of local funeral and cemetery businesses with advance sales that can produce revenue over many years. Its cemetery assets, shared facilities and sales network support the business, while local competition remains important. Our reading: The backlog provides future work, but trust returns, funeral volumes, rising costs and the gap between selling expenses and revenue recognition can affect results before that work is completed.