What changed in this filing

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Item 1. Business

2025-02-13 compared with 2024-02-13 · 71 added, 81 removed, 262 unchanged (37% of the section changed)

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Although labor disputes occur from time to time, relations with associates are generally considered favorable.

We reach out to our associates for feedback throughout their employment at SCI using a variety o f voluntary surveys ensuring we are meeting the needs and expectations of our workforce.

We reach out to our associates for feedback throughout their employment at SCI using a variety o f voluntary surveys in an effort to determine if we are meeting the needs and expectations of our workforce.

As a result, we have been certified as a Great Place To Work since 2017 in the U.S.

and since 2020 in Canada.

Associate Benefits

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Additionally, we offer an employee assistance program that offers free and confidential counseling by masters level counselors for associates who may be facing mental health challenges.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

We believe in the power of inclusion and respecting our fellow associates’ work, ideas, beliefs, and lifestyles.

Our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee, which is a cross-functional team of associates, has been key to the development of programs such as our inclusive leadership training and Associate Resource Communities (ARCs).

The ARCs allow colleagues with similar backgrounds or interests to connect for networking, provide opportunities for mentorship, and support the communities and customers we serve.

Our leadership team is committed to advancing inclusion and diversity within the workplace.

Embracing the many backgrounds and perspectives that make each of us unique allows us to remain relevant to the diverse families we serve.

We maintain a DEI senior management position to support the Company's belief that diversity of talent and people is a key driver of better business outcomes.

We have developed programs such as our inclusive leadership training and Associate Resource Communities (ARCs).

The ARCs, which are available to all associates, allow colleagues with similar backgrounds or interests to connect for networking, provide opportunities for mentorship, and support the communities and customers we serve.

Our leadership team embraces the many backgrounds and perspectives that make each of us unique, which allows us to remain relevant to the families we serve.

Training and Development

We provide opportunities for career growth and supporting the personal and professional goals of our associates is a priority for us.

In addition to development programs and a robust online training portal offering thousands of courses, books, audiobooks, and videos, associates can participate in mentoring programs and take advantage of discounts and tuition reimbursement through our many university partnerships.

Our associates have access to development programs and a robust online training portal offering thousands of courses, books, audiobooks, and videos.

Additionally, associates can participate in mentoring programs and take advantage of discounts and tuition reimbursement through our many university partnerships.

We are also proud to offer scholarship and apprentice programs to those interested in joining our profession.

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For example, we have established and maintain policies and procedures around our business practices;

we provide training of our personnel;

we provide training to our personnel;

and we perform ongoing reviews of our compliance efforts.

We are currently in substantial compliance with the Funeral Rule and all laws and regulations.

We believe we are currently in substantial compliance with the Funeral Rule and all laws and regulations.

Federal, state, and local legislative bodies and regulatory agencies (including Canadian legislative bodies and agencies) frequently propose new laws and regulations, some of which could have a material effect on our operations and on the deathcare industry in general.

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(Neptune), also now known as SCI Direct, and Stewart Enterprises, Inc.

We continue to pursue strategic acquisitions and complete divestitures of non-strategic funeral homes and cemeteries.

We continue to pursue strategic acquisitions with a focus on returns on invested capital and complete divestitures of non-strategic funeral homes and cemeteries.

See Strategies for Growth within Part I, Item 1.

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Combination locations allow certain facility, personnel, and equipment costs to be shared between the funeral service location and a cemetery location.

These locations also create synergies between funeral and cemetery sales personnel and give families added convenience to purchase both funeral and cemetery merchandise and services at a single location.

Combination facilities typically are more cost competitive and have a higher gross margin than funeral and cemetery operations that are operated separately.

Combination locations also create synergies between funeral and cemetery sales personnel and give families added convenience to purchase both funeral and cemetery merchandise and services at a single location.

Funeral service locations provide all professional services related to funerals and cremations, including the use of funeral home facilities and motor vehicles, arranging and directing services, removal, preparation, embalming, cremations, memorialization, and catering.

Funeral merchandise, including burial caskets and related accessories, urns and other cremation receptacles, outer burial containers, flowers, online and video tributes, stationery products, casket and cremation memorialization products, and other ancillary merchandise, is sold at funeral service locations.

Funeral merchandise, including burial caskets and related accessories, urns and other cremation receptacles,

6 Service Corporation International

Our cemeteries provide cemetery property interment rights, including developed lots, lawn crypts, mausoleum spaces, niches, and other cremation memorialization and interment options.

outer burial containers, flowers, online and video tributes, stationery products, casket and cremation memorialization products, and other ancillary merchandise, is sold at funeral service locations.

Our cemeteries provide cemetery property interment rights, including developed lots, lawn crypts, mausoleum spaces, cremation niches, and other cremation memorialization and interment options.

Cemetery merchandise and services, including memorial cemetery markers and bases, outer burial containers, flowers and floral placement, other ancillary merchandise, graveside services, merchandise installation, and interments, are sold at our cemeteries.

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We define these sales as preneed sales.

As a result of such preneed sales, our preneed backlog of unfulfilled funeral and cemetery contracts was $14.8 billion and $13.7 billion at December 31, 2023 and 2022.

As a result of such preneed sales, our preneed backlog of unfulfilled funeral and cemetery contracts was $16.0 billion and $14.8 billion at December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

The following table at December 31, 2024 provides the number of our funeral service locations and cemeteries by country, and by state, territory, or province:

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Louisiana 33 11 44

Maine 10 — 10

Maryland 15 13 28

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New York 52 — 52

Country, State/Territory/Province Number of Funeral Service Locations Number of Cemeteries Total

North Carolina 48 17 65

Ohio 48 14 62

Country, State/Territory/Province Number of Funeral Service Locations Number of Cemeteries Total

Oklahoma 12 7 19

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We are the largest consolidated deathcare company in North America and are well positioned for long-term profitable growth.

Like most businesses world-wide, the outbreak of a novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) impacted various aspects of our business operations.

However, our fundamental strategy has not changed.

Over the next several years, our industry will be largely shaped by the aging of the Baby Boomer generation in the deathcare space which we are poised to benefit from.

In each stage of life, Baby Boomers have set new trends, transformed society, and redefined norms, and we are already seeing the impact on our industry.

Over the last five years, we have seen the impact of the Baby Boomers through the growth in both our preneed cemetery sales production and our preneed funeral production.

We expect to see a similar impact on our atneed results as these preneed contracts mature.

Over the last five years, we have seen the impact of the Baby Boomers through the growth in both our preneed cemetery sales and our preneed funeral production.

We expect to see a similar impact on our atneed results as these preneed contracts mature in the future.

In every aspect of our business, we are listening and responding to our customer’s changing needs and leveraging our scale to deliver unparalleled experiences - both digitally and in person - to meet those changing needs.

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1) grow revenue, 2) leverage our unparalleled scale, and 3) invest capital.

While these strategies remain unchanged, a shift to increased utilization of technology during the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced how we serve our customers and how we invest our capital.

We plan to remain relevant to our customers as their preferences evolve through a combination of price, product, and service differentiation strategies to facilitate revenue growth.

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We are constantly evolving to meet the varying preferences and needs of our customers.

Whether choosing burial or cremation, the Baby Boomers are redefining the traditional funeral by transitioning away from solemnly mourning a death to a personalized celebration of life ceremony.

Whether choosing burial or cremation, many Baby Boomers are redefining the traditional funeral by transitioning away from solemnly mourning a death to a more personalized celebration of life ceremony.

We responded to this trend by spending capital to repurpose traditional casket selection rooms to event rooms that can accommodate a celebration, while also updating existing locations to more contemporary, uplifting spaces.

We are offering a customer-friendly digital presentation of options that allows the customer to choose merchandise and services including unique celebration, catering, and celebrant services.

During the arrangement, we offer a customer-friendly digital presentation of options that allows the customer to choose merchandise and services including unique celebration, catering, and celebrant services.

In our funeral segment, we focus on merchandise and services that are meaningful to both our burial and cremation customers.

The growing trend of cremation has resulted in new product and service offerings, including cremation-specific service packages, which may or may not include memorialization.

In addition, we have focused on making the entire cremation experience more meaningful for families, from the first point of contact to the delivery of a loved one’s ashes to the family.

In addition, we have focused on making the entire cremation experience more meaningful for families, from the first point of contact to the return of a loved one’s ashes to the family.

In our cemetery segment, we continue to grow revenue by responding to the customer’s desire for personalized and unique options by expanding our tiered product and cemetery property options.

Over the past several years, we have substantially increased our property options to offer many unique choices.

From high-end family estates, which capture incredible views, to nicely landscaped hedge estates, we continue to develop property selections that resonate with our customers.

For cemetery merchandise and services, we have developed innovative products such as recurring floral placements, customized cemetery property offerings, and specialized graveside service options.

We continue to embrace cremation opportunities for customers in our cemetery segment by offering an increased variety of cremation property options, including glass-front niches and scattering gardens.

Over the past several years, we have substantially increased our property options to offer unique choices.

From high-end family estates, many of which capture incredible views, to nicely landscaped hedge estates, we continue to develop property selections that resonate with our customers.

For cemetery merchandise and services, we have developed relevant products such as customized cemetery property offerings, and specialized graveside service options.

We continue to embrace cremation offerings for customers in our cemetery segment offering an increased variety of cremation property options, including glass-front cremation niches and cremation gardens.

As we evolve to meet ever-changing customer preferences, we will continue to serve the numerous religious, ethnic, and cultural traditions important to many of our customers.

We remain flexible to meet the varying needs of customers, demonstrating our resolve to remain relevant to changing customer preferences.

10 Service Corporation International

As we evolve to meet ever-changing customer preferences, we will continue catering to the numerous religious, ethnic, and cultural traditions important to many of our customers.

We have remained flexible to meet the varying needs of customers, demonstrating our resolve to remain relevant to changing customer preferences.

Growing Preneed Sales

Our preneed sales program drives current and future revenue growth.

Baby Boomers have been influencing our cemetery preneed sales for several years and are beginning to positively affect the growth of our preneed funeral sales programs.

Baby Boomers have been influencing both our funeral and cemetery preneed sales for several years and are beginning to positively affect the growth of our preneed funeral sales programs.

Our highly trained sales force of approximately 3,600 counselors provide customers with informed guidance about various service and merchandise options tailored for today’s consumers.

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Leverage Our Unparalleled Scale

As the largest deathcare company in North America, we leverage our scale by developing our sales organization and optimizing the use of our network using technology, which benefits our preneed backlog.

Our scale enables cost efficiencies through purchasing power and utilizing economies of scale through our supply chain channel.

As the largest deathcare company in North America, we leverage our scale by developing our sales organization and with the use of technology through out our network.

As our preneed backlog grows from the development of our sales organization, the backlog also realizes scale benefits from the ability to grow trust portfolios and from our our preferred preneed insurance provider agreement .

Our scale also enables cost efficiencies through purchasing power and utilizing economies of scale through our supply chain channel.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we were able to continue to operate without any major disruptions to our business, which highlights the strength of our scale.

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These investments include a customer relationship management system, which drives improvements in productivity and sales production by leveraging data analytics, rigorous lead tracking, and effective follow-up campaigns.

We continue to diversify our sales force to understand and cater to the numerous religious, ethnic, and cultural traditions important to our customers.

Our premier combination locations and other large and recognizable cemeteries and funeral homes attract high-quality sales talent.

Our scale allows us to operate and expand our sales organization in a manner that would be difficult for our competitors to replicate.

We continue to diversify our sales force to understand and serve the numerous religious, ethnic, and cultural traditions important to our customers.

Our premier combination locations and other large and recognizable cemeteries and funeral homes, along with the selling tools we have available, attract high-quality sales talent.

Our scale allows us to operate and expand our sales organization in an efficient manner to bolster preneed sales growth.

Preneed Backlog Scale Benefits

Our preneed backlog, which includes both insurance and trust-funded merchandise and service products, allows us to grow future revenue in a more efficient manner than selling at the time of need.

The scale of our multi-billion dollar trust portfolios allows us to leverage access to preeminent money managers with favorable fee structures generating above average returns to help offset inflation.

In July 2024, we finalized our agreement to change our preferred preneed insurance provider in the United States, which will allow us to further utilize our scale and streamline our processes across our network.

Our blended funding approach between insurance and trust-funded merchandise and service products allows us to combine the positive cash flow and predictability of the insurance product with the potential upside of higher returns from our trusted merchandise and service products.

This blended approach also helps our ability to grow our preneed backlog in a cash flow neutral manner as general agency commissions on our preneed insurance sales offset associated selling compensation for both preneed trust and insurance sales.

Optimizing Our Network and Deploying Customer-Facing Technology

We continue driving operating discipline and leveraging our scale through standardizing processes and capitalizing on new technologies to improve the customer experience.

We continue driving operational discipline and leverage our scale through standardizing processes and capitalizing on new technologies to improve the customer experience.

Our advancements in technology are changing the way we present our product and service offerings to customers.

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We have reduced the time it takes to receive customer feedback through digital surveys.

Online reviews provide visibility of customer engagement down to the location level and shorten our response time in addressing any customer concerns.

Online reviews provide visibility of customer engagement at the location level and shorten our response time in addressing any customer concerns.

We have established a social media presence for many of our funeral and cemetery businesses, including the ability to livestream services at many of our locations.

These digital efforts have resulted in favorable customer satisfaction ratings and increased digital sales leads over the last several years.

Through the COVID-19 pandemic, we learned valuable lessons around our ability to quickly deploy customer-facing technology.

Our associates and client families embraced an increasingly digital world, as we utilized various online tools to complete sales and meet families.

We are encouraged by the increased digitization and we are making great strides with internal projects leveraging technology and simplifying nearly every facet of service delivery.

Growing Our Preneed Backlog

Our preneed backlog, which includes both insurance and trust-funded merchandise and service products, allows us to grow future revenue in a more stable and efficient manner than selling at the time of need.

This blended approach also helps our ability to grow our preneed backlog in a cash flow neutral manner.

We are encouraged by the increased digital opportunities and we are making great strides with internal projects leveraging technology and simplifying nearly every facet of service delivery.

Capital Allocation

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Our strong liquidity, favorable debt maturity profile, and robust cash flow generation enables us to continue our long-standing commitment to allocate capital to opportunistically grow our business and enhance shareholder value.

Typically, our highest relative return opportunities come from acquisitions and funeral service and cemetery new builds.

Typically, our highest relative return opportunities come from acquisitions and the construction of funeral service and cemetery locations.

Investing in Acquisitions and Building New Funeral Service and Cemetery Locations

We manage our footprint by focusing on strategic acquisitions and building new funeral service and cemetery locations where the expected returns are attractive and meaningfully exceed our weighted average cost of capital.

We target businesses with favorable customer dynamics and locations where we can achieve additional economies of scale.

Over the last several years, we have deployed significant growth capital spend on new funeral service locations, enlarging our footprint into new communities as well as expanding existing locations to remain relevant to our customers.

We target businesses with favorable customer dynamics and locations where we can benefit from additional economies of scale.

Over the last several years, we have deployed significant growth capital spend on new funeral service and cemetery locations and related real estate, enlarging our footprint into new communities as well as expanding existing locations to remain relevant to our customers.

For our cemetery businesses, we plan to pursue strategic acquisitions to create more opportunities to serve Baby Boomers through our tiered cemetery options.

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This investment in our future will allow us to continue creating cemetery offerings that appeal to varying preferences in those markets for many years to come.

We invested $72.5 million in acquiring 17 funeral service locations and 2 cemeteries in 2023.

In 2024, we invested $181.2 million in acquiring 26 funeral service locations and 6 cemeteries, which included 3 combination locations.

In addition, we spent $62.1 million for several real estate acquisitions that will be utilized for new funeral service or cemetery locations during the twelve months ended December 31, 2024.

Return Excess Cash to Shareholders

Absent any strategic acquisition or new build opportunities, we intend to return excess cash to shareholders through dividends and our share repurchase program.

In addition to any strategic acquisition or new build opportunities, we continue to return cash to shareholders through dividends and our share repurchase program.

Our quarterly dividend rate has steadily grown from $0.025 per common share in 2005 to $0.30 per common share at the end of 2024.

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Became Officer

Ryan 58 Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, and President 1999

Waring, III 55 Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer 2002

Tanzberger 55 Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer 2000

Ryan 59 Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer 1999

Waring, III 56 President 2002

Tanzberger 56 Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer 2000

Lori Spilde 54 Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary 2019

Nash 63 Senior Vice President, Operations Services 2004

Faulk 48 Senior Vice President, Revenue and Business Development 2010

Tidwell 62 Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing 2010

Moore 56 Vice President and Corporate Controller 2010

Faulk 49 Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer 2010

Moore 57 Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer 2010

Ryan was elected Chairman of the Board of SCI effective in January 2016, appointed Chief Executive Officer in February 2005, and President in 2002.

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Ryan serves as a member of the University of Texas McCombs Business School Advisory Council and is a senior member of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Board of Visitors.

Waring, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, is responsible for North American Operations.

Waring was named President in 2024, maintaining indirect oversight of operations and assuming responsibility for sales and marketing.

He joined SCI in 1996 as Area Vice President of Operations when SCI acquired his family's funeral business.

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Waring was appointed Vice President, Western Operations, a position he held until May 2004 when he was appointed Vice President, Major Market Operations.

He was promoted to Senior Vice President in 2006.

In May 2015, Mr.

Waring's responsibilities were expanded to include all operations in North America.

He was promoted to Senior Vice President in 2006 and in July 2008, Mr.

Waring's responsibilities were expanded to include business development.

In 2015, he was named Senior Vice President, North American Operations and in 2019, he was named Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer.

Waring holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Stetson University, a degree in mortuary science from Mount Ida College, and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

Waring serves on the Board of Directors of BankFive and the Greater Houston Partnership.

Tanzberger was appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in June 2006 and also served as Treasurer from July 2007 to February 2017.

Tanzberger was named Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in 2024.

In addition to his current responsibilities, he will now oversee business development, including mergers and acquisitions, construction and real estate, as well as pricing and revenue development.

He was appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in June 2006 and also served as Treasurer from July 2007 to February 2017.

Tanzberger joined the Company in August 1996 and held various management positions prior to being promoted to Corporate Controller in August 2002.

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Spilde was named Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary in 2023.

She joined SCI in 2000 with the acquisition of American Memorial Life Insurance.

She joined SCI in 2000 with the acquisition of American Memorial Life Insurance Company.

She began her tenure with the Company in operations.

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Nash serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of Genesys Works Houston.

Faulk was named Senior Vice President of Revenue and Business Development in 2018.

Faulk was named Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in 2024 and oversees SCI’s funeral and cemetery operations.

He joined SCI in March 2010 as Vice President, Business Development, to oversee the Company's strategic growth, including mergers and acquisitions, real estate, and construction.

His promotion in 2018 expanded his role to include setting direction for the company’s pricing and cemetery development functions.

In 2018, he was named Senior Vice President of

Revenue and Business Development.

His promotion expanded his role to include setting direction for the company’s pricing and cemetery development functions.

Prior to joining the Company, Mr.

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where he helped Fortune 500 Companies and specialty retailers identify profit growth opportunities and achieve strong operating results.

holds a master's degree in business administration from the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia and a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Virginia.

Tidwell was named Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing in 2018 and is responsible for leading all areas of sales and marketing for SCI.

He joined SCI as Vice President, Main Street Market Operations, in March 2010 and was promoted to Senior Vice President of Sales and Merchandising in 2012.

As a co-founder of Keystone North America, Inc., Mr.

Tidwell served as its President and Chief Executive Officer from May 2007 until it was acquired by SCI in March 2010.

In his role, Mr.

Tidwell worked closely with Keystone's Senior Leadership Team to develop and implement organic growth strategies as well as external growth and acquisition strategies.

He began his career as a licensed funeral director and embalmer in Nashville, Tennessee, and has been actively involved in the funeral and cemetery profession for over forty years.

He holds an associate of arts degree from John A.

Gupton College and has attended Executive Management and Leadership programs at the Harvard Business School, Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management, and the Center for Creative Leadership.

Since 2019, Mr.

Tidwell has served on the Board of Regents of Commonwealth Institute of Funeral Service.

Moore was named Vice President and Corporate Controller in 2010 and oversees general accounting, trust and technical accounting, internal and external reporting, and customer service.

He holds a master's degree in business administration from the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia and a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Virginia.

Moore was named Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer in 2010 and oversees general accounting, trust and technical accounting, internal and external reporting, and customer service.

She joined the Company in August 2002 as Manager of Financial Reporting and was promoted to Director of Financial Reporting in 2004 and Managing Director and Assistant Controller in June 2006.

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Moore was a certified public accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

She holds a bachelor's degree in business administration in accounting from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

She holds a bachelor's degree in business administration in accounting from the University of Texas at San Antonio and a Master of Accounting degree from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina.

Since 2019, Mrs.

Moore has served on the Board of Regents of Commonwealth Institute of Funeral Service.

Moore serves on the Board of Regents of Commonwealth Institute of Funeral Service.

Compared sentence by sentence after normalising whitespace, quotation marks, case and digits, so re-formatting and restated figures do not read as changed language. Wording changes appear as one removal and one addition. The current filing and the prior one are authoritative.

What changed 10-K

Item 1. Business