Robert Reffkin is confident that Compass and its agents have what it takes to continue growing and succeeding in the changing real estate environment.
“In down markets, the best agents and the best brokerages gain market share,” Reffkin, the CEO of Compass, told investors and analysts during his firms first-quarter 2024 earnings call on Wednesday evening. “We are a company of top agents.”
Year over year, Compass gained 26 basis points of market share, bringing its total share of home sales in Q1 2024 to 4.76%.
In addition to Compass’ market share gains, the firm also recorded a 10% annual bump in revenue to $1.05 billion. Executives attributed this to a 7.1% annual increase in the number of transactions closed by Compass agents, which came in at 38,449 sides for a volume of $40.1 billion.
Despite these increases, Compass still recorded a net loss of $133 million for the quarter. That is an improvement over its $150.2 million net loss reported in Q1 2023. Compass executives, however, were not deterred by this news as the firm yet again finished the quarter free cash-flow positive at $5.9 million, compared to Q1 2023’s free cash-flow loss of $59 million.
Reffkin noted that the firm is on track to remain free cash-flow positive throughout the rest of 2024.
“We have brought down expenses and continue to grow our agent count and inventory advantage,” Reffkin said. “The market will inevitably come back, and when the Federal Reserve cuts rates, we will be in a position to thrive.”
Additionally, Reffkin believes that Compass will meet its free cash-flow positive goal even after making the first payment on its commission lawsuit settlement agreement later this year.
The settlement agreement was naturally a hot topic during the Q1 earnings call Wednesday evening, but Reffkin reassured investors and analysts that he does not believe the settlement or the changes within the industry will have much of an impact on…