Carriage Services Inc (NYSE: CSV)

Carriage Services, Inc. is a leading provider of funeral and cemetery services and merchandise in the United States.

The company generates revenue by offering funeral home services such as consultation removal and preparation of remains sale of caskets and related merchandise use of facilities for visitation and memorial services and transportation; and cemetery services including sale of interment rights markers outer burial containers monuments and interment inurnment and installation services. Revenue also comes from pre need contracts for both funeral and cemetery offerings and from fees earned managing trust assets associated with pre need sales.

The company operates through the following segments: Funeral Home Operations and Cemetery Operations.

• Funeral Home Operations: This segment provides ceremony and tribute services care of remains through burial or cremation and memorialization via monuments markers or inscriptions. It offers consultation removal and preparation of remains sale of caskets and related funeral merchandise use of funeral home facilities for visitation and memorial services and transportation. Most locations have a non denominational chapel on site to reduce transportation inconvenience. The segment also sells cremation products and services and provides pre need funeral contracts that lock in prices and services for future delivery.

• Cemetery Operations: This segment sells interment rights such as grave sites lawn crypts mausoleum spaces and niches and related cemetery merchandise including markers outer burial containers and monuments. It provides interment inurnment and installation services for cemetery merchandise. The segment focuses on pre need cemetery property sales to build family heritage and offers trust funded arrangements to secure future performance.

Carriage Services, Inc. holds a strong position in the fragmented funeral and cemetery industry where it competes with both large public operators and numerous independent firms. The company believes it is a market leader in most of its local markets and together with Service Corporation International accounts for roughly 23% of total United States funeral and cemetery revenue. Competitive advantages stem from its reputation and heritage professional service and well maintained conveniently located facilities as well as its focus on pre need sales which create predictable revenue streams and long term customer relationships.

The company serves families and individuals who need funeral and cemetery services at the time of death as well as those who plan arrangements in advance. Its customer base includes private households across the 24 states where it operates funeral homes and the 9 states where it operates cemeteries.