United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) delivered what CEO Mat Ishbia called an “exceptional quarter,” reporting loan origination volume of $44.9 billion for Q1 2026, up 39% year-over-year and marking the company’s second-highest first quarter in company history.
The Michigan-based wholesale lender reported total revenue of $901.4 million, net income of $170.4 million and adjusted EBITDA of $160.9 million. The results underscore the company’s ability to maintain dominance in the wholesale mortgage space even as higher rates persist.
During the earnings call, Ishbia highlighted the company’s strong execution and the strength of its broker partnerships throughout the quarter.
A key focal point of the earnings call was how UWM is managing pricing and margins in a highly volatile market. Ishbia acknowledged that the company adjusts its rate sheets multiple times per day to keep its broker partners competitive while protecting margin.
“The market’s been very volatile, and so we have an extremely experienced Capital Markets team. And so yes, sometimes you have two and three different rate sheets in a day, maybe four,” Ishbia explained. “But as you guys know, these numbers are all day. And so we have different thresholds that we move pricing up or down.”
UWM reported a total gain margin of 123 basis points in Q1 2026, compared to 122 basis points in Q4 2025 and 94 basis points in Q1 2025.
UWM also continues to emphasize its investments in artificial intelligence and proprietary technology. During the earnings call, Ishbia highlighted how the company is leveraging these tools to support its broker partners.
“We come out with AI tools and technology,” Ishbia said. “We invest with free credit reports for brokers to help them compete even more and help more consumers.”
He emphasized that technology investments are part of a broader strategy to differentiate UWM in a competitive market. “We give the best service in the industry,” Ishbia stated. “And so a lot of those are investments, and it’s all put in the gain on sale.”
These technology and service investments are designed to help brokers win more loans while maintaining strong margins.
UWM reiterated its progress on bringing mortgage servicing in-house. All new loans are now being serviced on UWM’s proprietary platform, and the company expects to have substantially all loans serviced in-house by October 2026—ahead of its previous timeline.
Alongside the in-house servicing push, UWM continues rolling out its collaboration with Bilt, a payments and rewards platform. Borrowers who pay mortgages through Bilt can earn rewards points redeemable for dining, groceries, travel or additional principal payments.
“Built-In Rewards is just another benefit of brokers using UWM and consumers paying UWM as a servicer,” Ishbia noted. “Because they get rewards points and they get some cool things through Bilt.”
UWM’s board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.10 per share for the 22nd consecutive quarter, underscoring the company’s commitment to returning capital to shareholders even as it invests heavily in servicing infrastructure and technology.
The company’s non-funding debt-to-equity ratio stands at 3.18x, reflecting higher leverage tied to the strong origination volume, but Ishbia suggested the company has levers to improve this metric while continuing to grow.
“There’s a lot of levers we can pull to make those ratios better while still doing more business and having higher earnings,” Ishbia said. “And so you’ll see some of those in the second quarter and then beyond overall.”
