Compass, Inc. (NYSE:COMP) Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Robert Reffkin: Yes. So I think when we provide our guide for Q2, mortgage rates were close to 6%. And then unexpectedly with the combinations of the debt ceiling showdown or standoff as well as the mortgage rates going to 7%, that was definitely unexpected. And I think that was the primary — market share trend was not the driver of where revenue ended up, it was the change in real estate market. Yes. And maybe, Kalani, do you want to answer the second question?

Kalani Reelitz: Yes. Sure, Jason, can you just repeat the second question to make sure I heard it right.

Jason Helfstein: Yes. I mean either one of you guys, but basically, I think like investors are trying to look at kind of share, and obviously, that we look at volume, you look at GMV or gross transaction value. But I mean the share gains that you’re seeing this year are less than the share gains that you saw last year, like if you’re looking on a year-over-year basis. Do we think that share gains can accelerate more to the levels that you saw last year? And then how much of that is a function of kind of continuing market expansion?

Robert Reffkin: I’ll let — Greg, why don’t you take the first part of that, Greg. I think you’re the right one.

Greg Hart: Yes. So it’s a great question, Jason. The way that I think about that is if you think about our market share last year, the first two quarters reflected the strength of our business in California, and California has been substantially impacted for everybody in the industry over the last year. And because we were very heavily weighted towards California, our share gains relative to that have moderated, but we continue to gain share over the last two quarters despite that. So I would expect that over time, particularly as the market recovers and California recovers, that you’ll see our market share gains over time, hopefully increase rather than just stay at the current levels. We continue to grow share through two primary drivers: one, continuing to grow our agent count; and two, our agents outperforming their competitors in all of their markets.

And we believe our platform is a huge driver of their ability to outperform their competitors, along with the fact that our agents are typically among the best agents in their markets. The caliber of our agents is a big asset for us from a market share perspective.

Jason Helfstein: Any thoughts about market expansion?

Robert Reffkin: Yes. In terms of market expansion, I wouldn’t expect any major new market expansion, but we are expanding to new markets within our geos. And an example of that would be we’re moving more into [indiscernible] in the Bay Area than we had been in the past. And we’ll see more of those submarket expansions and further investments.

Jason Helfstein: Thank you.

Operator: We’ll take our next question from Matthew Bouley with Barclays.

Matthew Bouley: Good afternoon, everyone. Thanks for taking the questions. Maybe just on the commission split, the $81.9 million non-GAAP expense as a percentage of revenue. It’s obviously down year-over-year, as you’ve been alluding to, maybe sneaking up a little bit sequentially, which I think is normal seasonally. Is that the kind of peak commission split for the year? Or how do you think about that metric trending going forward, given everything what you’re seeing on the competitive side? Thank you.

Kalani Reelitz: Yes. Hey, Matthew, it’s Kalani. Just to be clear, the commission split will decrease over 2023, primarily driven by the non-comparable of our Agent Equity Program, right? So absent our Agent Equity Program, it provides roughly an 80 basis point drag. Absent of that, quarter over — the last two quarters, we have increased market share between 30 and 40 basis points. I expected that trend to continue. I believe it’s Slide 12 in our deck includes kind of the reconciliation. You can see the AEP, or the Agent Equity Program, drag from last year on the commissions, and so you can do that math. But I would say kind of apples-to-apples, we should be at that 30 to 40 basis point margin accretion on a quarterly basis for this year.