eXp adds agents, embraces role as established leader
The brokerage highlighted increases in revenue and transactions and said it's moving out of disrupter mode — but still leveraging AI to increase efficiency.
eXp continues to add agents and improve retention — factors that are bolstering the cloud-based brokerage's bottom line amid a persistently sluggish housing market.
The company had 83,446 agents at the end of September, according to a third quarter earnings report. Though down 2% year-over-year, that total is up by nearly 750 agents from the second quarter and marks eXp's second consecutive quarter of agent growth.
"It's a great indication that our strategies and programs we've created to attract and retain agents are working, " eXp Realty CEO Leo Pareja said during a Nov. 6 earnings call.
The rise in agent count also led to higher revenue: $1.3 billion for the third quarter, a year-over-year increase of 7%.
In after-hours trading, eXp's stock price dropped about 2% to $9.50 a share following the company's Q3 earnings report.
What eXp had to say
On embracing a new role: The company is now settling into a new role in the industry. It no longer considers itself a disruptive start-up, Pareja said — instead, eXp views itself as among the larger incumbents of a fully scaled enterprise.
On the industry's mega-merger: In reference to Compass' plans to acquire Anywhere, Pareja said eXp is now large and agile enough to handle what he calls the consolidation disruption. Real estate will still be an industry with different options for agents, he said, but he predicts there will be fewer players.
"I think the Compass-Anywhere combination will probably serve a specific market of agents who are attracted to the brand-first model. We fundamentally believe that we're secondary to the agent," Pareja said. "We believe the agent is the brand on the ground. We're the home of that entrepreneurial agent."
On embracing AI: Founder Glenn Sanford also touted the improvements coming from artificial intelligence, telling investors that new tech has allowed eXp to become more efficient. He offered an example of a more automated back-office system that provides an early check on documents for accuracy and flags what's missing for agents.
"AI is really the tooling that we use to build a lot of stuff," Sanford said.
Key numbers
Revenue: $1.3 billion, up 7% compared to a year ago.
Cash and cash equivalents: $112.8 million at the end of September, down from $113.6 million at the end of December 2024.
Net income: A gain of $3.5 million for Q3, an improvement over eXp's $6.5 million loss a year ago.
Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization): $17.7 million in Q3, down from $23.9 million a year ago.
Transactions: 121,516 in Q3, up 3% compared to a year ago.
Agent count: 83,446 at the end of September, down 2% year-over-year but up nearly 750 agents compared to the second quarter.
Notable moves
eXp continues to grow internationally. In Q3, the company expanded into South Korea in September and into Japan in July. The brokerage also added several U.S. teams in recent months, including The Archer Group in Georgia, The Slocum Home Team in Rhode Island and The Denman Group in Massachusetts.
Along with its AI-driven improvements, eXp began automating its real estate payment system through a recent partnership with fintech company Payload — a move that eXp Realty CFO Jesse Hill said was "about elevating the entire transaction experience."