Stewart is one of the largest title insurance companies in the U.S., operating primarily through its principal underwriter, Stewart Title Guaranty. Title insurance protects homebuyers, sellers, and lenders against losses from defects in a property's ownership history — things like undisclosed liens, forged documents, or recording errors. Unlike most insurance, title insurance protects against past events rather than future ones, and premiums are collected once at closing with no renewals. Stewart operates through two segments: Title (~85-90% of revenues) and Real Estate Solutions (~10-15%). The Title segment runs both direct operations — where Stewart employs its own agents and attorneys across roughly 500 office locations — and agency operations, where independent agents perform title work and remit roughly 15-20% of premiums to Stewart as the underwriter. Direct operations carry significant fixed costs, making earnings highly sensitive to transaction volumes. Agency operations offer lower revenue per transaction but minimal incremental cost. Commercial transactions generate much higher fees per file than residential and carry longer-duration escrow balances, benefiting both premium revenue and investment income. Real Estate Solutions is a collection of ancillary services sold to mortgage lenders and servicers, including credit data, appraisal management, online notarization, and property preservation. Stewart's growth strategy focuses on gaining commercial title share, expanding its agency network in priority states, bolt-on acquisitions in underpenetrated markets, and growing the Real Estate Solutions platform.