Is Service Corporation International a Buy?

Service Corporation International (SCI) is a leading provider of comprehensive end-of-life products and services across the United States and Canada. The company structures its extensive operations into two primary divisions: Funeral Services and Cemetery Operations. SCI's physical footprint encompasses a vast network of funeral homes, cemeteries, and crematories, including numerous integrated locations that offer both funeral and cemetery services. Their professional offerings span the entire funeral and cremation process, from the logistical aspects of facility and vehicle use to the compassionate arrangement and direction of services. This includes essential tasks such as removal, preparation, embalming, and cremation, alongside memorialization options, travel protection plans, and catering. Clients can also procure a wide array of funeral merchandise. This includes burial caskets and associated accessories, various urns and other cremation receptacles, outer burial containers, floral arrangements, digital and video tributes, stationery, and other items for memorialization. Within its cemetery division, SCI facilitates the acquisition of interment rights for diverse preferences, such as traditional developed lots, lawn crypts, mausoleum spaces, and niches for cremated remains. They also provide cemetery-specific merchandise and services like memorial markers, bases, outer burial containers, floral placements, graveside services, and merchandise installation, often available through pre-need arrangements. SCI markets its services and products under several well-recognized brands, including Dignity Memorial, Neptune Society, and National Cremation Society. As of the end of 2021, the company boasted an impressive reach with 1,471 funeral service locations and 488 cemeteries – 299 of which were combined funeral/cemetery sites. This significant network extends across 44 U.S. states, eight Canadian provinces, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. Established in 1962, Service Corporation International maintains its headquarters in Houston, Texas.