Operating margin for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 was 29%. The consistency in operating margin was due to a 22% increase in both total revenues and total expenses year over year.
Net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 was $163.1 million compared to net income of $130.5 million for the same period last year, a 25% increase. The increase in net income was primarily a result of a 24% increase in income from operations. Additionally, income tax expense in 2020 benefitted from an increase in excess tax benefits from employee stock option exercises compared to the prior year.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, adjusted EBITDA was $157.7 million and $183.8 million, respectively. The 14% decrease was largely driven by the increase in personnel expense and the decrease in escrow earnings, partially offset by increases in loan origination and debt brokerage fees and servicing fees.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, return on equity was 21% and 19%, respectively.
DIVIDENDS AND SHARE REPURCHASES
On October 28, 2020, our Board of Directors declared a dividend of $0.36 per share for the fourth quarter of 2020. The dividend will be paid November 30, 2020 to all holders of record of our restricted and unrestricted common stock as of November 13, 2020.
During the first quarter of 2020, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a new stock repurchase program that permits the repurchase of up to $50.0 million of the Company’s common stock over a 12-month period beginning on February 11, 2020. During the nine months ended September 30, 2020, the Company repurchased 415 thousand shares of its common stock under the share repurchase program at a weighted-average price of $57.17 per share. As of September 30, 2020, the Company had $26.3 million of authorized share repurchase capacity remaining under the 2020 share repurchase program.
Any future purchases made pursuant to the share repurchase program will be made in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions from time to time as permitted by federal securities laws and other legal requirements. The timing, manner, price and amount of any repurchases will be determined by the Company in its discretion and will be subject to economic and market conditions, stock price, applicable legal requirements and other factors. The repurchase program may be suspended or discontinued at any time.
1 Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure the Company presents to help investors better understand our operating performance. For a reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA to net income, refer to the sections of this press release below titled “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” and “Adjusted Financial Metric Reconciliation to GAAP.”
2 Includes debt financing volumes from our interim loan platform, our interim loan joint venture, and WDIP separate accounts.
3 Excludes the income and debt financing volume from Principal Lending and Investing.
4 MSR Income as a percentage of Agency volume.
5 At risk servicing portfolio is defined as the balance of Fannie Mae DUS loans subject to the risk-sharing formula described below, as well as a small number of Freddie Mac loans on which we share in the risk of loss. Use of the at risk portfolio provides for comparability of the full risk-sharing and modified risk-sharing loans because the provision and allowance for risk-sharing obligations are based on the at risk balances of the associated loans. Accordingly, we have presented the key statistics as a percentage of the at risk portfolio.
For example, a $15 million loan with 50% risk-sharing has the same potential risk exposure as a $7.5 million loan with full DUS risk sharing. Accordingly, if the $15 million loan with 50% risk-sharing were to default, we would view the overall loss as a percentage of the at risk balance, or $7.5 million, to ensure comparability between all risk-sharing obligations. To date, substantially all of the risk-sharing obligations that we have settled have been from full risk-sharing loans.
6 Represents the maximum loss we would incur under our risk-sharing obligations if all of the loans we service, for which we retain some risk of loss, were to default and all of the collateral underlying these loans was determined to be without value at the time of settlement. The maximum exposure is not representative of the actual loss we would incur.
Conference Call Information
The Company will host a conference call to discuss its quarterly results on Thursday, October 29, 2020 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time. Listeners can access the webcast via the link: https://walkerdunlop.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_saG1xSJPRwqtINgtaJtrZg or by dialing +1 408 901 0584, Webinar ID 918 4754 2791, Password 289044. Presentation materials related to the conference call will be