Item 2.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of the financial condition and results of our operations should be read together with the condensed consolidated financial statements and the related notes of RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. included in Item 1 of Part I of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and with the audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes of RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. included in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 (“2018 Annual Report on Form 10-K”).
This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). These statements are often identified by the use of words such as “believe,” “intend,” “expect,” “estimate,” “plan,” “outlook,” “project,” “anticipate,” “may,” “will,” “would” and other similar words and expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends that are not statements of historical matters. Forward-looking statements include statements related to: agent count; franchise sales; revenue; operating expenses; financial outlook; our plans regarding dividends; non-GAAP financial measures; housing and mortgage market condition and trends; economic and demographic trends; competition; the anticipated benefits of the development and release of booj technology and other technology initiatives; our anticipated sources and uses of liquidity including for potential reacquisitions of Independent Regions in the U.S. and Canada as well as additional acquisitions or investments in complementary business, services and technologies; the Company’s strategic and operating plans and business models including our plans to re-invest in our business; and our Board of Directors and management structure.
Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results and will not necessarily accurately indicate the times at which such performance or results may be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time those statements are made and/or management’s good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materiality from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those identified herein, and those discussed in the section titled “Risk Factors,” set forth in Part II, Item 1A of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and in Part I, Item 1A of our 2018 Annual Report on Form 10-K. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this report. Except as required by law, we do not intend, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements.
The results of operations discussed in this “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” are those of RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. (“RE/MAX Holdings”) and its consolidated subsidiaries, including RMCO, LLC and its consolidated subsidiaries (“RMCO”), collectively, the “Company,” “we,” “our” or “us.”
Business Overview
We are one of the world’s leading franchisors in the real estate industry, franchising real estate brokerages globally under the RE/MAX brand (“RE/MAX”) and mortgage brokerages within the U.S. under the Motto Mortgage brand (“Motto”). RE/MAX and Motto are 100% franchised – we do not own any of the brokerages that operate under these brands. Although we partner with our franchisees to assist them in growing their brokerages, they fund the cost of developing their businesses. As a result, we maintain a low fixed-cost structure, which combined with our recurring, fee-based models, enables us to capitalize on the economic benefits of the franchising model, yielding high margins and significant cash flow.
On February 26, 2018, we acquired Active Website, LLC, (“booj”), a real estate technology company, in order to deliver core technology solutions designed for and with RE/MAX affiliates. In January 2019, the Company acquired all of the regional and pan-regional advertising fund entities previously owned by its founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors, David Liniger. All of these entities, except for the Western Canada region, were then merged into a new entity called RE/MAX Marketing Fund (with the Western Canada fund, collectively, the “Marketing Funds”). This acquisition