Financial research concept

Deathcare Preneed Backlog

measures future revenue associated with unfulfilled preneed funeral, cremation, and cemetery contractual arrangements.

By Lee BaileyPublished Sep 26, 2026

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Research date: Sep 26, 2026Use the dated article and cited sources for the definition, examples, and stated limitations.
Operating-model context: 17 connected conceptsPart of the reviewed Deathcare Funeral & Cemetery Economics; issuer definitions remain distinct where disclosed.
Company examples: 1 reviewed companyRelationships reflect supported examples, not a normalized cross-company KPI ranking.

Funeral represented about 70% of backlog
Backlog is not current revenue or cash
Connect the stock to the flows
Part of the Deathcare Funeral & Cemetery Economics
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Deathcare preneed backlog measures future revenue associated with unfulfilled preneed funeral, cremation, and cemetery contractual arrangements.

SCI reported $17.01 billion of total preneed backlog at December 31, 2025, including $11.97 billion related to funeral contracts and $5.04 billion related to cemetery contracts.

Funeral represented about 70% of backlog

The disclosed pieces reconcile to the total: $11.97 billion plus $5.04 billion equals $17.01 billion.

Funeral represented about 70.4% of the backlog and cemetery about 29.6%. That split is a stock of future contractual revenue, not the current-period sales mix.

Backlog is not current revenue or cash

SCI's backlog includes trust-funded deferred revenue as well as insurance- and other-funded contracts, including certain amounts that are not recorded on the consolidated balance sheet until services are performed.

The $17.01 billion therefore cannot be treated as a receivable balance or near-term cash inflow.

Connect the stock to the flows

Preneed Funeral Insurance Sales Production, trust-funded sales production, cemetery sales deferrals, and revenue recognized from backlog are period flows.

Backlog is the accumulated stock those flows add to or release from over time.

Primary source: Service Corporation International 2025 Form 10-K.

Part of the Deathcare Funeral & Cemetery Economics

Connects comparable funeral volume, revenue per service, cremation mix and gross profit with preneed funding production, cemetery sales and backlog conversion, and the long-duration preneed revenue base.

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Where this concept fits

Preneed funding production and future funeral demandCurrent relationship
Insurance-funded and trust-funded preneed sales production build future funeral obligations through different funding structures. Contract counts separate volume from average contract size, while backlog captures the larger unfulfilled revenue base.
Preneed BacklogCurrent conceptPreneed Insurance Contract Count Preneed Insurance Sales Production Preneed Trust Contract Count Preneed Trust Sales Production
Funeral volume, revenue per service, mix, and gross profit
Comparable funeral economics connect services performed with average revenue per service, while cremation mix and cost structure shape the resulting gross profit and margin.
Comparable Cremation Rate Funeral Average Revenue per Service Comparable Funeral Gross Profit Comparable Funeral Gross Profit Margin Comparable Funeral Revenue Comparable Funeral Services Performed
Cemetery sales production, deferral, and recognition
Preneed and atneed cemetery production describe current selling activity, while deferred production enters backlog and later becomes recognized revenue as property, merchandise, and services satisfy recognition conditions. Comparable gross profit shows the mature-location economics that result.
Cemetery Atneed Sales Production Cemetery Preneed Sales Production Cemetery Revenue from Backlog Cemetery Sales Deferred to Backlog Comparable Cemetery Gross Profit Comparable Cemetery Gross Profit Margin

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These companies are examples of how the concept is reported or discussed in public filings. Definitions can differ by issuer; these links open company research rather than a normalized metric comparison.

SCIOpen operating-model research →17 of 17 reviewed concepts in Deathcare Funeral & Cemetery EconomicsPreneed funding production and future funeral demand5 of 5 bridge concepts supportedContinue through this bridge:Preneed Insurance Contract Count Preneed Insurance Sales Production Preneed Trust Contract Count Preneed Trust Sales Production

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