Full-year closings guidance reduced to 83,800-84,300 homes
D.R. Horton reported a solid Q3 FY2026 with EPS of $3.20 and gross margin of 20.7%, slightly above guidance. However, demand softened through the quarter, leading to a modest reduction in full-year home closing guidance. Management emphasized cost control, inventory efficiency, and a disciplined approach to balancing volume and margin amid macroeconomic uncertainty. Q3 home closings of 23,983 were at the high end of guidance; net sales orders flat YoY, cancellation rate 20% (up from 17% prior year).
Buzzberg readFull-year closings guidance reduced to 83,800-84,300 homesD.R. Horton reported a solid Q3 FY2026 with EPS of $3.20 and gross margin of 20.7%, slightly above guidance. However, demand softened through the quarter, leading to a modest reduction in full-year home closing guidance. Management emphasized cost control, inventory efficiency, and a disciplined approach to balancing volume and margin amid macroeconomic uncertainty. Q3 home closings of 23,983 were at the high end of guidance; net sales orders flat YoY, cancellation rate 20% (up from 17% prior year).Read full analysisCollapse analysis
D.R. Horton reported a solid Q3 FY2026 with EPS of $3.20 and gross margin of 20.7%, slightly above guidance. However, demand softened through the quarter, leading to a modest reduction in full-year home closing guidance. Management emphasized cost control, inventory efficiency, and a disciplined approach to balancing volume and margin amid macroeconomic uncertainty. Q3 home closings of 23,983 were at the high end of guidance; net sales orders flat YoY, cancellation rate 20% (up from 17% prior year).
Stick-and-brick costs down 5% YoY partly offsetting lot cost inflation of 5%; gross margin guidance for Q4 is 20.5%-21%.
Full-year home closing guidance lowered to 83,800-84,300 from prior expectations due to softer late-spring demand; revenue guided to $32.5-$33 billion.
Company continues to reduce owned lot position (-13% YoY) and relies on third-party developers (67% of closings), improving capital efficiency.
Revenue$9.2271B
+22% QoQ
EPS$3.20
+43% QoQ
HOME_SALES gross margin20.7%
reported
Gross margin23.26%
reported
What changed this quarter
01
Guidance
Full-year closings guidance reduced to 83,800-84,300 homes
Guidance · revenue to $9.05B
02
Margins
Gross margin beat at 20.7%, above guidance
Reported gross margin was 23.26%, reinforcing the quarter's better-than-guided profitability.
03
Demand
Cancellation rate rose to 20% from 17%
Management acknowledged softening demand and reduced full-year guidance, but expressed confidence in their disciplined operating model and ability to adapt; tone was steady and pragmatic without notable shift from prior calls.
04
Supply chain
Stick and brick costs down 5% year-over-year
D.R. Horton's stick-and-brick costs declined 5% year-over-year, driven largely by framing savings, and cycle times improved by three weeks, allowing lower inventory and faster turns — indicating ongoing deflation in construction inputs and operational efficiency gains that…
Demand
Demand
Bookings & conversion
Cancellation rate rose to 20% from 17%. Management acknowledged softening demand and reduced full-year guidance, but expressed confidence in their disciplined operating model and ability to adapt; tone was steady and pragmatic without notable shift from prior calls.
Tone · cautious
Management acknowledged softening demand and reduced full-year guidance, but expressed confidence in their disciplined operating model and ability to adapt; tone was steady and pragmatic without notable shift from prior calls.
Supply-chain alpha
A1
D.R. Horton's stick-and-brick costs declined 5% year-over-year, driven largely by framing savings, and cycle times improved by three weeks, allowing lower inventory and faster turns — indicating ongoing deflation in construction inputs and operational efficiency gains that could pressure trade partners' margins.
“Year over year, home sales revenue was down 3%, stick and brick costs were down 5%, and lot costs were up 5%.”
D.R. Horton is reducing its owned lot position (-13% YoY) and relying more on third-party developers (67% of closings on lots developed by others), shifting capital risk to developers and enhancing returns but reducing demand for raw land purchases.
“Our own lot position is down 13% from a year ago, and in the third quarter 67% of the homes we closed were on lots developed by either four-star or third parties, up from 66% in the prior year quarter.”