Lennar Stock Down on Q3 Earnings Miss, New Home Orders Rise Y/Y

Core Insights - Lennar Corporation reported disappointing results for Q3 fiscal 2025, with adjusted earnings and total revenues falling short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate, and both metrics declining year-over-year [1][5] Financial Performance - Adjusted EPS was $2.00, missing the consensus estimate of $2.12 by 5.6%, down from $3.90 in the same quarter last year [5] - Total revenues were $8.81 billion, missing the consensus mark of $9.04 billion by 2.5%, and down 6.4% from $9.42 billion year-over-year [5] - Homebuilding segment revenues totaled $8.25 billion, an 8.8% decline from the prior-year quarter, with home sales contributing $8.21 billion, down 8.9% [6] - Home deliveries increased by 0.3% to 21,584 units, but missed projections of 22,730 units [7] - The average sales price (ASP) of homes delivered was $383,000, down 9.2% year-over-year [7] Market Conditions - The housing market faced challenges due to affordability issues and declining consumer confidence, impacting revenue growth [2] - Interest rates remained high for most of the quarter but decreased towards the end, potentially allowing the market to adjust [4] Operational Insights - New orders increased by 12% year-over-year to 23,004 homes, but the potential value of net orders fell to $8.44 billion from $8.56 billion [7][8] - The backlog at the end of Q3 was 16,953 homes, slightly up from 16,944 homes a year ago, but potential housing revenues from backlog decreased to $6.65 billion from $7.75 billion [8] Cost Structure - Gross margin on home sales was 17.5%, down 500 basis points year-over-year, and below the projected 18.2% [8] - SG&A expenses as a percentage of home sales increased to 8.2%, reflecting less leverage due to lower revenues [9] Segment Performance - Financial Services segment revenues grew 15% year-over-year to $314.2 million, with operating earnings increasing to $177.9 million [10] - Lennar Multi-Family segment revenues surged 144.5% to $228.5 million, but reported an operating loss of $16.5 million [10] - Other segment revenues totaled $13.9 million, up from $3.6 million a year ago, with operating earnings of $62.5 million [11] Financial Position - At the end of Q3, Lennar had cash and cash equivalents of $1.41 billion, down from $4.66 billion a year ago, with total homebuilding debt increasing to $3.52 billion [12] - The company repurchased 14 million shares for $1.73 billion during the first nine months of fiscal 2025 [13] Future Guidance - For Q4 fiscal 2025, Lennar expects deliveries between 22,000-23,000 homes, with an ASP range of $380,000-$390,000 [14] - Gross margin on home sales is anticipated to be about 17.5%, with SG&A expenses projected to be in the range of 7.8-8.0% [15]