Lennar Q4 Earnings Miss Estimates, Revenues Beat, Stock Down

Core Insights - Lennar Corporation (LEN) reported mixed results for Q4 FY25, with adjusted earnings missing estimates while total revenues exceeded expectations, but both metrics declined year-over-year [1][4][10] Financial Performance - Adjusted EPS for Q4 was $2.03, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.23 by 9%, down from $4.03 in the same quarter last year [4][10] - Total revenues reached $9.37 billion, surpassing the consensus mark of $9.13 billion by 2.7%, but declined 5.8% from $9.95 billion year-over-year [4][10] - Homebuilding revenues totaled $8.89 billion, down 6.9% from the prior-year quarter, with home sales contributing $8.85 billion, a decrease of 6.8% [5][10] Market Conditions - The housing market remains challenging due to affordability issues and buyer uncertainty, compounded by a six-week government shutdown [2] - Interest rates declined modestly in Q4, which is expected to help stabilize the market as Lennar increases volumes [3] Operational Metrics - Home deliveries increased by 3.7% to 23,034 units, exceeding projections of 22,093 units, while the average selling price (ASP) of homes delivered was $386,000, down 10.2% year-over-year [6][10] - New orders rose 18.5% year-over-year to 20,018 homes, with a potential value of net orders increasing to $7.51 billion from $7.18 billion [7] Margins and Costs - Gross margin on home sales was 17%, down 510 basis points year-over-year, primarily due to decreased revenue per square foot and increased land costs [8][10] - SG&A expenses as a percentage of home sales increased to 7.9% due to lower revenues and higher marketing costs [9] Future Guidance - For Q1 FY26, Lennar expects home deliveries between 17,000-18,000, with ASP projected to be $365,000-$375,000, down from $408,000 a year ago [16] - Gross margin on home sales is anticipated to be in the range of 15-16%, with SG&A expenses expected to rise to about 9.5% [17] Fiscal Year Highlights - Total revenues for FY25 were $34.2 billion, down from $35.4 billion in FY24, with adjusted EPS of $8.06, down from $13.86 year-over-year [13] - Homebuilding cash and cash equivalents at the end of Q4 were $3.44 billion, down from $4.66 billion at the end of FY24 [14]