PulteGroup Q3 Net Income Falls to $476 Million, EPS $2.53; Closings Down 9% to 6,876 Homes as Backlog Rises to 10,298
ATLANTA — PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE: PHM) on October 22 reported financial results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2026: net income of $476 million ($475.7 million), or $2.53 per diluted share, compared with net income of $586 million, or $2.96 per share, in the prior-year period. Total revenues were $3.97 billion, down 9.8% from $4.40 billion a year earlier.
Home sale revenues were $3.86 billion, a decrease of 9% from $4.25 billion, reflecting a 9% decrease in closings to 6,876 homes combined with a 1% decrease in the average sales price of homes closed to $561,000, from $564,000. The reported home sale gross margin was 24.8%, compared with 26.2% a year earlier, and included $26 million, or approximately 70 basis points, of land impairments recorded in the period. Selling, general and administrative expenses were $397 million, or 10.3% of home sale revenues, compared with $401 million, or 9.4%, a year earlier.
Net new orders totaled 6,208 homes, down 6% from 6,638 homes a year earlier, with a value of $3.5 billion, compared with $3.6 billion. The average community count rose 7% to 1,077. The company's backlog at quarter-end was 10,298 homes valued at $6.4 billion, up from 9,888 homes valued at $6.2 billion a year earlier — unit backlog increased 4% and backlog value increased 3%.
Financial services operations generated pre-tax income of $46 million, comparable with the prior-year period, and the mortgage capture rate was 85%, up from 84%. PulteGroup repurchased 2.8 million common shares in the quarter for $350 million, at an average price of $124.70 per share; through the first nine months of 2026 it repurchased 8.4 million shares, or 4% of shares outstanding, for $1.0 billion at an average price of $123.51. The company ended the quarter with $1.4 billion of cash and a debt-to-capital ratio of 12%.
"With homebuying demand increasingly pressured by rising mortgage rates, widespread inflation, and global unrest, we continue to benefit from our diversified operating platform and consistent strategies for delivering superior returns over the housing cycle," said Ryan Marshall, PulteGroup's president and CEO. "The rapid increase in interest rates has stretched affordability even further, made selling an existing home even harder, and has pushed even more consumers to the sidelines," he added, saying the company would continue to balance price and pace of home sales, align production accordingly, and remain disciplined in its allocation of capital.
Based in Atlanta, Georgia, PulteGroup is one of America's largest homebuilding companies, with operations in more than 45 markets across the country and brands including Centex, Pulte Homes, Del Webb and DiVosta Homes. Its third-quarter conference call was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on October 22. (GSM, from PulteGroup's official press release via Business Wire, October 22)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：圣何塞一处普尔特住宅社区的普尔特标识（资料图）。照片：Minh Nguyen，CC BY-SA 4.0，经Wikimedia Commons。A Pulte Homes community marker in San Jose, California (file photo). Photo: Minh Nguyen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
