PulteGroup Q3 profit drops as home sale revenues fall 9 percent

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE: PHM) reported third quarter 2026 net income of $476 million, or $2.53 per share, a decline from the $586 million, or $2.96 per share, reported in the prior year period. The Atlanta-based homebuilder attributed the results to a 9 percent decrease in home sale revenues to $3.9 billion, driven by fewer closings and lower average sales prices.

The company closed 6,876 homes in the quarter, a 9 percent decrease from the prior year period. This reduction in volume combined with a 1 percent decrease in the average sales price to $561,000 per home. Home sale gross margin came in at 24.8 percent, down from 26.2 percent in the comparable period last year. This margin figure includes $26 million in land impairments, representing approximately 70 basis points of the total margin.

Net new orders totaled 6,208 homes, a 6 percent decline from the 6,638 homes ordered in the third quarter of last year. The value of these new orders was $3.5 billion, compared to $3.6 billion in the prior year period. PulteGroup’s average community count increased 7 percent to 1,077 communities during the quarter.

Backlog metrics showed modest growth, with unit backlog increasing 4 percent to 10,298 homes and backlog value rising 3 percent to $6.4 billion. In the prior year period, the company ended the third quarter with a backlog of 9,888 homes valued at $6.2 billion.

Financial services operations generated $46 million in pre-tax income, which was comparable to the prior year period. The mortgage capture rate rose to 85 percent from 84 percent in the same period last year. PulteGroup repurchased 2.8 million common shares for $350 million during the quarter at an average price of $124.70 per share. For the first nine months of 2026, the company repurchased 8.4 million shares, or 4 percent of shares outstanding, for $1.0 billion at an average price of $123.51 per share.

At the end of the quarter, PulteGroup held $1.4 billion in cash and maintained a debt-to-capital ratio of 12 percent. Ryan Marshall, President and CEO of PulteGroup, stated that rising mortgage rates and inflation have pressured homebuying demand and pushed consumers to the sidelines. He noted that over 60 percent of the company’s business now consists of move-up and active-adult homebuyers, which he said supported strong gross margins despite the challenging environment.