Start here if you're new
what it is
D.R. Horton builds and sells houses, then makes extra money from mortgages and title services tied to those sales.
how it gets paid
Last year D.R. Horton made $34.3B in revenue. Home sales was the main engine at $32.7B, or 95% of sales.
why growth slowed
Revenue fell 6.9% last year. The 7% drop in homes sold matters most because fewer closings hit both construction revenue and the mortgage and title income attached to each sale.
what just happened
D.R. Horton opened fiscal 2026 with revenue of $6.9B, down 10% vs. prior year, while EPS fell to $2.03.
At a glance
A balance sheet — strong enough to weather a downturn
65/100 earnings predictability — reasonably predictable
13.3x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
1.2% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
11.5% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 67/100 — average
What they do
D.R. Horton builds and sells houses, then makes extra money from mortgages and title services tied to those sales.
Scale is the moat. D.R. Horton operates in 126 markets across 36 states and sold 83,423 homes in fiscal 2025, so it can spread land, labor, and marketing costs across a huge base. You feel that advantage when affordability gets ugly: smaller builders tap out first, while Horton still has mortgage and title services attached to the sale.
How they make money
$34.3B
annual revenue · their business grew -6.9% last year
Home sales
$32.7B
7.0%
Mortgage financing
$0.9B
flat
Title and other services
$0.7B
flat
The products that matter
builds and sells homes
Homebuilding
$34.3B revenue · 100% of sales in this snapshot
it is the whole story in the source data: $34.3B of revenue, down 6.9% from last year, with the housing cycle doing most of the talking.
core engine
mortgage and title services
Financial Services
revenue not broken out here
the source data does not break out this segment, but it sits inside a $34.3B home-sale machine and helps support a 9.3% net margin around each closing.
attached economics
develops land and lots
Land Development
revenue not broken out here
this piece is thin in the snapshot data, but lot control matters in a business with $4.9B of long-term debt and thousands of homes moving through the pipeline.
timing advantage
Key numbers
13.3x
trailing p/e
P/E → how many dollars you pay for $1 of profit → so what: you are paying a low multiple for the largest homebuilder in a weak cycle.
15.0%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit left after running the business → so what: Horton still turns every $100 of sales into $15 before interest and taxes.
11.5%
return on capital
Return on capital → profit earned on the money tied up in the business → so what: the company still earns more than 10% on capital in a rough housing market.
$4.9B
long-term debt
Long-term debt → money owed over many years → so what: that is just 10% of capital, which gives you a sturdier balance sheet than most cyclical businesses.
Financial health
A
strength
- balance sheet grade A — very strong financial position
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 60 / 100
- long-term debt $4.9B (10% of capital)
- net profit margin 10.7% — keeps 11 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 14% — $0.14 profit for every $1 investors have put in
A — among the top-rated companies for balance sheet quality.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in DHI 3 years ago → it's now worth $17,520.
The index would have given you $14,540.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
missed estimates
D.R. Horton opened fiscal 2026 with revenue of $6.9B, down 10% vs. prior year, while EPS fell to $2.03.
The miss came from weaker housing demand, not a mystery. The company sold 7% fewer homes, and homebuilding revenue dropped 9% as affordability kept buyers on the sideline.
$6.9B
revenue
$2.03
eps
23.2%
gross margin
the number that mattered
The 7% drop in homes sold matters most because fewer closings hit both construction revenue and the mortgage and title income attached to each sale.
-
d.r.
-
horton got off to a weak start in fiscal 2026. (year ends september 30th.) the nation’s largest homebuilder posted earnings per share of $2.03, which marked a year-to-year decrease of 22%.
-
there were a number of factors that contributed to the shortfall, including a 9% decline in homebuilding revenues.
-
in total, the company sold 7% fewer homes than the prior year, as housing affordability kept many buyers on the sidelines.
-
on the positive side, new orders improved 3% year to year.
source: company earnings report, 2026
Get this snapshot in your inbox
This page, delivered free — plus weekly updates when the numbers change. plain english, no spam.
weekly updates
earnings alerts
plain english
no spam
What could go wrong
the #1 risk is mortgage rates freezing first-time homebuyers.
med
mortgage-rate affordability squeeze
D.R. Horton sells into the part of housing where monthly payment math matters most. If rates stay high, buyers wait, incentives rise, and closings slow.
You already saw the sensitivity: quarterly EPS fell 22% to $2.03 and homebuilding revenue fell 9%.
med
order improvement that does not convert into closings
New orders rose 3%, which is good. But orders are an early signal, not cash in the bank. If buyers cancel or financing stays tight, the headline improvement does not reach revenue.
The gap is already visible: orders improved while revenue still fell to $6.9B for the quarter.
med
land timing in a cyclical market
Lot control is an advantage until demand slows after you have committed capital. Builders live with timing risk by definition.
D.R. Horton has an A balance sheet and $4.9B of long-term debt, so this is manageable now. It still matters if the slowdown lasts longer than expected.
almost all of the $34.3B revenue base depends on people deciding they can afford a house. If that math stays tight, scale helps — but it does not make the cycle disappear.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
earnings
next order and closing update
watch whether the 3% order improvement starts showing up in closings and revenue, not just in backlog talk.
trend
orders vs. affordability
if buyers keep coming back even with tight affordability, the market will care less about the last ugly quarter.
metric
EPS reset vs. $10.60 full-year estimate
the stock stays cheap if the estimate holds. It gets cheaper for a reason if it does not.
risk
institutional selling pressure
funds have been net sellers for 2 straight quarters. If that keeps up, valuation alone may not rescue the stock.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
average
momentum score 3 — the stock is moving with the broader market, not breaking away from it.
risk profile
average
stability score 3 — in human-speak, this is a normal level of risk for a big cyclical builder.
chart momentum
top 20%
technical score 2 — analysts see above-average price performance in the year ahead, even after the weak quarter.
earnings predictability
65 / 100
earnings are predictable enough to model, but not enough to treat like a consumer staple.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net selling for 2 consecutive quarters — 398 buyers vs. 503 sellers in 4q2025. total institutional holdings: 0.3B shares. net selling for 2 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$120
$251
$154
current price
$186
target midpoint · +20% from current · 3-5yr high: $260 (+70% · 15% ann'l return)
Want the deeper analysis?
The full deep dive: dcf model, scenario analysis, competitive moat breakdown, and quarterly tracking — everything on this page, taken further.
see plans from $5/moThe deep dive