D.R. Horton, Inc. · DHI · FY2026 Q3 · Calendar Q3 2026

D.R. Horton Beats Margin Targets But Lowers Full-Year Guidance on Softer Demand

D.R. Horton delivered a margin beat in Q3 FY2026, with home sales gross margin of 20.7% and pretax margin of 13.3% both exceeding the top end of guidance, driven by stick-and-brick cost reductions and a slight decline in incentive intensity. However, the beat was overshadowed by management's decision to lower full-year guidance for the second consecutive quarter, citing softer demand and cancellations rising to 20% from 17% a year ago. The market reacted negatively on the report session (-1.7% abnormal move) though the stock partially recovered over subsequent trading (+2.5% drift). The tension between strong margin execution and weakening demand visibility defines the investment case.

Reported Before market openNYSEConsumer Cyclical $41.16B market cap
100quality score

Earnings scorecard

Reported versus consensus
Reported EPS $3.20 Consensus $3.02
EPS surprise +6.0% Reported versus consensus
Reported revenue $9.23B Consensus $9.10B
Revenue surprise +1.4% Reported versus consensus

Market reaction

prior-close to event-session close
Stock move -0.9% Event window
SPY move +0.8% Same window
Abnormal move -1.7% Stock minus SPY
Volume 1.4× Versus trailing sessions
Subsequent drift +2.5% Up to 20 sessions
DHISPY benchmark

Ask FN2 about DHI FY2026 Q3

Transcript, numbers and history already loaded

Free account. Your question opens in FN2 with this report's transcript and numbers attached.

Transcript intelligence

What changed

Compared to Q2 FY2026, pretax margin expanded from 11.5% to 13.3% and gross margin rose to 20.7%, beating the guided 19.7%-20.2% range. Rental pretax income grew from $12 million to $31 million. Cancellation rates worsened to 20% from 17% a year earlier. The average rate buyback fell from 1.7% to 1.6%, with the company's offered mortgage rate of 4.9% remaining well below the ~6.5% market rate. Management lowered full-year guidance again after narrowing and reducing the top end in Q2.

Guidance delta

Prior Q3 guidance called for revenue of $8.8-$9.3 billion and 23,500-24,000 closings; actuals were $9.23 billion and 23,983 homes, both within range. Gross margin guidance of 19.7%-20.2% was exceeded at 20.7%, and pretax margin guidance of 12.2%-12.7% was exceeded at 13.3%. New Q4 guidance targets revenue of $8.8-$9.3 billion, 22,500-23,000 closings, and gross margin of 20.5%-21%. Full-year FY2026 guidance was lowered due to softer demand.

Key takeaways

  • Gross margin of 20.7% beat the top end of guidance (19.7%-20.2%), driven by stick-and-brick cost reductions and lower incentives.
  • EPS of $3.20 exceeded the consensus estimate of $3.02 by 6%, and revenue of $9.23 billion topped estimates of $9.10 billion.
  • Full-year FY2026 guidance was lowered for the second consecutive quarter, reflecting softer demand and rising cancellations (20% vs 17% prior year).
  • Rental operations generated $31 million pretax income with $3 billion in rental inventory, up from $12 million in Q2.
  • Management plans to reduce Q4 starts and focus on margin preservation while continuing share repurchases (~$2.5B for FY) and dividends.

Management priorities

  • Preserve gross margins through cost discipline and incentive management in a softer demand environment.
  • Reduce Q4 starts to align inventory with demand while maintaining lot pipeline through Forestar and third-party developers.
  • Continue capital allocation to share repurchases (~$2.5 billion for FY) and dividends ($500 million).
  • Maintain rental inventory around $3 billion and pursue additional multifamily projects.
  • Evaluate off-site manufacturing and AI technologies for construction efficiency.

Follow DHI with an agent that reads every filing, transcript, and price print. Free to start.

Try FN2 free

Earnings History

Estimate Beat Miss Match
DHI REVENUE earnings history estimate and actual scatter chart 9 reported fiscal quarters and 4 future estimate-only quarters. Q2 '24 estimate $8B Q2 '24 actual $9B, beat Q3 '24 estimate $10B Q3 '24 actual $10B, beat Q4 '24 estimate $10B Q4 '24 actual $10B, miss Q3 '25 estimate $9B Q3 '25 actual $9B, beat Q4 '25 estimate $9B Q4 '25 actual $10B, beat Q1 '26 estimate $7B Q1 '26 actual $7B, beat Q2 '26 estimate $8B Q2 '26 actual $8B, beat Q3 '26 estimate $9B Q3 '26 actual $9B, beat Q4 '26 estimate $9B Q1 '27 estimate $7B Q2 '27 estimate $8B Q3 '27 estimate $9B
Show 1 more >

Analyst Consensus ?

ConsensusHold52 ratings
Bullish2446.1%
Neutral2548.1%
Bearish35.8%

Analyst 52W Price Targets

$147.02Previous close
$61Low
$142.28Average
$210High

Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted previous close from FN2's market snapshot as of Oct 28, 2026. Not an FN2 forecast.

Firm-level rating actions

FMP grade actions identify the grading firm, not a named analyst.

FirmRatingPrior ratingActionDate
Wells Fargo Equal Weight Equal WeightMaintainOct 16, 2026
RBC Capital Underperform UnderperformMaintainOct 15, 2026
Citigroup Neutral NeutralMaintainOct 15, 2026
Barclays Equal Weight Equal WeightMaintainOct 6, 2026
Evercore ISI Group In Line In LineMaintainSep 25, 2026
Show 47 more rating actions

Named analyst price targets

Upside is calculated against the persisted previous close $147.02. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.

FirmAnalyst52W targetPrice when postedUpsideDate
Wells FargoSam Reid$140$139.55 -4.8%Oct 16, 2026
Goldman SachsSusan Maklari$182$134.88 +23.8%Oct 12, 2026
BarclaysAnalyst unavailable$130$133.23 -11.6%Oct 6, 2026
Morgan StanleyAnalyst unavailable$151$136.65 +2.7%Oct 1, 2026
Evercore ISIAnalyst unavailable$166$140.35 +12.9%Sep 25, 2026
See 57 more

Track every rating change on DHI the moment it posts. Free to start.

Start free

Company context

Snapshot as of publication

Established in Arlington, Texas, in 1978, D.R. Horton, Inc. operates as a prominent residential construction enterprise. The company's core business involves acquiring and preparing land, then constructing and marketing homes across a substantial portion of the United States. Its operations span 31 states and 98 distinct markets, covering the East, North, Southeast, South Central, Southwest, and Northwest regions. Under several well-known brand names, including D.R. Horton, America's Builder, Express Homes, Emerald Homes, and Freedom Homes, the firm develops diverse housing types.…

Historical context

All DHI earnings

Consumer Cyclical peers this season

Latest reports in the same sector
CompanyQuarterEPS surpriseMarket moveHeadline
RCL Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. FY2026 Q3 · Calendar Q4 2026 +3.0% +5.5% RCL raises EPS outlook as bookings accelerate and resorts broaden growth
HLT Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. FY2026 Q3 · Calendar Q4 2026 — -2.1% Hilton posts strong RevPAR growth as 2027 outlook holds

Latest beats and misses

Who reports next

Get the DHI recap when the next report posts

One email per quarter with the scorecard, the market reaction and what changed on the call. No account needed.

Sources

  1. Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-07-21T16:02:27.311911+00:00
  2. FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-07-30T01:23:13.872335+00:00
  3. Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-07-30T03:41:04.089355+00:00
  4. Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-07-30T03:41:04.086726+00:00

Methodology

Reported and consensus figures come from FN2's earnings event records. Market reaction and volume are calculated from daily adjusted bars around the event; abnormal move subtracts the SPY move over the same window.

Analyst target low, average, and high values are derived at request time from each named analyst's latest persisted FMP target. The current-price marker comes from FN2's persisted market snapshot. They are sell-side estimates, not an FN2 valuation or recommendation.

Transcript intelligence is a structured synthesis of the current and prior earnings-call analyses. Missing values stay missing and are never estimated.

By FN2 Research · Updated · As of 2026-07-30. For educational purposes only; not investment advice.