PulteGroup, Inc. · PHM · FY2026 Q2 · Calendar Q3 2026

PulteGroup Q2: Margins Rebound to 25%, Orders Up 6% as Spec Inventory Tightens

PulteGroup's Q2 2026 results showed tangible progress on the operational priorities management outlined in Q1. Gross margins recovered from 24.4% to 25% as incentives declined from 10.9% to 10.4% of sales price. Net new orders grew 6% year-over-year, led by a 12% jump in active-adult orders. The company aggressively reduced spec inventory to 1.3 homes per community (a 13% YoY decline in total spec units) while build-to-order homes reached 45% of new orders, advancing toward the 60% target. Management reaffirmed full-year guidance for closings, ASP, and gross margin. The stock responded with a 2.1% abnormal move on 1.64x baseline volume, followed by continued upward drift of 1.7% in subsequent sessions. Analyst consensus target of $143.29 implies roughly 12% upside from the current price of $128.49.

Reported Before market openNYSEConsumer Cyclical $25.54B market cap
100quality score

Company context

Snapshot as of publication

PulteGroup, Inc. engages in the homebuilding business. The firm is also involved in mortgage banking and title and insurance brokerage operations. It operates through the Homebuilding and Financial services business segments. The Homebuilding segment includes operations from Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Texas, Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Washington. The Financial Services segment is composed of mortgage banking and title operations. The company was founded by William J. Pulte in 1950 and is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.

Earnings scorecard

Reported versus consensus
Reported EPS $2.48 Consensus $2
EPS surprise +5.1% Reported versus consensus
Reported revenue $3.98B Consensus $3.94B
Revenue surprise +1.0% Reported versus consensus

Earnings History

Estimate Beat Miss Match
PHM EPS earnings history estimate and actual scatter chart 9 reported fiscal quarters and 4 future estimate-only quarters. Q4 '23 estimate $3.22 Q4 '23 actual $3.28, beat Q1 '24 estimate $2.36 Q1 '24 actual $2.96, beat Q2 '24 estimate $3.27 Q2 '24 actual $3.77, beat Q3 '24 estimate $3.11 Q3 '24 actual $3.35, beat Q2 '25 estimate $2.95 Q2 '25 actual $3.03, beat Q3 '25 estimate $2.89 Q3 '25 actual $2.96, beat Q4 '25 estimate $2.81 Q4 '25 actual $2.58, miss Q1 '26 estimate $1.81 Q1 '26 actual $1.79, miss Q2 '26 estimate $2.36 Q2 '26 actual $2.48, beat Q3 '26 estimate $2.66 Q4 '26 estimate $3.23 Q1 '27 estimate $2.02 Q2 '27 estimate $2.74
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Analyst Consensus ?

ConsensusHold43 ratings
Bullish1944.2%
Neutral2148.8%
Bearish37.0%

Analyst 52W Price Targets

$128.74Current
$52Low
$117.85Average
$166High

Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted current price from FN2's market snapshot as of Jul 30, 2026. Not an FN2 forecast.

Firm-level rating actions

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

FirmRatingPrior ratingActionDate
Citigroup Neutral NeutralMaintainJul 24, 2026
RBC Capital Sector Perform Sector PerformMaintainJul 23, 2026
Evercore ISI Group Outperform OutperformMaintainJul 23, 2026
Barclays Equal Weight Equal WeightMaintainJul 23, 2026
Wells Fargo Overweight OverweightMaintainJul 6, 2026
UBS Buy BuyMaintainApr 24, 2026
B of A Securities Buy BuyMaintainApr 20, 2026
Truist Securities Buy BuyMaintainApr 16, 2026
Show 35 more rating actions

Named analyst price targets

Upside is calculated against the persisted current price $128.74. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.

FirmAnalyst52W targetPrice when postedUpsideDate
UBSAnalyst unavailable$166$123.25 +28.9%Jul 23, 2026
RBC CapitalAnalyst unavailable$116$123.28 -9.9%Jul 23, 2026
Evercore ISIAnalyst unavailable$162$122.5 +25.8%Jul 23, 2026
BarclaysAnalyst unavailable$124$126.75 -3.7%Jul 23, 2026
BarclaysAnalyst unavailable$123$123.75 -4.5%Jul 14, 2026
UBSAnalyst unavailable$162$129.16 +25.8%Apr 24, 2026
Evercore ISIStephen Kim$151$129.22 +17.3%Apr 24, 2026
Wells FargoAnalyst unavailable$140$130.64 +8.7%Apr 24, 2026
Truist FinancialAnalyst unavailable$150$121.33 +16.5%Apr 16, 2026
Raymond JamesAnalyst unavailable$145$130.46 +12.6%Feb 4, 2026
See 42 more

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Market reaction

prior-close to event-session close
Stock move +2.0% Event window
SPY move -0.1% Same window
Abnormal move +2.1% Stock minus SPY
Volume 1.6× Versus trailing sessions
Subsequent drift +1.7% Up to 20 sessions
PHMSPY benchmark

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Transcript intelligence

What changed

Gross margin recovered from 24.4% in Q1 to 25% in Q2 as incentives declined from 10.9% to 10.4% of sales price. Build-to-order mix advanced from 43% to 45% of new orders, with cycle times under 100 days. Spec inventory tightened to 1.3 homes per community, a 13% year-over-year decline in total spec units. Net new orders grew 6% YoY with active-adult orders up 12%, building on Q1's Florida-led 18% order surge. Land spend accelerated from $1.3B in Q1 to $1.4B in Q2, with year-to-date spend at $2.7B on track for the $5.4B annual target. New Explore by Del Webb communities launched in Tampa, Columbus, and Palm Desert, with a Utah location upcoming.

Guidance delta

Full-year guidance for closings, average sales price, and gross margin was reaffirmed, consistent with the maintained guidance stance from Q1. Management's guidance sentiment remained 'maintained' with no upward or downward revision.

Key takeaways

  • EPS of $2.48 beat consensus of $2.36 by 5.1%; revenue of $3.98B beat by 1.0%.
  • Gross margin recovered to 25% from 24.4% in Q1 as incentives fell to 10.4% of sales price.
  • Net new orders grew 6% YoY, with active-adult orders up 12%.
  • Spec inventory reduced to 1.3 homes per community, a 13% YoY decline in total spec units.
  • Build-to-order homes reached 45% of new orders, targeting 60% by next year, with cycle times under 100 days.
  • Land spend of $1.4B in Q2 brings YTD spend to $2.7B, on track for the $5.4B annual target.

Management priorities

  • Increase build-to-order share toward the 60% target by next year.
  • Continue reducing spec inventory while matching starts to sales cadence.
  • Maintain land acquisition pace to reach the $5.4B annual spend goal.
  • Expand the Explore by Del Webb active-adult brand, including a new Utah location.
  • Pursue selective tuck-in acquisitions to enhance local market scale.
  • Continue share repurchases within the $2.1B authorization while funding growth.

Sources

  1. Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-07-22T16:08:13.136054+00:00
  2. FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-07-30T01:23:13.872335+00:00
  3. Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-07-30T19:41:14.487259+00:00
  4. Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-07-30T19:41:14.484346+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 . For educational purposes only; not investment advice.