PulteGroup Orders Reverse After a Year-Over-Year Gain

The Tip Desk · October 22, 2026 · 2 min read

Net new orders fell 6% to 6,208 homes as home sale revenues dropped 9% to $3.9 billion.

PulteGroup, Inc. (PHM), one of America’s largest homebuilders, reported net new orders of 6,208 homes in the third quarter ended September 30, 2026, down 6% from 6,638 a year earlier, reversing a 6% year-over-year increase in the second quarter.

Order value was $3.5 billion. Average community count was 1,077, up 7% from a year earlier.

President and CEO Ryan Marshall said homebuying demand was increasingly pressured by rising mortgage rates, widespread inflation, and global unrest, and that more than 60% of the business now comprised move-up and active-adult homebuyers. He said the company continued to balance the price and pace of home sales and align production accordingly.

Home sale revenues were $3.9 billion, a 9% decrease from $4.2 billion in the year-ago quarter, after an 11% year-over-year decline in the second quarter. Closings fell 9% to 6,876 homes. Average sales price on homes closed was $561,000, down 1% from a year earlier.

Home sale gross margin was 24.8%, compared with 26.2% in the comparable prior-year period. The company said the third-quarter margin included $26 million, or about 70 basis points, of land impairments. SG&A expenses were $397 million, or 10.3% of home sale revenues, versus $401 million, or 9.4%, a year earlier.

Net income was $476 million, or $2.53 a share, versus $586 million, or $2.96 a share, in the year-ago period. Diluted earnings were up from $2.48 a share in the second quarter.

Unit backlog ended the quarter at 10,298 homes, up 4% from 9,888 a year earlier, with backlog value of $6.4 billion.

Financial services generated pre-tax income of $46 million, which the company said was comparable with the prior-year period. Mortgage capture rate was 85%.

By region, closings were 1,904 in Florida, 1,305 in the Southeast, 1,197 in the Midwest, 1,118 in the West, 989 in Texas, and 363 in the Northeast. Net new orders were 1,823 in Florida, 1,132 in the Southeast, 1,130 in the Midwest, 945 in the West, 862 in Texas, and 316 in the Northeast.

The company repurchased 2.8 million common shares in the quarter for $350 million, or an average price of $124.70 a share. Through the first nine months of 2026 it had repurchased 8.4 million shares, or 4% of shares outstanding, for $1.0 billion. It ended the quarter with $1.4 billion of cash and a debt-to-capital ratio of 12%.