Meritage Homes reports third quarter 2026 results

Steven J. Hilton, Executive chairman of Meritage Homes

“In the third quarter of 2026, we navigated an increasingly challenging homebuying environment marked by rising mortgage interest rates and persistent geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty. Constrained affordability weighed on consumer sentiment, which was reflected in our 15% year-over-year decline in third quarter orders despite achieving an average absorption pace of 3.0 net sales per month per store”

Steven J. Hilton, Executive chairman of Meritage Homes

“In light of current market conditions, we intentionally focused on preserving margins rather than pursuing a higher sales pace.”

Phillippe Lord, Chief executive officer of Meritage Homes

“We were able to convert nearly 190% of our backlog this quarter, delivering 3,187 homes across our larger footprint of 348 communities”

Phillippe Lord, Chief executive officer of Meritage Homes

“Third quarter 2026 home closing revenue of $1.2 billion generated adjusted home closing gross margin of 17.9%, excluding $6.0 million of real estate inventory impairments and terminated land deal walk-away charges, and SG&A as a percentage of home closing revenue of 11.0%, nearly in line with the prior year period as we were able to leverage our larger size and cost control initiatives to maximize profitability.”

Phillippe Lord, Chief executive officer of Meritage Homes

“In today's volatile market, prudently managing capital is a key priority, as we continue to focus on maintaining sufficient liquidity. During the quarter, we pulled back our land investments by almost 40% year-over-year to $329 million and returned $86 million to shareholders via share repurchases and dividends. We are confident that the strength of our balance sheet and prudence around cash preservation will be a differentiator, as we expect market conditions to continue to be unpredictable over the next several quarters. In the first nine months of 2026, we have returned nearly $380 million of capital to shareholders, representing 177% of total earnings so far this year”

Phillippe Lord, Chief executive officer of Meritage Homes

“We ended the third quarter of 2026 with cash of $677 million, no borrowings under our revolving credit facility, and a net debt-to-capital ratio of 18.9%. As of September 30, 2026, our book value per share increased 4% year-over-year.”