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Analyst
Jay McCanless
Period: Reporting periods mapped to calendar 2024 Q4 – 2026 Q3 (8 quarters).
- Questions
- 20on tracked calls
- Challenge rate
- 5%1 of 20 questions
- Companies
- 4questioned at least once
- Reporting periods
- 8with questions
These figures cover the whole profile: every tracked question, all reporting periods.
How to read these numbers
Challenge rate is the share of questions that pushed back, pressed for specifics or questioned management’s assumptions. It describes how questions were asked on the calls tracked here; it does not measure whether any view turned out to be right.
Rounding. Rates are rounded to whole percentages, so a small share can show as 0% even when some questions were challenging. The count beside each rate is exact; “none of N questions” means no question was challenging.
No questions recorded. “—” means there is nothing to calculate: no questions were recorded for that period on the calls tracked here. It does not mean there was no activity.
Fewer than 3 questions. A company-level rate is withheld when fewer than 3 questions were recorded for that company; the questions are still counted everywhere else.
Small samples. Profiles with fewer than 10 questions are marked Limited sample.
Reporting periods. Questions are grouped by the calendar quarter each company’s fiscal reporting period maps to, not by the date of the call. Periods without a calendar mapping are listed separately under their fiscal label.
Questions asked
Grouped by company, most questions first. Open a company to read its questions, newest reporting period first.
Showing 20 of 20 questions from 4 companies
DHID. R. Horton10 questions · 5 reporting periods · 1 of 10 challenging
Calendar 2026 Q2
is that just a function of mix, or were you guys able to find some pricing power in some of these markets?
Show response
Paul attributed the year-over-year rise in backlog price mainly to mix, with selective pricing power at the community level.
Calendar 2026 Q1
I wanted to go back to a comment you made about a gross margin tailwind on homes that you guys sell earlier in the construction process
Show response
Romanowski said earlier sales allow more buyer choice on lot selection and home features, yielding margin advantage. Murray confirmed expectation of higher margin on earlier-sold homes vs. completed specs.
how much were you able to raise prices in certain markets this quarter? Or is it still kind of tricky to pull that off
Show response
Romanowski said price increases are hard to quantify because they often manifest as incentive reductions rather than base price increases. Varies community by community with no aggregate trend to report.
Calendar 2025 Q3
you said that the exit rate on gross margins at the end of the quarter was lower than you guys expected. I mean, was that more incentives, higher lot costs
Show response
Wheat said they landed 40bps below Q4 guide low end, mostly from incentives needed to generate volume and returns. Starting Q1 at a lower entry point than when they entered Q4.
Why aren't people willing to go ahead and pull the trigger? I mean I know we've all talked about confidence ad nauseam at this point
Show response
Murray identified qualification issues, rate volatility causing buyers to wait, and house-to-sell contingencies as barriers beyond just confidence. Lower rates could unlock existing home transactions.
Calendar 2025 Q2
did you all happen to comment on the Canadian softwood lumber agreement, what gross margin impact that might have on Horton
Show response
Murray acknowledged the significant tariff rate step up going into effect next month but declined to quantify the margin impact. Noted some substitutionary products are available.
did y'all give any color about fiscal 2026 community growth or how you expect that to trend
Show response
Hansen reiterated Romanowski's earlier comments that community count growth should moderate from double-digit to high single-digit and ultimately mid single-digit going forward.
is there anything from a geographic or a product standpoint that you haven't called out already this call that you might wanna address just to give people a sense of how you might be able to hold t...
Show response
Romanowski credited field teams for Q3 outperformance vs guidance but said it was honestly a surprise. Q4 still guided at 50bps step down with 54% of closings sold in the same quarter.
Calendar 2025 Q1
has there been communication from corporate out to the division presidents to keep the can rate low
Show response
Low can rate reflects committed buyer base, not corporate mandate. Actually encourage early cancellation if buyer won't close. Sign of underlying buyer quality.
maybe could you square up that increase in inventory with what I think, Bill, you said you guys are going to start to increase starts this quarter
Show response
Completed specs down 2,000 QoQ from 10,400. Faster turns allow fewer total inventory with higher starts. Aged specs also declining.
BLDRBuilders FirstSource4 questions · 2 reporting periods · 0 of 4 challenging
Calendar 2025 Q2
you talked about on-time, in-full at 92%. I guess what's something we should benchmark or look for going forward as kind of a goal
Show response
CEO described two paths to improvement: vendor/distribution network optimization and customer alignment through digital tools and ERP. Team does great job regardless of system.
without giving guidance for '26, but maybe talking directionally about what happens to gross margins when you have to start taking on those higher prices.
Show response
CEO blunt that lumber cost increases will be passed through. Some substitution and rebalancing occurring. R&R demand weakness limits pricing power broadly. OSB a different story.
Calendar 2024 Q4
Are you guys having to lean in on price now on value-add sales, or are you just saying if you need to to protect share, you will
Show response
CEO confirmed competitive pricing in value-add has been ongoing for 8+ months. No change in multifamily tone from prior quarter.
any material change in bid processes or bid volumes on the multifamily side to maybe change your tone around that
Show response
CEO clarified no material change in multifamily dynamics. Prior quarter optimism was influenced by conference commentary.
LENLennar3 questions · 2 reporting periods · 0 of 3 challenging
Calendar 2026 Q3
Y’all talked a little bit about the cost of mortgage rate buydowns moving up. Is there any way to quantify that?
Show response
Diane said it is a hard question to answer given the mix of loan types and beginning rates, and gave no single figure.
your comments about resale supply in Texas and Florida, I think that’s some new commentary that you put in the script
Show response
Stuart described resale as an increasingly competitive component and a flywheel; David noted sellers compromising price as days on market rise.
Calendar 2026 Q2
Could you talk about what the backlog incentive looks like right now, maybe just as directional for what gross margins
Show response
Management was reluctant to disclose backlog incentives, noting they are roughly flat to down a little versus 12.9% and not a clean forward indicator.
PHMPulteGroup3 questions · 2 reporting periods · 0 of 3 challenging
Calendar 2025 Q4
the last couple of quarters, have talked about Del Webb communities more than coming online. Just wanted to get an update on that and see if that is still going to be the case in '26
Show response
Marshall confirmed Del Webb at 24% of closings and 23% of sign-ups in Q4, with more communities opening next quarter on track for 25% target mix.
is there any chance you all could work that number down as you rework some of these land deals
Show response
Ossowski confirmed current renegotiations target 2027-2028 closings, not 2026. The 7-8% land inflation in 2026 guide reflects land purchased 2+ years ago.
Calendar 2025 Q2
What percentage of communities were able to raise price this quarter?
Show response
Marshall confirmed approximately 10% of communities raised price in Q2, a significant decline from the rate-driven improvement seen in prior periods.
Challenge rate by company
Every company this analyst questioned, most questions first. A company-level rate is shown from 3 questions; below that it is withheld.
| Company | Questions | Challenge rate |
|---|---|---|
| DHI D. R. Horton | 10 | 10%1 of 10 questions |
| BLDR Builders FirstSource | 4 | 0%none of 4 questions |
| LEN Lennar | 3 | 0%none of 3 questions |
| PHM PulteGroup | 3 | 0%none of 3 questions |
Activity by reporting period
Questions recorded for each calendar quarter that companies’ reporting periods map to (not the call date), with the challenge rate for that period. Periods inside the range with no questions are shown as “No questions recorded”.
| Calendar period | Questions | Challenge rate | Companies |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Q4 | 2 | 0%none of 2 questions | 1 |
| 2025 Q1 | 2 | 0%none of 2 questions | 1 |
| 2025 Q2 | 6 | 0%none of 6 questions | 3 |
| 2025 Q3 | 2 | 50%1 of 2 questions | 1 |
| 2025 Q4 | 2 | 0%none of 2 questions | 1 |
| 2026 Q1 | 2 | 0%none of 2 questions | 1 |
| 2026 Q2 | 2 | 0%none of 2 questions | 2 |
| 2026 Q3 | 2 | 0%none of 2 questions | 1 |
- 2024 Q42 questions · challenge rate 0% (none of 2 questions) · 1 company
- 2025 Q12 questions · challenge rate 0% (none of 2 questions) · 1 company
- 2025 Q26 questions · challenge rate 0% (none of 6 questions) · 3 companies
- 2025 Q32 questions · challenge rate 50% (1 of 2 questions) · 1 company
- 2025 Q42 questions · challenge rate 0% (none of 2 questions) · 1 company
- 2026 Q12 questions · challenge rate 0% (none of 2 questions) · 1 company
- 2026 Q22 questions · challenge rate 0% (none of 2 questions) · 2 companies
- 2026 Q32 questions · challenge rate 0% (none of 2 questions) · 1 company
Topics
Topics tagged on this analyst’s questions.
- Pricing9
- Demand8
- Margin5
- Competitive Dynamics4
- Cost Pressure3
- Credit2
- Trade Tariffs2
- Product Launch1
- Capex Investment1
- Geographic Expansion1
Show all 12 topics
- Inventory1
- Supply Chain1