Meritage Homes Q4 earnings falls on lower home closing revenue

Overview

• U.S. homebuilder's Q4 home closing revenue fell 12% yr/yr

• Net earnings for Q4 decreased 51% yr/yr due to lower home closing revenue and non-recurring charges

• Company plans $400 mln share repurchases in 2026

Outlook

• Meritage expects 2026 home closing volume and revenue to match 2025 levels

• Company plans $400 mln in share repurchases during 2026, contingent on market stability

• Company anticipates ongoing near-term noise in the market

• Meritage aims to grow community count by 15% to capture market share

Result Drivers

• INVENTORY STRATEGY - Meritage emphasized its strategy of having readily available inventory in all stores, which helped maintain sales orders despite market challenges

• COST MANAGEMENT - Co implemented cost-cutting measures and technological efficiencies to reduce overhead costs amid broader macro conditions

• COMMUNITY EXPANSION - Meritage increased its community count by 15% in 2025, aiming to capture market share when demand improves

Key Details

Analyst Coverage

• The current average analyst rating on the shares is "hold" and the breakdown of recommendations is 4 "strong buy" or "buy", 8 "hold" and no "sell" or "strong sell"

• The average consensus recommendation for the homebuilding peer group is "buy."

• Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Meritage Homes Corp is $82.00, about 17.9% above its January 27 closing price of $69.57

• The stock recently traded at 10 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 9 three months ago

Press Release: ID:nGNX1LJJNG

For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact reuters.support@thomsonreuters.com.