By Denny Jacob
PulteGroup revenue declined in its latest quarter as fewer homes were purchased, reflecting continuing challenges in a housing market looking for a boost during the critical spring selling season.
The results--while ahead of Wall Street's estimates--reflect cautious demand from would-be buyers as elevated mortgage rates, tariffs and weakened consumer sentiment hung over the market.
The Atlanta home builder logged net income of $522.8 million, or $2.57 a share, for the first quarter, down from around $663 million, or $3.10 a share, in the prior-year period. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $2.43 a share.
Total revenue edged down to $3.89 billion from $3.95 billion, while home sales revenue declined 2% to $3.7 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet expected total revenue of $3.82 billion.
PulteGroup said the topline figure in the quarter reflected a combination of a 6% increase in the average sales price to $570,000, which was offset by a 7% decrease in closing volume to 6,583 homes.
"As the quarter progressed, buyers responded favorably to interest rate declines, but consumers remain caught between a strong desire for homeownership and the affordability challenges of high selling prices and monthly payments that are stretched," said Chief Executive Ryan Marshall.
Home sale gross margin in the quarter came in at 27.5%, down 210 basis points from the prior year but flat on a sequential basis.
Write to Denny Jacob at denny.jacob@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 22, 2025 06:53 ET (10:53 GMT)
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