Q1 2026 Meritage Homes Corp Earnings Call Transcript
Key Points
- Meritage Homes Corp (MTH) achieved a record community count of 345 by the end of Q1 2026, representing a 19% year-over-year increase.
- The company maintained a strong balance sheet with a net debt-to-capital ratio of 17.4% and cash reserves of $767 million.
- Meritage Homes Corp (MTH) repurchased $130 million worth of common shares in Q1, exceeding their target and taking advantage of share price discounts.
- The company increased its quarterly dividend by 12% to $0.48 per share, reflecting a commitment to shareholder returns.
- Meritage Homes Corp (MTH) achieved a backlog conversion rate of 254%, supported by improved cycle times and a 60-day closing guarantee.
- First quarter 2026 sales orders were 5% lower year-over-year, impacted by a slower absorption pace and macroeconomic challenges.
- Home closing gross margin decreased to 17.5% from 22% in the prior year due to increased use of incentives and higher lot costs.
- Diluted EPS fell by 51% year-over-year to $0.82, reflecting lower home closing revenue and gross profit.
- The average absorption pace decreased to 3.6% from 4.4% in the prior year, indicating slower sales velocity.
- Meritage Homes Corp (MTH) faced challenges in certain markets like Austin, parts of Florida, and Charlotte, which were tougher selling environments.
Please stand by, your meeting is about to begin.
Greetings, and welcome to the first-quarter 2026 Meritage Homes analyst call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. (Operator Instructions)
I would now like to turn the call over to Emily Todano. VP of Investor Relations and External Communications. Please go ahead.
Thank you, Operator. Good morning and welcome to our analyst call to discuss our first quarter 2026 results. We issued the press release yesterday after the market closed. You can find it along with the slides we'll refer to during this call on our website at investors.meritagehomes.com or by selecting the Investor Relations link at the bottom of our homepage.
Please refer to slide 2, cautioning you that our statements during this call, as well as in the earnings release and accompanying slides, contain forward-looking statements. Those and any other projections represent the current opinions of
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