A month has gone by since the last earnings report for KB Home (KBH). Shares have lost about 8.2% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.
Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is KB Home due for a breakout? Well, first let's take a quick look at the latest earnings report in order to get a better handle on the recent catalysts for KB Home before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late.
KB Home Q2 Earnings Meet, Revenues Beat on Built-to-Order Shift
KB Home reported second-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings of 43 cents per share, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Earnings declined 71.3% from $1.50 per share in the year-ago quarter.
Total revenues of $1.112 billion beat the consensus mark of $1.090 billion by 2% but decreased 27% year over year. Results reflected lower deliveries and pricing pressure, partly offset by progress in the company’s Built to Order model, which represented 73% of net orders.
KB Home’s Homebuilding Highlights
Housing revenues totaled $1.11 billion, down 27% from $1.52 billion in the prior-year quarter. The decline was primarily due to a 23% decrease in homes delivered and a 5% drop in the overall average selling price (ASP).
Homes delivered were 2,395 compared with 3,120 a year ago. The backlog conversion rate was 66%, down from 70% in the year-ago period, reflecting the strategic shift toward a higher mix of Built to Order homes. The ASP was $461,900, down from $488,700 a year ago. Sequentially, ASP rose 2%, supported by product and geographic mix.
Net orders declined 4% year over year to 3,317 homes. Net order value also fell 4% to $1.55 billion. Monthly net orders per community were four compared with 4.5 in the prior-year quarter. Management cited elevated mortgage rates, affordability pressures, weak consumer confidence, inflation and geopolitical uncertainty as factors that weighed on traffic conversion.
The cancellation rate improved to 12% of gross orders from 16% a year ago. The company ended the quarter with 280 communities, up 11% from 253 in the prior-year period.
The ending backlog was 4,526 homes, down 5% year over year. Backlog value declined 7% to $2.14 billion. However, backlog improved 26% sequentially. Management said the company expects sequential backlog growth to continue in the third quarter and anticipates returning to year-over-year backlog growth during that period.
KBH Margins Hurt by Pricing Pressure
Homebuilding operating income was $28.2 million compared with $131.5 million a year ago. The homebuilding operating income margin contracted to 2.5% from 8.6%.
Housing gross margin was 15.2% compared with 19.3% in the prior-year quarter. Excluding inventory-related charges of $5.6 million, adjusted housing gross margin was 15.7% compared with 19.7% a year ago.
The year-over-year margin contraction primarily reflected price reductions, higher relative land costs and reduced operating leverage. SG&A expenses were 12.7% of housing revenues compared with 10.7%, mainly due to lower operating leverage.
KBH’s Liquidity Update
The company ended the quarter with total liquidity of $1.12 billion, including $199.8 million in cash and $923.4 million of available revolver capacity. During the quarter, KBH repurchased 1.4 million shares for $75 million, bringing first-half repurchases to $125 million.
KBH Updates Fiscal 2026 Guidance
For the third quarter of fiscal 2026, KBH expects deliveries of 2,600-2,800 homes and housing revenues of $1.20-$1.35 billion. Housing gross margin is projected between 16.0% and 16.6%, assuming no inventory-related charges.
For fiscal 2026, the company expects deliveries of 10,500-11,000 homes (from 10,000-11,500 homes) and housing revenues of $4.90-$5.30 billion (from $4.8-$5.5 billion). Housing gross margin is projected between 16.1% and 16.5%, assuming no inventory-related charges.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?
In the past month, investors have witnessed a upward trend in fresh estimates.
The consensus estimate has shifted 15.4% due to these changes.
VGM Scores
At this time, KB Home has a poor Growth Score of F, however its Momentum Score is doing a lot better with an A. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock has a score of B on the value side, putting it in the second quintile for this investment strategy.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of C. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
Outlook
Estimates have been broadly trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions looks promising. Notably, KB Home has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).