With a combined revenue of $21 trillion and $2.1 trillion in profits, the 2026 Fortune 500 is the definitive list of America's largest companies.

Fortune 500

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100 Best Places to Work 2026_PulteGroup, Inc.

Employees say:"We have an amazing culture. Management inspires, leads by example, and leads with humility. Teams support one another, hold each other accountable, and have each other's backs. Individuals are committed to working hard, growing, and doing the right thing. We are recognized for our contributions and successes. My job is absolutely one of the best parts of my life."

Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For

The companies on this annual list make a conscious effort to be supportive, inclusive workplaces.

2025 Best Large Workplaces for Women_PulteGroup, Inc._US1__68a71dfc383bc91cadd06a7f_3

Employees say:"Management consistently demonstrates adaptability to departmental needs and communicates company metrics and initiatives with clarity and transparency. Emotional wellbeing is a core part of our culture, and we're provided with ample opportunities to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Our team is incredibly supportive, always striving to do the right thing and ensuring our division's clients are satisfied. The collective effort and dedication truly make this a great place to work."

100 Best Large Workplaces for Women

See which workplaces made this year's list.

2025_GPTW_Construction_Large_PulteGroup, Inc._US1__685d50c0023fa8a026342320_1

Employees say:"I believe Pulte has established a culture that recognizes people as its most valuable asset. The company provides excellent wellness coverage and programs, competitive pay, paid holidays, company-wide celebratory events, and various other initiatives that prioritize its employees."

Best Large Workplaces in Construction

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The top companies on our list have one thing in common: Staff largely trust leadership to see them as well-rounded people and reward them for a job well done.

GPTW_100BestCompaniesToWorkFor_2025-PulteGroup, Inc._US1__20241210214006_4

Employees say: "This company provides opportunities for employees to grow and develop to be the best employee that they can be. PulteGroup has built a great work culture and team that empowers its employees. Some examples are teambuilding events, great communication, and holiday events."

Leaders in all industries rely more than ever on Big Tech—and appreciate the giants that deliver, at scale, without drama.

GPTW_Women_Large_2024-PulteGroup, Inc._US1__20240830224000_3

Employees say:"The work like balance is unlike anything I have experienced before. You have enough PTO to not worry about using it all quickly. You do not feel like you have to miss moments in your kids/family life due to work."

GPTW-Construction-Large-2024-PulteGroup

Employees say:"I have worked in the new home sales business for 17 years and with 4 other home builders. Pulte has been beyond the best company to work for. Management truly wants you to succeed and is supportive. Everyone is welcoming and I feel as though I am really part of a team. They offer a leadership development program that I was invited to participate in. Upper management and the division president are approachable and easy to talk to, they ask for feedback and value my opinions. I genuinely ENJOY spending my free time with my co-workers and have cultivated many friendships."

Fortune partners with global people analytics firm Great Place to Work to analyze survey feedback representing employees from companies across the U.S.

GPTW Millennials 2024-Large-PulteGroup, Inc.

Employees say:"The people at Pulte are genuinely nice and compassionate. I've never felt so supported in my career as much as I do here. I feel at ease because I am not worried how I will be treated. I don't take for granted the excellence in behavior here."

100 Best Large Workplaces for Millennials

Industries included in the sector are construction and engineering services and homebuilders.

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100 Best Companies 2024-PulteGroup, Inc.

After weathering a difficult year in a nearly frozen housing market, PulteGroup fell seven places from its 2023 ranking. Yet it remains the third largest homebuilder in the U.S., with operations in more than 45 U.S. markets. PulteGroup aims to create affordable housing opportunities; provides mortgage-free homes to wounded veterans through its Built to Honor program; organizes food drives with local pantries; and launches fundraising initiatives for organizations employees care about.&nbsp; &nbsp;The PulteGroup Foundation launched Dollars for Doers in 2022: For every hour an employee volunteers, the foundation contributes the equivalent of up to $25 per hour, for up to 40 hours annually per employee.&nbsp; &nbsp;To bolster the success of its homebuilding operations team, which constitutes 75% of its workforce, PulteGroup offers mentorship and formal training programs, such as its Certified Field Trainer initiative to support trainees for up to six months.

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100 BEST COMPANIES 2023-PulteGroup

One of the largest homebuilders in the U.S. aims to continually improve the employee experience. As a result, nine out of 10 employees want to work at PulteGroup for “a long time.” 
<ul> 
 	<li>The diversity board’s outreach committee has enhanced PulteGroup’s recruitment, hiring, and onboarding efforts with a focus on identifying a large pool of diverse job candidates and building recruitment relationships with HBCUs.</li> 
 	<li>New hires are assigned an onboarding experience partner, responsible for ensuring new team members feel connected to the company.</li> 
 	<li>PulteGroup’s affordable housing committee is piloting a new program, Hope to Home, that will subsidize a percentage of the homes the company builds, offering them to first-time buyers in underserved groups.</li> 
 	<li>The company has a one-stop learning management system that provides employees with training, workshops, and developmental tools.</li> 
 	<li>PulteGroup’s new health and wellness program goes beyond physical and emotional health coverage to include financial and social wellness.</li> 
</ul>

GPTW Women 2023-PulteGroup, Inc.

Employees say: 
 
"Everyone on the team cares about doing a great job, taking care of each other, and doing what is right for our customers. There’s a high level of work ethic and pride from everyone."

Fortune partnered with Great Place to Work to analyze survey feedback representing nearly half a million U.S. employees.

GPTW Millennial Large 2023-PulteGroup

Employees say: 
 
"Every single employee seems genuinely happy to work at PulteGroup, Inc. I think I can speak for most, if not all, of us when I say we feel like this company and our superiors care about our happiness. I feel seen as something more than just an employee. My managers are happy in their roles and are great leaders. The opportunity to volunteer and have a day off to do so is so special. This company cares for our community, and I feel a massive sense of pride over it."

The Fortune 500, in its 69th year in 2023, ranks the biggest U.S. companies by revenue.

Just as it dominates our economy, Big Tech now dominates Fortune’s annual ranking of corporate reputation.

When it comes to supporting employees, flexibility, diversity, and a few extra paid days off go a long way.

100 Best 2022 PulteGroup,-Inc._1274415-5

America’s third-largest homebuilder has a laser focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion. PulteGroup created internal committees to work on recruiting and training a diverse talent pool of employees and to sponsor cultural awareness programming with live, interactive webinars that spotlight the achievements of a diverse range of individuals. Externally, in keeping with the company’s values, PulteGroup is working to create homeowning opportunities for lower-income families and minorities through affordable housing and down payment assistance initiatives. Part of the company’s emphasis on inclusion includes a flexible workweek. Once fully implemented, employees will work in the office two days per week and remotely for the other three.

Great Places to Work in Construction Large-2022-PulteGroup, Inc._1274415-5

Employees say: 
 
“This team is like a big family, and it is a lot of fun to be able to work with all of them. We have a strong bond and its great to feel like my work makes a difference. This is the only place I have worked that truly shows how much they appreciate our hard work and what we do.”

GPTW Women 2022-PulteGroup, Inc

Employees say: 
 
“Pulte offers a lot of development and growth opportunities that help you grow and advance in your career. There is a large focus on recognition and connection, even in a hybrid environment. I have been impressed with our increased efforts on diversity and inclusion the past couple of years and the launch of our BRGs and women in leadership series.”

To determine millennials' workplace preferences, Fortune's research partner Great Place to Work analyzed feedback representing more than 6.1 million U.S. employees.

GPTW 2022 Millennials List Large-Pulte Group

Employees say: 
 
“I have said this before and I’ll say it again, I feel blessed to be with a company who is not always thinking of the bottom line. Keeping people safe when weather is bad, during a pandemic making sure we had the essentials, and listening to its employees when they chime in with ideas. I have several close friends working for other builders and they cannot say the same. I’m a proud Pulte employee!”

This year’s Fortune 500 marks the 68th running of the list.

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Our 2021 list of the 100 best companies to work for, as ranked by their employees. See which companies made the list.

100 Best Companies 2021-76-PulteGroup,-Inc.

The homebuilder was hit hard by the pandemic, which forced it to make painful staff reductions in the form of furloughs and layoffs. In response, PulteGroup CEO Ryan Marshall, his direct reports, and the entire board of directors took pay cuts, raising $400,000 for a relief fund aiding those who lost their jobs. In the end, the company was able to bring back 100% of furloughed employees within 60 days, and actively set about rehiring those who were laid off. Marshall has also made a commitment to improving PulteGroup’s diversity practices, forming an internal diversity and inclusion board meant to hold the organization accountable to its goals.

The companies on this year's list make a conscious effort to be supportive, inclusive workplaces.

Best-Workplaces-Women-2021-Large-PulteGroup,-Inc

Employees say: 
 
“The company is always making an effort to recognize its employees and show their appreciation. The CEO knows front-line employees by name and makes an effort to build relationships with employees at all levels of the organization.”

This year’s Fortune 500 marks the 67th running of the list.

F500-2021-284-PulteGroup

Started by 18-year-old homebuilder Bill Pulte in 1950, PulteGroup is now the third-largest home construction company in the U.S. based on number of homes closed. Its brands include Del Webb and Centex.

We surveyed tens of thousands of employees to create this list of millennials’ favorite workplaces.

Best Large Workplaces Millennials 2021-PulteGroup,-Inc

Employees say: 
 
“My managers trust me to get the job done well, and as result, I have incredible opportunity and flexibility. I trust my team, and they too enjoy complete flexibility and opportunity. Together - we always WIN! This is truly a Great Place to Work!”

For an astounding 13th straight year, Apple claims the top spot in Fortune’s annual ranking of corporate reputation, based on a survey of almost 3,800 executives, directors, and analysts.

Best Workplaces Women 2020-PulteGroup

Employees say: 
 
“People are genuinely interested in my career advancement. I've been mentored and challenged, which directly resulted in several promotions. This is truly a team where people care for each other and look for ways to build them up to promote.”

This year's Fortune 500 marks the 66th running of the list.

F500-2020_309_PulteGroup

The Atlanta-based homebuilder, whose brands include Del Webb and Centex, is considered the third-largest home construction company in the U.S. based on the number of homes closed. It operates in more than 40 markets.

Here are the World's Most Admired Companies for 2019 as ranked in their industries. See who made the list.

This year's Fortune 500 marks the 65th running of the list.

Here are the World's Most Admired Companies for 2018 as ranked in their industries. See who made the list.

This year's Fortune 500 marks the 64th running of the list.

This year's Fortune 500 marks the 63rd running of the list.

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This year's Fortune 500 marks the 62nd running of the list.

This year's Fortune 500 marks the 61st running of the list. Wal-Mart claims the top spot again. See who made the list.

Wal-Mart stayed on top as its sales crept closer to half-a-trillion dollars. Apple moved into the top five. And UnitedHealth Group continued its steady climb. 

Fortune Global 500

Best Companies

Rank last year

Years on list

U.S. employees

U.S. job openings

Year founded

Benefits

Subsidized childcare

Compressed work weeks

Option to work remotely

Minimum requirement in-office attendance (days per week)

Mental health coverage

Free mental health sessions (per year)

Free backup childcare time off (days)

Maximum $ amount covered for fertility services

Fully paid maternal leave (days)

Fully paid paternal leave (days)

Fully paid adoptive leave (days)

Maternal leave in addition to regular time off (days)

Paid days off for volunteering

Best Workplaces In Construction

Founded

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Best Workplaces For Women

Industry Vertical

# Work Sites

Sector

Industry

Current All-Star Rank

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Use of Corporate Assets

Social Responsibility

Quality of Management

Financial Soundness

Long-Term Investment Value

Quality of Products/Services

Global Competitiveness

Key Financials (last Fiscal Year)

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Assets ($M)

Total Stockholder Equity ($M)

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EPS % Change (10 year annual rate)

Total Return

Total Return to Investors (last year)

Total Return to Investors (5 year, annualized)

Total Return to Investors (10 year, annualized)

PulteGroup is one of the largest homebuilders in the U.S., having constructed over 800,000 homes since 1950. The company operates in more than 45 markets across 24 states through its portfolio of brands, including Centex, Pulte Homes, Del Webb, DiVosta Homes, American West, and John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods.

Q2 2026

Q1 2026

Q4 2025

Q3 2025

Q2 2025

Q1 2025

Q4 2024

PulteGroup (PHM): Company Profile, Stock Price, News, Rankings

legacy

PulteGroup

pultegroup

Thank you for standing by. My name is Jordan, and I'll be your conference operator today. At this time, I'd like to welcome everyone to the PulteGroup Inc. Q2 2026 Earnings Conference Call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speakers' remarks, there will be a question and answer session. If you'd like to ask a question during this time, simply press star, followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. If you'd like to withdraw your question, press star one again. Thank you. I would now like to turn the call over to Jim Zeumer. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Jordan. Good morning. I want to welcome everyone to today's call to review PulteGroup's operating and financial results for our second quarter ended June 30, 2026. Joining me on today's call are Ryan Marshall, President and CEO, Jim Ossowski, Executive Vice President and CFO, and David Carrier, Senior VP, Finance. In advance of this call, a copy of our Q2 earnings release and this morning's webcast presentation have been posted to our corporate website at pultegroup.com. We will also post an audio replay of this call later today. I would highlight that today's presentation includes forward-looking statements about the company's expected future performance. Actual results could differ materially from those suggested by our comments made today. The most significant risk factors that could affect future results are summarized as part of today's earnings release and within the accompanying presentation.

These risk factors and other key information are detailed on our SEC filings, including our annual and quarterly reports. Let me turn the call over to Ryan. Ryan?

Thanks, Jim. Good morning. Let me start by saying that I'm extremely pleased with the operating and financial results PulteGroup delivered both for our second quarter and for the first six months of 2026. Specific to our second quarter performance, I want to highlight a few key metrics that I think demonstrate the ongoing success of the company. Net new orders in the quarter increased by 6% over the same period last year, as we realized higher orders across all buyer groups. Active adult orders were up 12%, while orders among first-time buyers increased 5%. On a sequential basis, incentives on closings in Q2 dropped 50 basis points from the first quarter. We continued to execute a successful transition back to build-to-order, as build-to-order sales increased to 45% of new orders in the quarter.

We further reduced our finished spec inventory, which dropped to 1.3 homes per community at quarter end. Before turning the call to Jim for a thorough review of the quarter, let me offer a few additional comments about our results and general market conditions. Expanding on my earlier comment, on a year-over-year basis, net new orders were higher by 6% in the second quarter and up 5% year to date. Through the first six months of 2026, we sold 720 more homes than this same period last year. I'd also highlight that as a percentage of total orders, year to date sign-ups for build-to-order homes were up 500 basis points from 39% for the same six-month period last year.

The ongoing increase in build-to-order homes is consistent with the plan we articulated coming into this year, namely, to increase the percentage of build-to-order homes sold among our move-up and active adult home buyers. These are individuals who expect choice, and our operating model allows them to choose their preferred lot and select the options and upgrades they desire. I know our field teams are excited to execute the strategy, as it affirms our build cycles have fully recovered from the global supply chain disruptions that hit the industry after COVID. Our decision to build more spec homes once supply chains collapsed and build cycles effectively doubled was the right one at the time, but we much prefer having a growing backlog of sold homes. Consistent with our operating strategies, we are achieving greater sales while still maintaining strong gross margin.

More specifically, we delivered home building gross margins of 25% for the quarter and 24.7% for the first half of the year. In some instances, our home building gross margins are several hundred basis points higher than those of our peers. For PulteGroup, our performance is reflective of a disciplined land underwriting process, an operating model that is well diversified across markets and buyer groups, and a balanced price pace approach to driving high returns on invested capital. Part of this balanced approach has been to continue to thoughtfully manage our starts pace as we reduce spec inventory and implement the transition back to build-to-order. Reflective of this approach, through the first six months of 2026, our net new orders totaled 15,570 homes, we intentionally started only 14,378 homes.

With build cycles down to 100 days or fewer in some cases, we can effectively manage our starts cadence while still meeting our overall production goals. To put this into a slightly broader context, at the end of 2024, we had approximately 8,800 spec homes in production. By the end of 2025, we had lowered this number to 7,200 specs, and now we are down to approximately 6,600 specs in production. I would note that we've achieved this dramatic reduction in spec inventory while growing overall community count. I want to recognize and applaud the discipline of our teams as they are maintaining as we continue to work down specs and increasingly sell from a position of strength. At 44% of total production, I think we've gotten to the right spec level of inventory.

We still have some work to do in select communities, but as we've demonstrated over the past 18 months, we are committed to this strategy. As a backdrop to our successful efforts to sell homes, manage inventories, and generate strong financial results, the second quarter demonstrated a typical seasonal demand pattern. Namely, sales and absorption paces eased as we moved from month to month during the period. Within the seasonal pattern, I think it's fair to say from day to day and week to week, consumer activity was impacted to varying degrees by global tensions, macroeconomic uncertainty, and the material movement in interest rates. We were able to drive higher orders in the period with strong performances across all buyer groups. Along with increased sales, we are also seeing home buyers that are willing to pay for superior locations and the upgrades that they value most.

In the second quarter, options and lot premiums on homes closed approached $107,000, which is comparable to prior year and prior quarter. Beyond any differences in demand among buyer groups, we continue to experience different demand dynamics across the markets we serve. For example, order pace in the Midwest was strong in a number of our markets, including Columbus, Cleveland, and Chicago. Stronger demand conditions also carried into our Greenville and Coastal Carolina markets. Our Florida operations continue to generate outstanding results. While it's too early to read too much into the numbers, I would note that on a year-over-year basis, orders in Dallas and Houston were also better in the period. In our west operations, we realized improved orders in California and the Pacific Northwest. We are having to compete aggressively for sales as core demand remains soft.

As was the case in the second quarter, through the first few weeks of July, we continue to experience seasonal demand trends, along with the week-to-week variability caused by macro factors ranging from global tensions and inflation, to movements in interest rates and consumer confidence. Overall, there are a lot of positives to be taken from PulteGroup's second quarter operating and financial results. I think the biggest positive remains the fundamental benefits we realize from our strategic business model and our unmatched business platform. With that, let me turn the call over to Jim for a review of our second quarter results. Jim?

Thank you, Ryan. Good morning. I look forward to providing a detailed review of PulteGroup's second quarter operating and financial results. Second quarter net new orders increased 6% over the prior year to 7,536 homes, as we realized higher net new orders across all three buyer groups. The value of orders in the period also increased, gaining 5% to $4.1 billion. The year-over-year increase in second quarter orders reflects an 8% increase in average community count to 1,074, partially offset by a 1% decrease in absorption pace to 2.3 homes per month. Overall, core consumer demand trends followed a typical seasonal pattern as we moved through this year's spring selling season. The strength of demand in our Florida operations continued to stand out as net new orders in Q2 increased by 19% over the same period in 2025.

In fact, orders increased over the comparable prior year period in each region, except for the West, where consumer demand has generally been slower to recover. As a percentage of starting backlog, our cancellation rate in the second quarter was 11%, which is comparable to last year. As I mentioned earlier, net new orders were higher within each of our buyer groups in the second quarter. For the period, orders among first-time, move-up, and active adult buyers increased over the second quarter of 2025 by 5%, 4%, and 12%, respectively. Reflecting the benefits of our ongoing investment in the growth of our business, higher orders in the second quarter were positively impacted by increased community count. As discussed on previous calls, we are working to increase our build-to-order business with a long-term goal for orders to be approximately 60% BTO and 40% spec.

In the second quarter, the order mix was 45% BTO and 55% spec. Given our build cycle time is down to 100 working days, and even lower in many markets, we are now able to selectively use market rate buydowns to facilitate BTO sales. Breaking down second quarter net new orders by buyer group, orders were comprised of 39% first-time, 36% move-up, and 25% active adult. I would highlight that active adult orders in the period benefited from the opening of our newest Explore by Del Webb communities in Tampa and Columbus. By comparison, in the second quarter of 2025, net new orders were 40% first-time, 36% move-up, and 24% active adult. For the second quarter, the company generated home sale revenues of $3.8 billion, compared with home sale revenues of $4.3 billion last year.

The decrease in home sale revenues in the second quarter reflects an 8% decrease in closings to 6,997 homes, along with a 3% decrease in the average sales price to $544,000. Mix was a meaningful driver of our lower ASP as we realized fewer closings out of our Northeast and West operations, which represent our two highest priced operating geographies. Second quarter closings by buyer group were as follows: 41% first-time, 37% move-up, and 22% active adult. In the comparable prior year period, our closing mix was 39% first-time, 41% move-up, and 20% active adult. At the end of the second quarter, our backlog totaled 10,966 homes with a value of $6.8 billion. We ended Q2 with 14,980 homes in production, of which 44%, or 6,638 homes, were spec.

Relative to this time a year ago, we successfully lowered our total spec inventory by approximately 1,000 homes, or 13%, as we remain disciplined in managing the cadence of home starts with the pace of sales. With respect to completed inventory, I would highlight that we ended Q2 with approximately 1,400 finished spec homes or an average of 1.3 finished spec homes per community. This is down from 1.9 finished specs per community at the end of the second quarter of 2025. Our field teams continue to do an outstanding job managing spec home production as we have rebalanced our inventory, which helps our Pulte community sell from a position of strength. Given the recent pace of sales and the number of homes under construction, in the third quarter, we expect to close between 7,000 and 7,400 homes.

For full year 2026, we reaffirm closings to be in the range of 28,500-29,000 homes, although we still have many homes to sell and close over the balance of the year. Based on the timing of community openings and closings over the remainder of 2026, we expect year-over-year community count growth will be consistent with our previous guidance of up 3%-5% in each of the remaining quarters. Given current demand dynamics and the mix of homes we anticipate closing, we expect the average sales price of closings to be in the range of $550,000-$560,000 for both the third and fourth quarters. For the second quarter, we reported gross margin of 25%, a sequential increase of 60 basis points from Q1 of this year.

I would also note that incentives in the quarter were 10.4%, a sequential decrease of 50 basis points from the first quarter of this year. While there are positive implications to be derived from both numbers, the mix of Q2 closings also contributed to the improvement in these metrics. More specifically, we benefited from greater mix of closings from our higher margin Florida markets in combination with lower than anticipated discounts on the homes sold and closed within the quarter. These were the key drivers of the sequential improvement and the outperformance relative to our prior margin guide. Our second quarter gross margin also benefited from lower build costs in the period. At just under $75/sq ft, our Q2 house costs were down 5% from last year, down approximately 1% from this year's first quarter.

Going forward, we'll lose the tailwind of lower lumber costs as we move through the year, but we still expect year-over-year house costs to be down slightly from 2025. Given house cost trends and the anticipated closing mix, we expect third quarter gross margin to be in the range of 24.5%-25.0%. At this time, we are reaffirming our 2026 full year closing gross margin guide to also be in the range of 24.5%-25.0%. On a dollar basis, homebuilding SG&A expense in the second quarter was down 2% from the prior year to $383 million. Fewer home closings in this year's second quarter resulted in some lost leverage as SG&A expense totaled 10.1% to home sale revenues, compared with 9.1% in the second quarter of last year.

Overall, SG&A in the second quarter was in line with our expectations. We are maintaining our guidance for full year SG&A expense be in the range of 9.5%-9.7% of home sale revenues. For the second quarter, Pulte's financial services operations generated a pretax income of $37 million, compared with pretax income of $43 million in Q2 of last year. Relative to last year, financial services pretax income in the second quarter was impacted primarily by lower closing volumes in our homebuilding operations. Q2 mortgage capture rate was 85%, which is comparable to the second quarter of 2025. For its second quarter, PulteGroup reported pretax income of $622 million and a tax expense of $150 million, or an effective tax rate of 24.2%. Our Q2 tax rate was generally in line with our annual guidance, which remains 24.5% for full year 2026.

Our expected tax rate does not take into consideration any discrete, period-specific tax events that might occur. Net income for PulteGroup's second quarter was $472 million, or $2.48 per share. In the second quarter of last year, we reported net income of $608 million, or $3.03 per share. Earnings per share for the second quarter of 2026 was calculated based on 191 million diluted shares outstanding, which is down 10 million shares, or 5%, from the second quarter of 2025. This year's second quarter, we repurchased 3.1 million common shares for $373 million. With increased community count remaining an important driver of near-term growth, we continue to invest in our future land pipeline. In the second quarter, we invested $1.4 billion in land acquisition and development. This brings our year-to-date spend to $2.7 billion, keeping us on track to invest approximately $5.4 billion in land in 2026.

We ended the second quarter with 228,000 lots under control, which is down approximately 6,000 lots from the end of 2025, with 55% of our land pipeline controlled via option. We continue to look for opportunities to expand our controlled lot count, but as with all our land investments, option deals need to underwrite to acceptable risk-adjusted returns while also mitigating risk. As discussed on our last earnings call, and as demonstrated by the company's Q2 land spend, our acquisition teams are still finding great land opportunities that meet our required returns. In this type of market environment, if you have the discipline and the capital, you can secure the land assets needed for ongoing business success. We ended the second quarter with $1.4 billion in cash and a debt-to-capital ratio of 12.3%.

And finally, given expected volume, margin, and land spend for the year, we continue to expect 2026 operating cash flow generation to be approximately $1 billion. Now, let me turn the call back to Ryan.

Thanks, Jim. Before opening the call to questions, I wanted to briefly touch on the topic of industry consolidation as the recent increase in M&A transactions has prompted a number of questions from investors. When it comes to assessing M&A opportunities, before we even run the numbers, the first question we ask ourselves is, "Will this transaction make us better, not just bigger?" Integrating businesses, organizations, and cultures is hard work, so we have to see the value in terms of the transaction truly enhancing our business. If the strategic benefit is there, we maintain a disciplined valuation process that focuses on the return potential of the underlying land assets. Given the broad business platform we already maintain, M&A for PulteGroup is primarily another way for us to buy land, so we underwrite it accordingly.

While we certainly have the financial and organizational capabilities to successfully execute a large multi-market acquisition, our preference is for smaller tuck-in types of transactions that help build local market scale. If you look over the past decade, you see us having acquired Dominion in the Midwest, John Wieland here in the Southeast, and American West in Las Vegas. Again, good land pipelines that could help accelerate market share growth and acquired at prices that allowed us to realize acceptable risk-adjusted returns. Based solely on the public comments I've read about the transactions, I think they point to a growing recognition that scale, particularly local market scale, matters. I believe the improved access to land and labor that comes with scale is critical to a home builder's long-term success in any given market.

Before opening the call to questions, I want to thank the entire PulteGroup organization for another great quarter of operating and financial performance. When we report quarterly earnings, for obvious reasons, everyone focuses on the numbers, but behind every order, every home closing, and every satisfied customer are the people across this company who make these outcomes possible. We can have the right strategy and a strong business model, but these only create value for shareholders when they are paired with great execution. Let me turn the call over to Jim Zeumer.

Great. Thanks, Ryan. We're now prepared to open the call for questions. We can get to as many questions as possible during the remaining time of this call, we ask that you limit yourself to one question and one follow-up. Jordan, we'll start taking questions now.

Your first question comes from the line of John Lovallo from UBS. Your line is now live.

Good morning, guys. Thanks for taking my questions. In the press release, you noted early signs of stabilization. That's something that we've heard numerous times across our channel checks. I'm just curious if you could expand on that comment and maybe talk about specific geographies where you're seeing it?

Yeah, John, we highlighted some of it in the prepared remarks. All of our five regions that we report on, we saw positive year-over-year growth in four of them, the West being the one that I think is probably still the softest. Specific to the four where we saw some stabilization and I think some positive signs, I would definitely call out some of the Midwest markets. We continue to see strength there. We're also seeing some favorable trends out of the Southeast markets. We particularly like what's going on in the coastal Carolinas markets in Greenville. Then look, I've got to highlight Florida again. Florida was up 19% year-over-year in a continuation of a theme that we've talked about for the last couple of calls, we've got great operating teams there and good assets, and we're seeing nice performance there.

I'm also encouraged by what we're starting to see in Texas. I'm not ready to declare victory there, the fact that we saw positive year-over-year orders I think is a good sign.

Yeah, no, I think that's really encouraging. Then, at the midpoint of the third quarter outlook, deliveries are up about 3% sequentially. The gross margin is down about 25 basis points sequentially. Just curious if this is mix of expected closings or how would you characterize that?

I would say it's probably a fairly accurate assumption, John. We got a little bit of favorable mix in Q2 with just where closings came from that benefited the margin. Maybe that goes back a little bit the other way in Q3, but as Jim highlighted, we're reiterating our full year guide. The fact that we're growing orders, we think we outperformed relative to order growth expectations in the most recent quarter and did it all while delivering great gross margin. We feel pretty good about how our teams are executing.

The next question comes from the line of Sam Reid from Wells Fargo. Your line is now live.

Thanks so much, guys. Great to see the improvement on incentive loads this quarter. Would just love to get your sense as to what's embedded on incentives specifically for the third and fourth quarters. Should we expect flattest sequentials there, or could we see some additional improvement with the build-to-order mix benefits?

Sam, our expectation is that the market's going to continue to remain competitive, and that we're going to continue to see elevated incentive loads. Beyond the guidance that we've given you on gross margins, we typically don't comment specifically on numbers for incentives. We did highlight that last quarter was going to be our high watermark, and that is indeed proven to be true. I'm very pleased to see that our incentives came down 50 basis points in the quarter. They're still high, even though they did come down. We'd expect, just given everything that the consumer's dealing with and the affordability challenges, that we'll remain in an elevated incentive environment.

That's helpful. Then maybe switching gears to community count. Community count growth up 8% during the quarter, but the guide for the year implies something closer to 3%-5%. Just maybe walk us through the sequential community count, Q2 to Q3. Then just one other maybe side question on community count. Is the growth primarily coming from active adult?

A great question, Sam. What I tell you on the community count, we've seen community count growth across all of the segments. Really what I tell you is, we've seen a little bit higher than guided level in the second quarter. It's just some of the communities are taking a little bit longer to close out. As we continue to work through the balance of the year, we still feel really good that that 3%-5% year-over-year is really what we're looking for. That's Q3 of 2026 versus Q3 of 2025, then Q4 of 2026 versus Q4 of 2025.

Your next question comes from the line of Matthew Bouley from Barclays. Your line is now live.

Good morning, everyone. Thanks for taking the questions. Apologies if I didn't hear this, but just to double-check on the gross margin. I think you said last quarter that you were looking towards the low end of the 24.5%-25% range for the year. I just wanted to clarify if that's now changed and could we actually suggest that you're now pointing towards the higher end of the margin range or I'm obviously asking around 50 basis points here, but just any clarity on or update on that. Thank you.

Yeah, Matt, it's a fair question. We did highlight that last quarter. We did not emphasize that this point, but I'd encourage you not to run to the high end. I think we still have a lot of homes to sell. As I mentioned on one of the earlier questions, we think incentive loads are going to remain relatively elevated. We've seen a little bit of turmoil come back into the mind of the consumer with some of the things that are going on globally. I think there's a lot out there, but we feel confident about the 50 basis point guide that we've given how our teams are performing right now.

Okay, perfect. Thank you for that clarification. Secondly, I guess this kind of follows along with that. If I'm looking at sort of the implied cadence of closings in the second half, it seems like you're going to have a bigger step-up in the fourth quarter. Maybe a little bit higher than we've seen the past few years. Obviously, if we go back historically, we have seen larger step-ups in the fourth quarter. I guess the question is sort of your visibility to that and is there an expectation that a lot of that spec gets cleared out in the fourth quarter and that drives the step-up, or is sort of cadence of community openings regionally, et cetera? Just any kind of color you could give to give some confidence on that implied fourth quarter. Thank you.

PulteGroup (PHM) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

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