You could read into D.R. Horton’s consensus- and guidance-beating

Source: D.R. Horton

That’s how to take market share in today’s market; and it’s coming out of others’ hides.

Add D.R. Horton to the list of either big challenges right now, or alternatively, as an opportunity. As CEO David Auld says:

It is really hard to put a lot on the ground. It is really hard to build houses. And these private guys, now, they’ve got to struggle with capital from either private or banks increasing in cost. So, do we have the opportunity to talk to a lot of these guys? Yes, we do. But it’s going to take unique opportunities for us to invite them into the family, because we do have a special culture here and we’re not going to screw it up trying to force a square peg in a round hole.”

Now here’s the other key dimension, compliments of D.R. Horton executive VP and CFO Bill Wheat:

During the first nine months of the year, our cash provided by homebuilding operations was $2.1 billion and our consolidated cash provided by operations was $2.3 billion.

At June 30, we had $4.6 billion of homebuilding liquidity, consisting of $2.6 billion of unrestricted homebuilding cash and $2 billion of available capacity on our homebuilding revolving credit facility.”

The tide may indeed be rising, but not for all ships. So, heading into Fall 2023, where seasonal downward drifts in demand and questions of the ongoing impacts of higher rates and tighter mortgage availability on 2024 sales, a private homebuilding operator may want to consider getting in on some of that cash while the getting’s better than it will eventually be.