MTHMeritage Homes Corporation
Industry Housing Updated 28 Sep 2026 Price 23 Oct 2026
If management hits its targets, one share in 12 months
$64.19 → $66.51
What the podcasts say
1 bullish · 0 bearish · 1 speaker · 1 showWhat investors said about this company on the podcasts we transcribe, newest first. Bullish means the speaker expects the stock to do well, bearish means they expect it to do badly.
- Bullish
Promises vs. what happened
16 claims · 8 decksEvery target management put in a slide deck, and whether they hit it, missed it, or quietly dropped it.
| Promise | Made in | What happened | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q4 '24 closings, revenue, margin | Q3 '24 | 4,044 homes, $1,596M, 23.2% — all met or beaten | Held |
| Q2 '26 closings 3,650-3,900, margin ~18% | Q1 '26 | 3,725 and 18.3%, in the lower half | Held |
| Specs at 4-6 months of supply | Q2 '25 | 5 months through '25; the figure then stopped | Held |
| Cut completed specs in the spring | Q4 '25 | 50% to 46% to 30% of specs | Held |
| Land spend down, cash returned up | Q2 '25 | $509M to $357M a quarter; 201% of earnings returned | Held |
| 60-day close wins market share | Q1 '25 | backlog conversion 221%; orders down 9% | Late |
| More communities, more growth | Q2 '25 | 345 communities, closings down 13% | Late |
| 20,000 closings a year by 2027 | Q1 '25 | said once, never again | Dropped |
| Q3 '26 closings 3,300-3,600, EPS $1.10-1.30 | Q2 '26 | due 28 Oct | Open |
| H2 '26 communities carry the year | Q2 '26 | ending count already down to 340 | Open |
| FY '25 closings 16,500-17,500 | Q3 '24 | 15,026 — cut, then dropped from the deck | Missed |
| Q4 '25 closings, revenue, margin 19-20% | Q3 '25 | all three missed; 16.5% GAAP margin | Missed |
| Q1 '26 closings, revenue, margin 18-19% | Q4 '25 | every line below the low end | Missed |
| FY '26 in line with 2025 | Q4 '25 | cut twice; now ~5% below, and maybe lower | Missed |
| Grow to about 100,000 lots | Q1 '25 | 84,200 down to 73,233 | Missed |
| A 4-5 year lot supply | Q2 '25 | 5.2-5.3 years, called "in line with" | Missed |
What they’re pitching
the headline page, deck by deckThe headline from each quarterly results deck over two years, so you can see what they want you to focus on, and when it changes.
'24Q4
'24Q1
'25Q2
'25Q3
'25Q4
'25Q1
'26Q2
'26
Net ordersPage one since Q3 '24
CommunitiesPage one since Q2 '25
60-day closeNew Q4 '24 · Page one since Q2 '25
SpecsFirst seen Q3 '24
Pace vs priceFirst seen Q3 '24
Land spendFirst seen Q3 '24
Cash returnedFirst seen Q2 '25
AwardsOff page one Q4 '24
on the headline page further in the deck not in the deck▲ onto page one▼ off page one● first mentionTap a mark for the quote.
Net orders headline
“Net Sales Orders Increased 1% Year-Over-Year”
Deck Third Quarter 2024 Analyst Conference Call · p. 5 ·
Net orders headline
“Net Sales Orders Increased 14% Year-Over-Year”
Deck Fourth Quarter 2024 Analyst Conference Call · p. 4 ·
Net orders headline
“Net Sales Orders Only Slightly Down Year-over-year”
Deck First Quarter 2025 Analyst Conference Call · p. 4 ·
Net orders headline
“Net Sales Orders Up 3% Year-over-year”
Deck Second Quarter 2025 Analyst Conference Call · p. 4 ·
Net orders headline
“Net Sales Orders Up 4% Year-over-year”
Deck Third Quarter 2025 Analyst Conference Call · p. 4 ·
Net orders headline
“Net Sales Orders Down 2% Year-over-year”
Deck Fourth Quarter 2025 Analyst Conference Call · p. 4 ·
Net orders headline
“Net Sales Orders Down 5% Year-over-year”
Deck First Quarter 2026 Analyst Conference Call · p. 4 ·
Net orders headline
“4 2Q26 Average Absorption Pace Down YOY Yet In Line With 1Q26”
Deck Second Quarter 2026 Analyst Conference Call · p. 4 ·
Record community count
“June 30, 2025 was 312— highest in company history”
Deck Second Quarter 2025 Analyst Conference Call · p. 4 ·
Record community count
“September 30, 2025 of 334 was the highest in company history”
Deck Third Quarter 2025 Analyst Conference Call · p. 4 ·
Record community count
“Grew ending community count 15% year-over-year to 336 communities at December 31, 2025”
Deck Fourth Quarter 2025 Analyst Conference Call · p. 4 ·
Record community count
“Grew ending community count 19% year-over-year to a company record 345 communities at March 31, 2026”
Deck First Quarter 2026 Analyst Conference Call · p. 4 ·
Record community count
“2Q26 ending community count up 9% YOY, down 1% sequentially”
Deck Second Quarter 2026 Analyst Conference Call · p. 4 ·
60-day closing commitment and backlog conversion
“Positioned for Growing Market Share 60-Day”
Deck Fourth Quarter 2024 Analyst Conference Call · p. 11 ·
60-day closing commitment and backlog conversion
“Offering of move-in ready homes at affordable price points with a 60-day closing ready commitment”
Deck First Quarter 2025 Analyst Conference Call · p. 11 ·
60-day closing commitment and backlog conversion
“2Q25 backlog conversion rate of 208% given more than half of deliveries coming from intra-quarter orders”
Deck Second Quarter 2025 Analyst Conference Call · p. 4 ·
60-day closing commitment and backlog conversion
“3Q25 backlog conversion rate was 211% with 60% of deliveries from intra-quarter orders”
Deck Third Quarter 2025 Analyst Conference Call · p. 4 ·
60-day closing commitment and backlog conversion
“4Q25 backlog conversion rate was 221% with 63% of deliveries from intra-quarter orders, reflecting the benefit of our 60-day closing ready guarantee”
Deck Fourth Quarter 2025 Analyst Conference Call · p. 4 ·
60-day closing commitment and backlog conversion
“1Q26 backlog conversion rate was 254% with nearly 70% of deliveries from intra-quarter orders, reflecting the benefit of our 60-day closing ready guarantee”
Deck First Quarter 2026 Analyst Conference Call · p. 4 ·
60-day closing commitment and backlog conversion
“200% backlog conversion rate in 2Q26, with nearly 60% of deliveries from intra-quarter orders”
Deck Second Quarter 2026 Analyst Conference Call · p. 4 ·
Quick-turning move-in-ready spec homes
“Our Available Supply of Quick Turning Move-In Ready”
Deck Third Quarter 2024 Analyst Conference Call · p. 7 ·
Quick-turning move-in-ready spec homes
“Our Available Supply of Quick Turning Move-In Ready”
Deck Fourth Quarter 2024 Analyst Conference Call · p. 6 ·
Quick-turning move-in-ready spec homes
“Our Available Supply of Quick Turning Move-In Ready”
Deck First Quarter 2025 Analyst Conference Call · p. 6 ·
Quick-turning move-in-ready spec homes
“Our Available Supply of Quick Turning Move-In Ready”
Deck Second Quarter 2025 Analyst Conference Call · p. 6 ·
Quick-turning move-in-ready spec homes
“Our Available Supply of Quick Turning Move-In Ready”
Deck Third Quarter 2025 Analyst Conference Call · p. 6 ·
Quick-turning move-in-ready spec homes
“Our Available Supply of Quick Turning Move-In Ready”
Deck Fourth Quarter 2025 Analyst Conference Call · p. 6 ·
Quick-turning move-in-ready spec homes
“Our Available Supply of Quick Turning Move-In Ready”
Deck First Quarter 2026 Analyst Conference Call · p. 6 ·
Quick-turning move-in-ready spec homes
“Our Available Supply of Quick Turning Move-In Ready”
Deck Second Quarter 2026 Analyst Conference Call · p. 6 ·
Pace versus price
“Prioritize pace over price”
Deck Third Quarter 2024 Analyst Conference Call · p. 12 ·
Pace versus price
“Focus on pace and price to optimize returns 11”
Deck First Quarter 2025 Analyst Conference Call · p. 11 ·
Pace versus price
“We remained focused on controlling what we can control—strategically reducing aged inventory as we target the right level of specs per store, balancing pace and price, and allocating capital thoughtfully to maximize returns”
Deck Second Quarter 2026 Analyst Conference Call · p. 11 ·
Land spend slowdown
“Momentum in Land & Development Investment 10 3Q24 3Q23”
Deck Third Quarter 2024 Analyst Conference Call · p. 10 ·
Land spend slowdown
“Intentional slow down in new lots to slowly grow to around 100,000 over the next several years to support our stated 20,000 annual closing goal by 2027”
Deck First Quarter 2025 Analyst Conference Call · p. 9 ·
Land spend slowdown
“Intentional slowdown in net new lot acquisition, given current market conditions”
Deck Second Quarter 2025 Analyst Conference Call · p. 9 ·
Land spend slowdown
“Reduced our land spend to $528M and increased our return of cash to shareholders to $85M”
Deck Third Quarter 2025 Analyst Conference Call · p. 11 ·
Land spend slowdown
“Walked away from over 3,400 lots in 4Q25”
Deck Fourth Quarter 2025 Analyst Conference Call · p. 9 ·
Land spend slowdown
“Intentional slowdown of land acquisition and development spend, given current market conditions”
Deck First Quarter 2026 Analyst Conference Call · p. 9 ·
Land spend slowdown
“Deliberately slowed land and development spend to $357M, aligning growth spend with slower market conditions”
Deck Second Quarter 2026 Analyst Conference Call · p. 9 ·
Cash returned to shareholders
“Returned $76M of cash to shareholders in 2Q25 and $151M year to date through June 30, 2025”
Deck Second Quarter 2025 Analyst Conference Call · p. 8 ·
Cash returned to shareholders
“Returned $85M of cash to shareholders in 3Q25 and $237M year to date through September 30, 2025”
Deck Third Quarter 2025 Analyst Conference Call · p. 8 ·
Cash returned to shareholders
“Returned $179M of cash to shareholders in 4Q25 and $416M for the full year 2025”
Deck Fourth Quarter 2025 Analyst Conference Call · p. 8 ·
Cash returned to shareholders
“Returned $162M of cash to shareholders, totaling 295% of quarterly earnings in 1Q26”
Deck First Quarter 2026 Analyst Conference Call · p. 8 ·
Cash returned to shareholders
“Returned $131M of cash to shareholders, totaling 145% of quarterly earnings in 2Q26”
Deck Second Quarter 2026 Analyst Conference Call · p. 8 ·
Awards and ESG milestones
“3Q24 Milestones 4”
Deck Third Quarter 2024 Analyst Conference Call · p. 4 ·
What they keep talking about · 10
The themes that show up deck after deck, and the ones that disappear.
- Net orders
- The first line of all eight decks, and the line that turned: up, then −2%, −5% and −9% year on year in the last three, with absorption down from 4.4 a month to 3.5.
- Communities
- A record 345 at Q1 '26, up 19% year on year — and 340 at Q2 '26, while closings fell 13% and 11%. The growth was in stores, not in sales.
- 60-day close
- Backlog conversion of 200-254%, with 60-70% of deliveries sold inside the same quarter. The mechanism works; the volume did not follow.
- Specs
- In all eight decks. Specs per community fell 22.2 to 13.7 by Q1 '26, completed specs from 50% of the pile to 30% — and the months-of-supply figure stopped being given after Q4 '25.
- Pace vs price
- In three decks, and it is the whole story of the margin: 24.9% gross margin in 2024, 19.7% in 2025, about 18% guided now.
- Land spend
- In seven of eight. $509M a quarter down to $357M, "deliberately slowed"; 3,434 lots walked away from in Q4 '25 and lots controlled down 13%.
- Cash returned
- A callout from Q2 '25, and from Q1 '26 stated as a percentage of earnings — 295%, then 145%. The number got bigger as earnings got smaller.
- Awards
- Workplace and ESG awards led the Q3 '24 headline slide. The slide is gone from Q4 '24 and never returns.
- New
- Q2 '26: cash returned as a share of earnings, the owned-versus-optioned lot mix (69% owned, from 66%), and the first explicit statement that revenue could trend lower than the guide.
- Quiet
- The 20,000-closings goal and the 100,000-lot plan, both printed once in Q1 '25. Also gone: entry-level share of communities and orders (after Q4 '24), spec months of supply (after Q4 '25) and the numeric full-year guide (replaced by a comparison to last year).
Every quarterly report we’ve saved · 8
The press releases and shareholder letters behind this page.
- Q2 2026 release · 8-K 29 Jul 2026
- Q1 2026 release · 8-K 22 Apr 2026
- Q4 2025 release · 8-K 28 Jan 2026
- Q3 2025 release · 8-K 28 Oct 2025
- Q2 2025 release · 8-K 23 Jul 2025
- Q1 2025 release · 8-K 23 Apr 2025
- Q4 2024 release · 8-K 29 Jan 2025
- Q3 2024 release · 8-K 29 Oct 2024
Archived as text; the links open the copies filed on EDGAR or the investor-relations site.
What analysts asked them
8 calls · Q3 24 – Q2 26The last eight earnings calls: what analysts kept asking about, which questions got dodged, and how much the CEO did the talking.
Share of questions by topic, call by call. A topic that suddenly dominates is usually the problem. The last row is how much of the answering the CEO did, rather than the CFO or others.
| Share of questions about… | Q3 24 | Q4 24 | Q1 25 | Q2 25 | Q3 25 | Q4 25 | Q1 26 | Q2 26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demand & customers | 23% | 17% | 22% | 18% | 20% | 7% | 27% | 16% |
| Growth & sales | 12% | 23% | 17% | 41% | 50% | 29% | 13% | · |
| Pricing & margins | 27% | 20% | 43% | 47% | 40% | 36% | 40% | 47% |
| Guidance & outlook | 31% | 23% | 39% | 41% | 50% | 43% | 27% | 26% |
| Capacity & supply | 4% | 10% | 17% | · | 10% | 7% | 20% | · |
| Capital & financing | 8% | 10% | 9% | 29% | 10% | 21% | 27% | 11% |
| Competition | 8% | 3% | 17% | 6% | 20% | 7% | 7% | 5% |
| Products & technology | 12% | 3% | 4% | · | 10% | · | 7% | 16% |
| Macro & regulation | · | 3% | 13% | · | · | · | 7% | · |
| Other | 38% | 47% | 30% | 6% | 10% | · | 27% | 37% |
| Questions | 26 | 30 | 23 | 17 | 10 | 14 | 15 | 19 |
| How much the CEO talked | 52% | 65% | 75% | 53% | 67% | 57% | 55% | 66% |
Who’s in charge, who’s selling
read from the filings · 1 Oct 2026Shareholder votes against the board and pay, plus which executives have been selling their own shares.
Tier 2 · live
Three quarterly guides missed in a row, and the year cut twice more
Q3 '25 earnings per share $1.39 against $1.51-1.86. Q4 '25 missed closings, revenue and gross margin. Q1 '26 missed every line and management said so on the call. Q2 '26 was back inside every range. The 2025 year guide went 16,500-17,500 closings, then 16,250-16,750, then out of the deck entirely, and ended at 15,026. The 2026 guide has gone from "consistent with full year 2025" to "at or within 5%" to "around 5% below", with a caveat that revenue could go lower.
Tier 2 · worsening
Two multi-year targets were printed once and never mentioned again
The Q1 '25 deck gave a 20,000-closings goal for 2027 and a plan to grow to about 100,000 controlled lots. Neither appears in any of the six decks since. Lots controlled have fallen from about 84,200 to 73,233, with 3,434 walked away from in Q4 '25 alone; closings were 15,026 in '25 and down 12% in H1 '26. A third target, a 4-5 year lot supply, is reported at 5.2-5.3 years in every deck and called "in line with" it each time.
Tier 2 · worsening
Land walk-away charges excluded from "adjusted" margin three years out of three
$5.3M, then $6.7M, then $39.4M. The adjusted measure arrived in Q2 '25 and widened twice — impairments in Q3 '25, "non-recurring charges" of $38.9M in Q4 '25 — and the consequence is direct: Q4 '25's GAAP gross margin was 16.5% against a 19-20% guide while the adjusted 19.3% sat inside it. Walking away from expensive land is what this business does; it is a cost of the land strategy, not an unusual item.
Tier 3 · stable
More cash returned than earned, with net debt rising
$416M returned in 2025, about 92% of earnings, and $293M in H1 '26 — 201% of year-to-date earnings. Net debt to capital went from 11.7% at the end of 2024 to 17.1%. Over 2021-25, $650M of buybacks and $269M of dividends were part-funded by $662M of new debt. The H1 '26 buybacks were struck at roughly $66-72, above today's price but below the $77.61 of book value per share.
Tier 3 · improving
The owner votes have gone the owners' way
The board put an amendment to declassify itself to the 2025 meeting and it passed 61.3M to 53,206; the bylaws were amended the same day and every director stands annually from 2027. A shareholder proposal on political-spending transparency passed in 2025 and the company now discloses contributions semi-annually. In 2026 management put its own advisory proposal to cut the special-meeting threshold from 50% to 25%, and it passed; a rival shareholder proposal for 10% was defeated.
Where shareholders voted no
At each annual meeting shareholders vote on who sits on the board, what the executives are paid and whether the company may create more shares. These are the votes that drew the most "no"s at the last two meetings: the shares voted against (or withheld) each year, then what share of all votes cast that was. Under each one, what the vote was about and what a no means.
| 2025 | 2026 | Share 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henretta (Class I, '26)A board seat. Shareholders vote to keep this person on the board, the group that hires, pays and can fire the CEO. A no, or a withheld vote, says they want this director out, often because of the committee they sit on or a decision they signed off. | — | 1.9M | 3.5% |
| Ax (lead independent, Class II, '25)A board seat. | 2.4M | — | 4.0% in '25 |
| Hilton (executive chairman, '26)A board seat. | — | 0.6M | 1.1% |
| Say on payExecutive pay. Shareholders say whether they accept what the top executives were paid. The vote is advisory: the board can ignore it, but a large no is a public rebuke and boards usually change the pay plan after one. | 2.8M | 1.8M | 3.2% |
| Ratify Deloitte & ToucheThe auditor. Keeping the outside accounting firm that checks the company's books. This almost always passes; a sizeable no means shareholders doubt the audit or think the firm has been in place too long. | 1.2M | 1.4M | 2.3% |
Insiders who sold the most stock
Reported sales by executives and directors, biggest first.
| SEC insider data sets, Jul '25-Jun '26 | Sold | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Phillippe Lord, chief executive | $3.5M | 5 sales in Feb '26 at $75-80; 72% under a pre-set plan |
| All seven insiders | $6.0M | 25 sales, 83% pre-planned — about 0.14% of market value |
| Steven Hilton, founder | $0.4M | 2 plan-flagged sales; about 842,000 shares still held directly |
| The one buyer | $0.2M | Dennis Arriola, director — then resigned from the board six weeks later |